Рецепт Smothered Pork Chops
There's a first time for everything, and this Southern dish is very new to a California Native.
It's not often that I make gravies-- except for one of my husband's favorite recipes, "Chicken Fried Steak", or Rib-Eye Steak with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce. Most times, I make quick pan sauces, with some kind of booze and either chicken or beef stock. Good times.
Every so often, I get a "hankering" for a pork chop, bone-in. $6.00 a chop might seem pricey to most people, and I understand that (and I'm thankful that Craig and I both have jobs to indulge a bit). We enjoy eating meats once or twice a week, but I've made a decision that I'm going to buy the best quality that I can. I don't want hormone-laden meat, that's been subjected to all kinds of shots and cheap feed. If it means that I shop for meat less often-- so be it! I am thankful to have a Whole Foods in my own backyard, so I stop here once a week, and buy whatever seafood, fish, poultry or red meat looks good.
Nice chops! I bought them, without any idea what I would make with them. (The reason I prefer bone-in, (just like I do with poultry) is that the meat cooks up moister. I read, somewhere, that the bone helps to distribute the heat more evenly. Sounds logical to me.) Somewhere, in that recipe data base in my head, I remembered seeing a recipe for Smothered Pork Chops from Food Network Magazine. I had all the ingredients I needed on hand, so on a week night, I got busy in the kitchen:
I've been making my own spice mixes for a while, now. I save empty spice jars, mix up a batch of Italian, Mexican and Cajun seasoning and it saves money.
I patted the chops dry, then seasoned them with salt and Cajun seasoning, then dredged them in flour and tapped off the excess. I reserved the rest of the flour for making gravy.
My most preferred way to prepare meat and poultry is to sear it on one side, for a few minutes, then pop the entire skillet into a 425F oven. I then roasted the chops for about 15 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer read 145F. I removed the chops to a plate, loosely covered them with foil and got busy with making the gravy.
While the chops were pan roasting, I cut some garden fresh thyme (in full bloom) and sliced one large onion, a large clove of garlic.
To the skillet, I melted one tablespoon of unsalted butter, the onion, some salt and the thyme and cooked them until almost golden brown...
...then I added the garlic (I watch the garlic closely, so I don't burn it). Once the onions were cooked to golden brown (about 8-10 minutes), I added a couple tablespoons of the reserved flour and cooked it for about one minute.
About 1-1/2 cups chicken broth is added, and about a generous tablespoon of Dijon Mustard (for extra flavor)
Now, for the buttermilk-- about 2/3 cup. Bubble, bubble...bring to a boil and reduce by about one-third.
This is, for sure, a man-pleasing meal. It's a wife-pleasing meal, in that it was pretty effortless to make.
Mashed potatoes would be a perfect side dish...
This time, I baked a couple of Yams, with a pat of butter and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.
TASTING NOTES: How can anyone fault an onion gravy? Creamy, with a nice tang from the buttermilk. I'm glad that I added a little Dijon to the recipe, for a little extra depth of flavor. The thyme was perfect. The pork was juicy, and we had leftover gravy since I only cooked two chops, instead of four. Yes, I'd make this again-- and it's easy enough to make after a long day at the office.