Crawfish-Stuffed Pork Chops

Last summer while home in New Orleans I had a lot of free time on my hands to make up recipes. One of the best of my creative experiments were these succulent crawfish-stuffed pork chops. It may look fancy, but they are really easy to make and so damn good.

We love a one-skillet meal that’s quick and easy. This recipe makes for flavorful, tender and juicy stuffed chops that aren’t dry.

Crawfish-rice stuffed pork chops are perfect for a special holiday dinner or a quick weeknight dinner that is sure to impress.

Which pork chops to use?

There’s many cuts of pork chops but pork loin chops work best for this recipe. This cut comes from the hip and loin of the pig, and sometimes contain some of the pork tenderloin. (other names: Center-cut loin chop, pork loin end chop, porterhouse, or top-loin chop.)

For the crawfish rice I wanted to add another element of flavor so I used jasmine rice.

Crawfish Rice-Stuffed Pork Chops Ingredients

• thick-cut pork loin chops
• jasmine rice, uncooked
• onion
• bell pepper
• celery stalks
• garlic
• basil leaves
• ginger powder
• crawfish tails
• Cajun seasoning
• Italian Seasoning
• olive oil
• sesame oil
• soy sauce
• green onions

How to make Crawfish Rice-Stuffed Pork Chops

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook the jasmine rice according to package instructions and add to a bowl.
3. Stir the crawfish tails, onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, basil and ginger into the cooked rice. 
4. Add a little soy sauce and sesame oil at a time, stir and taste until you get to the desired flavor. Set rice aside. 
5. Slice the pork chops in half horizontally almost all the way through. Season all over and inside with Cajun and Italian seasonings. Stuff pork chops with crawfish rice. 
6. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Once skillet is smoking, pour in oil and coat the skillet. 
7. Add in the pork chops and let sear on one side for 3 minutes without moving. If all chops don’t fit in skillet, cook them two at a time. 
8. Flip the pork chops over and then add skillet to the preheated oven. 
9. Allow chops to cook for 6 minutes. Check temperature of chops, making sure they’re at 145 degrees. If not quite there, add back to oven to cook for another 2 minutes. 
10. Remove from oven and spoon skillet juices over the chops, garnish with green onions, and serve.

If you bake the pork chops on a rack in a roasting pan, add in a little bit of water and cover the pork chops with foil, it’ll create a moist environment and allowing the chops to cook through without drying out.

Print Recipe

Crawfish-Stuffed Pork Chops

Author: Devin Smith Cuisine: Cajun Creations

Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 40 min Total Time 55 mins Servings: 4

Ingredients

Servings

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 1 bell pepper (chopped)
• 2 celery stalks (chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• handful basil leaves (chopped)
• 2 teaspoons ginger powder
• 4 thick pork chops
• 12 ounces crawfish tails
• Cajun seasoning (to taste)
• Italian seasoning (to taste)
• sesame oil (to taste)
• soy sauce (to taste)
• green onions (for garnish)
• olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cook the jasmine rice according to package instructions and set aside.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add in onion, bell pepper, and celery, cook for 4 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Stir in garlic, basil and ginger, and cook until garlic is fragrant. 

    

4. Stir in crawfish tails and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add in a little soy sauce and sesame oil at a time, stir and taste until you get to the desired flavor.  

5. In a large bowl, combine jasmine rice and crawfish mixture. Slice the pork chops in half horizontally almost all the way through. Season all over and inside with Cajun and Italian seasonings. Stuff pork chops with crawfish rice. 

6. Heat 1 tablespoon in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once skillet is smoking, add in the pork chops and sear on one side for 3 minutes without moving. If all chops don't fit in skillet, cook them two at a time. Flip the pork chops over and then add skillet to the preheated oven. 

7. Allow stuffed chops to cook for 8 minutes or until they're cook through and have an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Remove from oven and serve.

Keywords: pork chops, stuffed pork chops, crawfish