Thick cut seasoned pork chops filled with a savory bread stuffing and wrapped all up with smokey bacon. These juicy and tender Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Pork Chops may be baked in the oven or grilled out on the barbie!
I have to admit, I am really not much of a competitor. I am usually the type to just go with the flow. Whoever wins, then they deserve it.
Unless… it’s a food competition.
Then I am all over it!
Every year, we have our Big Little County Fair. We’re a teeny county. Remember, not one traffic light. But, peeps come all the way from Wyoming and Idaho to enter their pig or cow in this fair. It’s a pretty big deal around here.
But, so are the food competitions!
Every year there is a new theme. Last summer was Family Breakfast. Of course, I entered my Baked Eggs Napoleon with Hollandaise Sauce… and won!
The year before that, was a grilling competition.
This is where it got pretty serious. Justin and I were competing against each other… and 8 others. Although, if he or I won, we’d both take the prize home, right? That was pretty much our game plan.
Justin entered his slow cooked ribs. Problem was, the competition wasn’t 6 hours long. We had less than 2 hours from start to finish! So, needless to say, he bailed after his ribs were not going to win.
But I, on the other hand, went with my recipe I’m sharing with you today.
Yes, you’ve guessed it. I won over the judges with these Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Pork Chops!
So now, I’m going to show you how simple it is to take ordinary pork chops and turn them into award winning stuffed chops!
Start with the stuffing. I have to admit, it ‘s my favorite part!
This recipe is for 4 servings. But you can go ahead and adjust otherwise.
Slice 4 large pieces of bread. (French or sourdough are really good.)
Tear the slices into bite size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. (If you have enough time before hand, do this step in advance and allow the bread to dry a little.)
Chop the leek, onion, and celery stalk to about the same size. This allows all of them to cook evenly.
If you’ve never worked with leeks before, cut the root off first. Work your way up to the top with your knife. Stop chopping when the dark green tops are looking a little dry. Place the chopped pieces in a bowl of cold water. Move them around to loosen up all the dirt. Rinse in a colander. That is how you clean leeks.
Have a skillet warming up with a couple dabs of butter.
Put your cut vegetables and crushed garlic in the heated skillet to sauté. Add poultry seasoning, oregano, and salt & pepper, to taste.
Within 8-10 minutes, the veggies are tender.
The aroma is magnificent!
Put the sautéd onions, leeks, celery, and garlic into the bowl of torn bread.
Pour in the chicken stock or broth, half & half, and melted butter, all together.
Lightly stir it all together until combined and set aside.
Meanwhile, it’s time to cut the pork.
Cut the boneless pork loin into chops, each measuring about 2 inches thick.
By using a sharp paring knife, cut a little opening for the pocket on the very top of each cut chop. Make the slit only about 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide. (Depends upon your width of meat.) But make the pocket inside a little wider. Be careful as to not go all the way out the other side of the meat.
Stuff as much of the bread stuffing inside of the pocket.
Salt and pepper each side of the meat.
Now, depending on how wide your bacon slices are, you need one or two slices of bacon to fit over the peeking stuffing.
Tuck the ends of the bacon underneath the pork chop. See how easy that is? No need for those tooth picks!
Place the stuffed chops on a greased baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart, as so they may have their own little area to bake.
If you are grilling these babies, just place them on the rack in your preheated grill. OR use this *Gourmet Grillware Griddle that I have used here, straight on the grill! (This pan is easy to clean, by the way!)
Whichever you choose… baking or grilling,
…Be sure to cook these are 170 degrees. Use a meat thermometer and place in the middle of each pork chop.. It takes about 45 to 55 minutes in a preheated 400 degrees oven. Same as the grill. But remember, every grill (gas or charcoal) is different.
Allow the pork chops to rest for about 5 minutes before serving. This keeps all the juices still doing it’s thing.
For another recipe involving bacon and pork, try this recipe on a slider bun…
Or, this one-pot meal with pork chops and mushroooms…
Skillet Pork Chops with Mushroom Sauce
- 4 thick slices of your favorite bread, about 2 inches thick
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 leek, chopped and rinsed
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
- 1/4 cup half & half
- 2 pounds boneless pork loin
- 4-8 slices of uncooked bacon, depending how wide your bacon is. One or two slices per pork chop.
- Tear the bread slices into bite size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Heat a skillet to medium heat with 2 tablespoons of butter in it.
- Add the chopped vegetables and crushed garlic to the melted butter in the skillet to sauté. Stir in the poultry seasoning, oregano, and salt & pepper, to taste.
- When the vegetables are tender (8-10 minutes), place them in the bowl of bread pieces.
- Pour in the chicken stock or broth, half & half, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Lightly stir it all together until combined and set aside.
- Cut the boneless pork lion into chops, each measuring about 2 inches.
- By using a sharp paring knife, cut a little opening for the pocket on the very tops of each cut chop. Make the slit only about 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide. (Depends upon how wide the meat is.) But make the pocket inside a little wider. Be careful as to not go all the way out the other side of the meat.
- Stuff as much of the bread stuffing inside of the pork chop.
- Salt and pepper each side.
- Wrap and tuck the ends of the uncooked bacon underneath the pork chop.
- Place the stuffed chops on a greased baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake in a preheated 400 degrees oven for 45-55 minutes or until it is 170 degrees in the middle. Use a meat thermometer and place in the middle of each pork chop.
- Allow the meat to rest for about 5 minutes before serving!
- Enjoy!
- Instead of baking in the oven, try these on your grill! But remember, every gas and charcoal grill is different. Please adjust temperatures and time when cooking these pork chops on the grill. Know your grill! (=
Enjoy, my friends!
Wow, every time I stop by I get so hungry! What a great way to prepare pork chops. Love this Gloria!
Chelsea @chelseasmessyapron recently posted…{Double Serving Size} Miniature Apple Pies
Oh my! I can see why these great chops were award winning! These look fantastic Gloria! Chops wrapped in BACON!! My taste buds would be doing a little dance!!!
Renee @ Two in the Kitchen recently posted…Spicy Sriracha Bacon Breakfast Pie
Gloria, these look fantastic! My guys would go nuts over this. Pinning, and have a great weekend!
marcie recently posted…Lemon Cream Tart
Thanks, Marcie! Bacon (and pork) is usually a winner with the guys. This is how this recipe came about. They told me to just wrap it in bacon… boys! (=
That’s SO cool that you won 2 food competitions! Congrats! I can totally see why you won over the judges with these pork chops. They look delicious. 🙂
Tina @ Tina’s Chic Corner recently posted…Spicy Sweet Potato Fries With Cucumber Yogurt Dip
You’re so sweet… thank you, Tina!
Um, I would like to see a dish that would beat this! You had me at bacon and stuffing. Oh my gosh, yes. Congrats! This looks so good!
Mary Frances recently posted…Coconut Oil Strawberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Thank you, Mary Frances!
Gloria, Oh my – I love this dish and could see how it won the judges over! I know my husband would want this on the menu! And everything is better with bacon! Pinned and sharing…
Deb@CookingOnTheFrontBurner recently posted…Chicken Marsala Pasta
Isn’t that funny about bacon, Deb? I love bacon! (I even add the drippings to my refried beans, from scratch!)
Look at your miss Cooking Competition Winner x2! Love it!! And you and your husband crack me up for trying to set yourselves up to split the prize. 🙂
I can see why they won though, these look amazing! Then you wrap them in bacon and it is even more amazing! YUM! Pinning this one for sure! Great pics too, as always my friend.
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats recently posted…Baked Asian Chicken Wings with Raspberry Hoisin Glaze
I was surprised they allowed two people from the same household to compete… I could have had my older boys get in on it, too! (They also love to grill!) Have a great one, Krista!
Those look amazing Gloria!! I can totally see why you won…twice! You and your food are awesome. 🙂
Lisa @ Cooking with Curls recently posted…Best of the Weekend {37}
You are just too kind! xo
These look so amazing! They make my mouth water 🙂
Melissa @ Simply Sweets by Honeybee recently posted…Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Oh my goodness, these look phenomenal Gloria, I can totally see why they won the competition! Pinning, my husband would go nuts for these, anything wrapped with bacon is so amazing:)
Kelly recently posted…Steamed Siu Mai / Shu Mai (Dim Sum Pork Dumplings)
It really is better when something’s wrapped with bacon! Thanks, Kelly!
I love your grill tips, Gloria. You’re so right, know your grill!
I’m not usually a fan of pork chops, or pork in general. Unless it’s cooked on the smoker. Or if it’s bacon. But I tell ya what, I’d try these tasty looking pork chops in a heart beat. They look delicious, Gloria! Pinned!
Julie @ This Gal Cooks recently posted…25 Easy Crock Pot Chicken Recipes
I am so right there with you, Julie. I’m not much of a pork chop kind of person… unless it’s like this! But, when I’ve seen your pics of you two using your grill… you do it just like us! (=
These are fine! My boys would love them. Pinned!
Paula recently posted…Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
You DO realize that, second only to Chef Michael Symon, I’m the biggest pork lover on the planet, right? *swoon*
Becca from It’s Yummi! recently posted…Pomegranate Cheesecake Cookies Recipe
You just made me laugh out loud, Becca! I’m not really a meat kind of person… unless it’s pork! So, I guess that’d make me right there in line with you after Michael! (I love The Chew, by the way! I’m assuming you do too!)
Hi Gloria! These look amazing! I pretty much always have lean cut pork chops in my freezer, as they’re a great to defrost for a quick dinner. Stuffing and Wrapping them in bacon sounds fantastic! Stopping by from Show Stopper Saturday – thanks so much for hosting. Have a wonderful week! ~Erin
Erin {Delightful E Made} recently posted…Black and White Brownie Bars
Looks like a first place dinner to me! Love the celery/leek stuffing. Pinned!
Sherri @The Well Floured Kitchen recently posted…Crunchy Graham Sticks with Milk Chocolate Yogurt Dip
Total perfection Gloria! I need to stop by for dinner sometime this week 🙂 Pinned!
Gloria, These look amazing. Can’t go wrong with bacon wrapped food. I’m featuring them on BOTW party. Thanks for linking up!! Nichi http://www.mandatorymooch.com/2014/01/best-of-weekend-week-38.html
Nichi – The Mandatory Mooch recently posted…Best of the Weekend {Week 38}
Would box stuffing work as well or should it be prepared freshly
Yes, Tony. Prepare the box stuffing and put into the pockets of the cut pork chops. That would be delicious, too! Thank you for stopping by!
Gloria recently posted…French Dip Shredded Beef Sliders
I’m making these right now. I think I prepped too much stuffing:(. Tons left over. If these turn out as good as I think they will I’ll just use it again later this week.
This was actually really good. I only had 1″ center cut chops and Italian bread crumbs. So I followed the recipe for stuffing substituting 2 Cups of bread crumbs for the crumbled bread. This had the result of a slightly dry stuffing. So I melted 4oz of cream cheese and added this to the stuffing. Oh what a delicious addition. With the chops being half as thick the cook time was only 20 minutes.