Pork Chops with Braised Cabbage

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons bacon fat, butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced 1/4-inch, about 2 cups
• 1/2 head of cabbage, sliced 1/4-inch wide slices
• Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon caraway seed
• 1/2 cup stock or water
• 1 tablespoon mustard, preferably Dijon
• 1 tablespoon malt or cider vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon bacon fat or extra virgin olive oil
• 4 pork chops

Directions

1. Warm the bacon fat, butter, or olive oil in a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion. Cook it, stirring now and then rather than constantly, until the onion edges start to take on color, about 5 minutes; season with salt while it softens.
3. Add the sliced cabbage and turn it through the onions. After a minute or two, stir in the celery seed, caraway, and stock. Put on the lid, lower the heat to low, and let it cook gently for 10 minutes.
4. After 10 minutes, take the pan off the burner without uncovering it. Let it stand for another 5 minutes, then lift the lid and stir in the mustard and vinegar. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
5. Right after the cabbage is covered, warm a tablespoon of bacon fat or oil in a cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat. Blot the pork chops dry with paper towels, season them with salt, and set them in the pan; cook in batches if the pan would be crowded. Aim the thickest, boniest sections toward the center, where the heat is strongest.
6. Once the underside has browned well, about 2 minutes or so, turn the chops and sear the second side. For chops thinner than 3/4-inch in a cast iron pan, take the pan off the heat after the second side is seared and leave the chops in the hot pan until they are cooked through; the finger test works for checking doneness. With another type of pan, take it off the heat, cover it, and wait a few minutes until the chops are done.
7. For chops thicker than 3/4-inch, use the pan’s stored heat if it is cast iron: move it off the burner, cover it, and let the pork finish for about 5 minutes. If the pan is not cast iron, cover the chops and keep the heat low for another 5 minutes after searing.
8. Transfer the chops out of the pan and rest them for 5 minutes. Serve them with the cabbage.