Pork Steak with Apples

Ingredients

2 pounds of pork steaks, thawed
1/4 teaspoon Muntok white peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon Madagascar green peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon Hawaiian red salt
1/4 teaspoon clove powder
1/2 teaspoon dried lemon thyme
1/4 cup apple butter
1/4 cup apple cider
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Granny Smith apples (4 small or 2 large)
1 small sweet onion
1 can chicken broth
1 canful apple cider
pinch Hawaiian red salt to taste
ground Muntok white pepper to taste

Directions:
In a mortar, combine 1/4 teaspoon Muntok white peppercorns, 1/4 teaspoon Madagascar green peppercorns, and 1/4 teaspoon Hawaiian red salt.  Crush together.  Add 1/4 teaspoon clove powder and 1/2 teaspoon dried lemon thyme.  Stir.

Pour the spice mixture into a small bowl.  Add 1/4 cup apple butter, 1/4 cup apple cider, and 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar.  Mix thoroughly.  This marinade should be thick enough to cling to a pastry brush but not too pasty; adjust proportions if necessary.

Use the pastry brush to coat both sides of each pork steak.  Stack the steaks in a shallow container.  Pour any remaining marinade over the top of the steaks.  Put the lid on the container and allow to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Slice the apples and remove the cores.  Put the apple slices in a large bowl.  Peel the onion.  Slice it and separate the slices into sections.  Mix together the pieces of apple and onion.

Remove the pork steaks from the refrigerator.  Put one pork steak in the bottom of the crock pot.  Put a double-handful of apple and onion slices over the pork steak.  Continue layering until you run out of ingredients.  Pour the can of chicken broth into the bottom of the crock pot.  Fill the same can with apple cider and pour that in too.  Sprinkle a pinch of Hawaiian red salt over the contents of the crock pot.  Grind a bit of Muntok white pepper over everything.

Turn crock pot on “Low,” cover, and cook for four or more hours.  After the apple and onion slices start to soften and release their juices, use a spoon to stir them around some and scoop the broth over the pork steaks.  The dish is done when the apple and onion slices are soft, and the pork steaks come apart easily.

Notes:

Pork steak is a cheap cut of pork.  It benefits from long, slow cooking.  The marinade helps make it tender and the broth keeps it moist.

Granny Smith is a popular type of cooking apple.  These apples have bright green skin and crisp white flesh.  They are sour, but they hold their shape and flavor well even when cooked for a long time. You could substitute some other variety of cooking apple.  Use what you have.

Fancy types of salt and pepper add to the character of a dish.  Muntok white pepper has a mellow, mild flavor and Madagascar green pepper has a fresh spicy flavor with fruity notes.  Hawaiian red salt has iron-rich clay added to it, which gives a subtle yet rich earth-metallic note to meat.  It is especially favored for use with pork.

Red wine vinegar has a dark fruity flavor.  Apple cider vinegar would also work well in this recipe.