by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Well it looks like a sunshiny day and the wind will not be high. So I can’t think of a better reason to use my * Solar Oven. I want to bake boneless, breaded pork chops – OUTSIDE!

It doesn’t matter if it’s going to be hot or cold outside. That’s because the outside temps don’t really affect the cooking with a solar oven. I’ve heard it said that ‘all you need is a shadow‘.

Summer or winter – as long as the sun is shining and the wind isn’t high enough to mess with the reflectors, solar oven cooking is a GO!

Today I think I’ll try my hand at baked pork chops…

(Note: Some links in this post are for further information from earlier posts I’ve written. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click them and buy something (almost anything, not just the item noted) I could receive a tiny commission. But the price you pay will NOT change. It’s an easy way to support this blog without anything coming out of your pocket. So click often! Thank you!)

Wild Game: Hogs

RancherMan has harvested a couple of wild sow hogs in the last several months. We’ve been enjoying many savory recipes using the pork, such as:

meatloaf,

grilled ribs,

slow-cooker roast with red wine 

BBQ sandwiches.

But I love me some pork chops! And I think they come out more juicy & tender when they’re breaded and baked.

Thankfully baking is easy to do in a solar oven. So today I’m going to use my solar oven to bake these pork chops.

*About My Solar Oven: For those of you asking, I have a Sun Oven brand solar oven and I LOVE IT!  If you’ve been waiting to get a solar oven of your own – now’s the time!

Preparing The Pork Chops

To prepare the pork chops for baking:

Dip pork chops in a beaten egg

Roll surface of chops in bread crumbs

Season with dried thyme or rubbed sage and a little salt & pepper

Now the chops are ready to be baked!

Baking Boneless Chops In A Solar Oven

You can use a standard oven to bake your chops, just bake them to an internal temperature of 145ºF. Depending upon how thick your chops are that takes between 15 and 20 minutes.

But I wanted to cook them outside. So I laid them in the black porcelain pan that came with my solar oven and placed the see-through lid on so I could watch its progress as it was cooking.

Double-Stack Pans To Cook Veggie Side At The Same Time!

But then I got to thinking… There were 2 enamel stack pans in my solar oven kit. Why not cook the side dish at the same time?

So I decided to stack the pork chop pan on top of my other black porcelain pan that I filled with sliced carrots. Just a little salt & pepper, a touch of water, a pat of butter and a sprig of rosemary.

Hey, why shouldn’t they both be cooking at the same time?

By positioning the reflectors directly toward the sun the temp on my solar oven soared to 325 pretty quickly.

Solar Oven Heat Maximization

It can sometimes be a challenge (for me at least) to be able to tell when the solar oven is at the exact proper pitch to take advantage of the sun.

Newer Sun Ovens already come with the Sun Cube, but mine is older and that feature wasn’t available then.

I ordered the retrofit kit so that I could have the sun cube on my solar oven as well. And boy am I glad I did!

Now it’s simple to tell when your solar oven is maximized for efficiency. But if you have an older model Sun Oven too, you can get the retro-fit kit here –> *Sun Oven Retro-Fit Kit.

Cooking The Pork Chops

USDA Recommended Internal Temps for cooking pork states that you want to cook pork to an internal temperature of 145ºF for safety. I usually strive for between 145 – 150ºF internal temperatures. So my pork chops were cooked in just over an hour.

So RancherMan & I enjoyed an early supper of the most delicious breaded pork chops I’d ever tasted along with fresh steamed carrots.

And not one lick of additional energy was needed to cook this meal. Gotta love it!

With warmer weather knocking at our door I’ll be using this solar oven more & more. Not only for the energy-free cooking that I love but also to keep that cooking heat & humidity outside where it belongs.

The temps really heat up during the summertime in our area of Northeast Texas. Any heat you can leave outside is a good thing indeed!

~TxH~

Looking For Other Solar-Cooking Recipes?

Meat

• Meatloaf In A Solar Oven
• Boneless Breaded Pork Chops 
• BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Casseroles

• Cheesy Chile-Chicken Casserole
  
• SW Chicken w/Seasoned Brown Rice

Breads & Sweets

• Chunky Apple Cinnamon Bread
• Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Brownies
• Pumpkin Bread
• Baking Bread In A Solar Oven

Other

• Cooking Hard-Boiled Eggs In A Solar Oven
• Homemade Marinara Sauce
• Baking Potatoes In A Solar Oven
• Emergency Preparedness On The Homestead

Tips

• *Meater Bluetooth Meat Probe

You can see our other SOLAR cooking articles here

 

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Favorite Wild Hog Recipes

(Can use store-bought pork instead)

Pork Roast Recipes:

• Slow-Cooker Pork Roast w/Veggies
• Pork Roast w/Red Wine
• Italian-Flavored Pork Roast
• (Easily Shredding Pot Roast in Minutes)

Other Wild Pork Recipes:

• Smoked Ham Sandwich Spread
• Baked Breaded Pork Chops
• Cowboy Chili
• Savory Meatloaf
• Slow-Cooker Enchilada Casserole

Recipes with Leftover Pork Roast:

• Carnitas Tacos
• (MYO Crispy Taco Shells in Minutes)
• Pulled Pork Enchiladas
• Hearty Meaty Stew
• Pulled Pork BBQ
• (Homemade Honey-Sweetened BBQ Sauce)

See All Our Recipes

C’mon by & sit a spell!  Come hang out at our Facebook Page. It’s like sitting in a front porch rocker with a glass of cold iced tea. Lots of good folks sharing!  You can also follow along on Pinterest, on Twitter or on Instagram.

If you’d like to receive an email each time a new blog post goes live it’s EASY to subscribe to our blog! 

Reference:

USDA Recommended Internal Temps For Cooking Pork

 

* A word about our Affiliate Link – We are currently enrolled as an Amazon Affiliate.  Occasionally I will insert an affiliate link into one of my posts if I think it may be of interest to you.  I  receive nothing from the manufacturer, but I love this solar oven & thought you might too. If you click on any of my affiliate links and buy something (almost anything, not just what was linked) I get a small referral percentage from Amazon.  But here’s the really important part – the price you pay for your items is UNCHANGED.

When you buy something through the affiliate link it’s a great way to support this blog without anything coming out of your pocket so please click often!

*Amazon Affiliate Link

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