Donal's Irish Adventure30 Minutes

Creamy Mustard & Cider Pork Chops

Name: Creamy Mustard & Cider Pork Chops
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1.2kg pork chops , bone on, 2-3cm thick, with fat & skin on; 75g butter; Small handful of sage leaves; 2 Granny Smith apples from Slane market, peeled, cored and cut into wedges; 5 sprigs thyme; 100ml cream; 375ml dry apple cider (from Slane market); 2 tbsp mustard seeds; Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Donal SkehanFrom the series · Donal's Irish Adventure

30 min totalServes 4Easy

Time30 min

Serves4

SkillEasy

ShowSuper Food In Minutes

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large, lidded casserole over a high heat. Season the pork chops and fry until browned. You will need to do this in batches, adding some of the butter & sage leaves each time. Remove the pork pieces from the pot and fry the apple wedges with some extra butter and the thyme sprigs until softened and browned.

To make the sauce, add the remaining butter, mustard seeds and cider. Allow to bubble for a minute or two before adding the cream.

Allow the sauce to reduce down for about 5 minutes before serving. Arrange the apple & pork on a plate, drizzle with the sauce and enjoy.

Cook's notes

Buy the chops bone-in with the fat and skin on and don't crowd the pan — brown them in batches so they colour rather than steam.
Render the fatty edge by holding the chops on their side in the pan for a minute; it renders down and flavours the whole dish.
Fry the apple wedges in butter with the thyme sprigs over the top until golden brown — cook them just until softened, not collapsing, so their sharpness holds up against the cream.
The mustard seeds go in with the butter and cider — let it all bubble for a minute or two to toast the seeds and cook off the raw alcohol before the cream goes in.
Pork chops are best a touch blushing at the bone; pull them just before you think they're done and let them rest in the warm sauce.

Serve with Buttery mash or some crushed new potatoes to soak up the sauce, with a green vegetable like tenderstem broccoli or savoy cabbage alongside. A glass of the same dry cider you cooked with ties it together.

Make ahead & storage Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat gently — cream sauces can split over high heat — and add a splash of cider or water to bring the sauce back together.

30 Minutes

Recipe by Donal Skehan · From the series Donal's Irish Adventure · Photography © Appetite Media
Published 13 July 2026 · Updated 15 July 2026

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

828kcal

67gprotein

21gcarbs

50gfat

Approximate — calculated from the ingredient list using USDA food data. A guide, not a medical figure.

Made it? Leave a comment

Tell us how it went — swaps that worked, tips for the next cook, or just how it tasted. Comments appear once they've been checked by the team.

Keep cooking

More from Donal Skehan

All Donal's recipes

Perfect Birthday Funfetti Cake

65 min

Donal's Family KitchenPerfect Birthday Funfetti Cake

Donal Skehan

Crispy Chicken Sandwich

30 min

Donal's Family KitchenCrispy Chicken Sandwich

Donal Skehan

Korean Style Sloppy Joe Sliders

30 min

Donal's Family KitchenKorean Style Sloppy Joe Sliders

Donal Skehan