Smothered Pork Chops

I was watching Paula Deen throw down with Bobby Flay over chicken fried steak the other day on Food Network. Paula threw Bobby for a loop when she decided to smother her steaks in a brown pan gravy. Personally, I didn't agree with the smothering of a perfectly fried chicken fried steak, I mean whats the point of smothering it and loosing all that crispy goodness?? Other than the fact that its delicious, of course.

Pork was on tonights menu and I recalled the recipe that Paula made. I still don't agree that you should smother and simmer a chicken fried steak in gravy (poor crispiness, gone all soft and soggy) but I did like the idea of a smothered piece of meat in an onion pan gravy. I dredge the chops in flour and lightly brown one side before adding the stock, which develops flavor and, since I'm not going for a crispy crusty exterior, smothering is completely acceptable here.

I'm happy to say that this was GOOD. I mean really good!! Like make this again for dinner tomorrow type of good. Even the little Witch ate an entire pork chop herself and declared "this dinner is yummy Mommy!" The best compliment of all :) And, if great flavor wasn't enough, its done in about 30 minutes.

Smothered Pork Chops
makes 2 servings
2 boneless pork loin chops
1/2 small onion sliced
1/4 c mushrooms sliced
1/2 t poultry seasoning
S&P
1/4 C AP flour
drizzle oil
1 to 1.5 cups chicken or pork stock (I used ham stock as that's what I had on hand)

bacon bits, if you happen to have them left over in your fridge. If not that's ok too

Sprinkle pork chops with kosher salt, pepper and poultry seasoning, a few sprinkles (1/8 t) on each side. Dredge pork chops in the flour, patting flour into the meat.

Heat a heavy bottom pan (I used cast iron) over medium heat, drizzle bottom with oil. Add onions to hot pan and stir well to distribute oil evenly. Add pork chops, cooking on 1st side about 4 minutes before flipping, once golden browned.

Add stock and cover, cooking about 15 minutes longer. Once sauce has started to reduced add bacon bits if you have them and allow to simmer 5 more minutes, spooning sauce over top of chops as it cooks. The sauce will continue to reduce and thicken to a nice gravy.

Top each chop with onions, mushrooms and gravy. Delicious over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
2 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 255.0
Total Fat 11.3 g
Saturated Fat 3.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.0 g
Cholesterol 62.9 mg
Sodium 765.6 mg
Potassium 531.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13.0 g
Dietary Fiber 1.0 g
Sugars 0.5 g
Protein 23.7 g