Looking for a delicious, comforting meal? Serve these Smothered Pork Chops for dinner tonight, and watch your family delight in the taste. They’ll love the hearty, home-cooked flavor of this dish. It’s perfect for those cold winter nights when you only want something warm and cozy to eat. I often serve this dish with mashed potatoes, but they are also delicious served with rice pilaf or roasted Brussels sprouts.
Step By Step Instructions
Put the water, baking soda, salt, peppercorns, and brown sugar in a big bowl and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the pork chops to cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 to 8 hours. Pork Chops: Be sure to use pork chops that are at least 1½ inches/4cm thick. Otherwise, they will dry out during cooking. Onions: I like to use yellow onions in this recipe, but you can use any type you prefer. Chicken Stock: You can substitute the chicken stock for pork, beef, or vegetable stock if you prefer. Cheese: I like to use provolone cheese for this dish, but Gruyere or Swiss would also be delicious. Mushrooms: I like to use brown mushrooms such as cremini, baby Bella, or chestnut mushrooms, but white button mushrooms would also work. Garlic: Use fresh garlic for the best flavor. If you need to substitute, you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Vinegar: The vinegar is optional, but it helps brighten the gravy flavors and create a more complex dish. I like to use white vinegar, but you could also use cider or red wine vinegar. Remove the pork chops from the brine about a half hour before cooking. They may seem a little slippery. This is from the baking soda in the brine, and it’s completely normal. Pat them dry with paper towels. If the chops have a layer of fat, score the fat with a sharp knife making cuts that are about 2 inches apart. Add the oil to an oven-safe pan. Preheat the pan over high heat until the oil begins to shimmer and smoke slightly. Once the oil is hot, cook the chops without moving them for two to three minutes (you want them to be golden brown). For more detailed instructions, see my recipe for seared pork chops. If the fat is thick, pick up the pork chop with some tongs, hold it upright with the fatty layer on the pan, and cook until it browns. Remove from the heat and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C Put the butter to the same pan and melt over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions, and cook until golden brown, stirring regularly. Add the mushrooms to the pan with the onions. Saute the mushrooms until they are nicely browned and their moisture has evaporated. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper and coat the mixture in the flour. Slowly mix in the chicken stock. Cook for about three minutes to thicken the sauce slightly. Taste for seasoning and season with salt as needed. Stir in the parsley and vinegar and return the pork chops with the juices to the pan. Add the cheese to the top of each pork chop, and bake until the cheese is melted and the pork chops have an internal temperature of 140°F/60°C. Let rest and serve once the internal temperature reaches 145°F/63°C. Alternatively, the sauce can be made ahead of time and reheated when you’re ready to cook the pork chops. The pork chops can also be brined and seared before you’re ready to bake them. To Freeze: Store your Smothered Pork Chops in a freezer-safe container and then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the sauce in the refrigerator overnight and then heat it in a pan on the stove over low heat until warmed. Erren’s Kitchen is written and produced for informational intentions only. We are not certified nutritionists, and the nutritional information found on this site has not been assessed or authorized by a nutritionist or the FDA. The nutritional information found in our recipes is offered as an estimate and should not be considered a guarantee or fact. The estimated data is provided as a courtesy and calculated through a third-party online nutritional calculator, spoonacular API. Although we do our best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered rough estimates. Many factors, such as brands or products purchased and the nutritional fluctuations that naturally occur in fresh produce, can alter the effectiveness of the nutritional information in any recipe. Furthermore, various online calculators provide different results depending on their particular algorithms and nutrition fact sources. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
