Southern Smothered Pork Chops (62 of 150)

I try to get more pork and more fish into my meals, but I find it so hard to cook pork. I always ... ALWAYS over cook chops. 

Tonight I made these chops and I had two bone-in chops that were cut to at least 1 1/2 in thick. I thought, "Surely I can't over cook these." Hah. I did. But, I know why, so at least there's that. 

Because they were so thick I just couldn't imagine them cooking in the pan like they suggest below. So instead, I skipped the dusting of flour, but seared them in a pan, then popped them in a 350F oven while I cooked the sauce. 

I had a timer on and I was sure I wasn't going to over cook them. Alas, I did. I got distracted by cleaning the kitchen after I made the sauce that I ended up leaving them in after the timer went off. Gah! 

Aside from them being overcooked, they were still tasty. The sauce is a salty, savory, luscious, slightly creamy gravy that coats the chops perfectly. 

Southern Smothered Pork Chops

Recipe from 12Tomatoes

Serves 4

• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 3-4 thick-cut bone-in pork chops (1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
• 3/4 c all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 T  extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 T unsalted butter
• 2 c chicken broth
• 1/3  heavy cream

In a small bowl, stir together the salt, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Season pork chops liberally with spice mixture on both sides.

Take 1/2 cup of the flour and spread out on a large plate or shallow dish. Dredge each pork chop in flour on both sides and shake off excess.

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil. Once hot, brown pork chops until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add onion to skillet and cook until soft and starting to caramelize, 10-15 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.

Push onion and garlic to one side of the pan and add butter to empty side. Once melted, mix remaining flour into butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until golden, 1-2 minutes.

Gradually add chicken broth to flour mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, stir together with the onions and garlic, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until thick, about 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and whisk in heavy cream. If sauce is too thick, you can thin with addition cream or chicken broth. Nestle pork chops in sauce, cover, and cook until a meat thermometer registers at least 145°F in the thickest part of the pork chop. This should take between 15 and 25 minutes depending on the size of your chops.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!