Tender cubes of pork coated in sage-flavoured flour and pan-fried until golden then simmered in a creamy onion-based gravy with fresh pears. Served with rice and your favourite vegetable, this pan-fried pork with pears and onions makes a deliciously different quick and easy supper.
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Supper with a difference
If you like the combination of pork and apples in a meal (I’m thinking pork and apple sauce here), I think you’ll love this dish of pan-fried pork with pears and caramelized onions.
Tender chunks of pork leg are seasoned with sage, and coated in flour, before being pan-fried until golden brown. Next, the pork is simmered in stock with caramelised onions and pears so that it picks up all the delicious flavours. Finally, the sauce is thickened with the addition of cream to make a mouth-watering pear and onion gravy which is just begging to be spooned over a bed of fluffy white rice.
Whatever you do, don’t skip the step of browning the flour-coated pork. Browning the pork in this way locks in all the juices, resulting in tender pieces of pork that are full of flavour.
The flavour combination might sound a little strange, but believe me, this dish just works. Pork loves sweetness, and the fruitiness of the pears combined with the sweetness of the caramelized onions provides the perfect flavour combination. Add a little sage for good measure and serve it all in a creamy sauce on a bed of fluffy rice and you have a meal that will set your taste buds alight!
Time saver
This dish for pan-fried pork with pears is very quick to make. From start to finish you can have it on the table in half an hour, so it’s perfect for those busy weekday nights when you don’t have much time.
And as a bonus, this is all made in one pan, so there’s less washing up to do too.
What ingredients do I need?
As you can see from the image above, you need surprisingly few ingredients for this delicious pan-fried pork dish.
This recipe makes sufficient for 4 people, and you can get the complete recipe on the printable recipe card at the end of this post
- Pork – for this recipe I used pork leg steaks which I cut into bite-sized pieces. The pork leg steaks have a nice marbling of fat running through them which makes the meat extra juicy.
- Onions – the onions should be peeled and finely sliced.
- Pears – peeled and core removed, then cut into small chunks.
- Cream – for adding to the sauce. You can use either double or single cream.
- Dried sage – pork and sage pair really well together. You can use freshly chopped sage instead of dried sage, but because dried herbs have a much stronger flavour, you will need approximately 3 times as much fresh sage as dried sage.
- Garlic – this is optional, but I like to add it for extra flavour. You can use fresh cloves of garlic, or simply use ready-crushed garlic from a jar.
- Flour – used both for coating the meat and for thickening the sauce.
- Stock cubes – for the gravy. I like to use vegetable stock cubes because I find that a beef stock cube upsets the delicate flavour of this dish. If you prefer you can substitute the stock cubes with pear cider.
- Salt – optional and to taste.
- Sunflower oil – for frying the meat and onions.
How to make pan-fried pork with pears and caramelized onions
You will need a large frying pan with a lid. You could use a wok if you prefer.
Preparation
I like to gather all my ingredients and prepare them before I start cooking. It makes cooking the recipe is so much faster and ensures I don’t forget a vital ingredient!
- Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces and remove any excess fat and sinews.
- Place the pork into a bowl with half of the flour, the dried sage and the salt and mix thoroughly to combine. Leave to stand while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Peel the onions and pears Slice the onions thinly and cut the pears into smallish chunks. Set aside until needed.
- Dissolve the stock cubes in 2 cups of boiling water and set aside.
Fry the meat and onions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the pork in batches over a medium heat until the pork is nicely browned on all sides. Stir the meat as it is cooking to ensure it browns evenly (image 1 above).
- Transfer the browned pork to a plate and set aside while you fry the onions.
- Add the onions and garlic to the same pan, turn down the heat and saute until the onions turn translucent and start to brown. Take your time over this step – it will take about 5 minutes (image 2 above). If necessary, add a little extra oil.
- Once the onions have softened stir in the remaining flour taking care to remove any lumps.
- Add the stock and continue to stir until the stock starts to thicken (image 3 above).
- Add the meat back into the pan, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 10 minutes (image 4 above).
- Now add the pears, cover with the lid again, and simmer for a further 10 minutes. If the sauce is too thin, remove the lid of the pan for the last 5 minutes. This will allow some of the liquid to evaporate and thicken the sauce naturally.
- Finally, stir in the cream, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Serve with rice and a side helping of your favourite vegetables, and be generous when spooning over the delicious pear sauce. I like to use peas for a dash of colour, but carrots or broccoli would work just as well.
- If you are very hungry, add some crusty bread rolls to help soak up all the delicious gravy.
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Tips and FAQ
Yes, you can certainly make this dish ahead of time. Cook it up to the point where the pears have been cooked, but before adding the cream. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
When you are ready to serve the dish, heat it through on the stove, then stir in the cream.
Yes, it freezes very well, and you can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To freeze, allow the dish to cook and then transfer it to a suitable freezer container.
To use, allow to defrost in the refrigerator and then heat on the stove until piping hot.
No, this isn’t necessary with this dish. Recipes that call for the pork to be boiled first, tend to be for the tougher or fattier cuts of pork like pork shoulder and pork belly.
Boiling the pork helps to tenderise, and also removes excess fat. Because this recipe is made with pork leg steaks there is a low percentage of fat, and the meat itself is tender enough to be fried without being boiled first..
Other recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe for pork with pears and onions, you may like to dry some of my other pork dishes.
- Creamy paprika pork goulash
- Sticky oven-baked pork spare ribs with honey glaze
- Crispy pork knuckle with saute potatoes
- Leftover roast pork in garlic sauce
- Sheet pan pork chops with broccoli and honey garlic sauce
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The recipe
Creamy pan-fried pork with pears and onions
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Ingredients
- 1¼ lb (570g) pork leg steaks cubed
- 1 large onion finely sliced
- 2 medium pears peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ cup cream single or double
- 2 vegetable stock cubes dissolved in 2 cups boiling water
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil for frying
Instructions
Preparation
- Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces and remove any excess fat and sinews.
- Place the pork into a bowl with half of the flour, the dried sage and the salt and mix thoroughly to combine. Leave to stand while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Peel the onions and pears Slice the onions thinly and cut the pears into smallish chunks. Set aside until needed.
- Dissolve the stock cubes in 2 cups of boiling water and set aside.
Pan-fried pork
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan and fry the pork in batches on a medium heat until it is nicely browned on all sides. Stir the meat as it is cooking to ensure it browns evenly.
- Transfer the browned meat to a plate and set aside while you fry the onions.
- Add the onions and garlic to the same pan, turn down the heat and saute until the onions turn translucent and start to brown. Take your time over this step – it will take about 5 minutes – you may need to add a little extra oil.
- Once the onions have softened stir in the remaining flour taking care to remove any lumps.
- Add the stock and continue to stir until the stock starts to thicken.
- Add the meat back into the pan, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Now add the pears and cover with the lid again. Simmer for a further 10 minutes. If the sauce is too thin remove the lid for the last 5 minutes.
- Finally, stir in the cream, taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Serve with rice and a side helping of your favourite vegetables.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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