Southern Smothered Pork Chops

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups all purpose flour

1 ½ Tablespoons onion powder

1 ½ Tablespoons garlic powder

1 Teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 Teaspoon kosher salt

½ Teaspoon black pepper

5 ¾ inch thick Pork chops, bone in

2 Cups buttermilk

½ Large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped (optional)

2 14oz Cans chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ Cup of oil, use your favorite oil

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, more if needed

3 Tablespoons bacon fat (Optional)

Directions

I usually brine my pork chops for 3-24 hours prior to cooking. Brining makes meat moister, directions follow.

In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, onion/garlic powders, cayenne, black pepper, and salt and mix well. In a separate bowl coat pork chops with 1 ½ cups of buttermilk and allow to sit for 15- 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a large saute or cast iron pan over medium heat. Remove the pork chops from the buttermilk and dredge in the flour mixture, shake off extra flour and place in the heated pan. Fry the chops until golden brown, approximately for 3-5 minutes, remove from pan and set aside.

Drain off the oil into a heat proof container, leaving the brown bits that formed in the bottom of the pan. With the pan back on medium heat, add the butter and bacon fat (if not using bacon fat substitute additional butter), once melted add and saute onions and garlic until translucent. You may need to add additional butter.

Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of the seasoned flour over the onions and mix until flour is “dissolved”, and add chicken broth and remaining buttermilk. Reduce heat and and allow the sauce to thicken slightly before returning pork chops to the pan and coating them with sauce, add chives. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed. Cover the pan and allow to simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until pork chops are cooked thoroughly. Serve with smashed potatoes or rice. Enjoy!!


Basic Brine:

¼ Cup Kosher salt
¼ Cup granulated sugar
1 Quart water + 1 additional cup
1 Pound meat
1 Tray ice

Above is the basic ratio of ingredients. Allow meat to sit in brine for a minimum of 30 minutes per pound of meat. This brine will work for any meat (no fish).

Heat the cup of water over medium heat, add salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Take pot off of heat and allow to cool. In a large container, or zip top bag add the salted water, remaining water and ice cubes. Water must be cool as not to start to cook the meat. Add meat and place in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking. Remove meat from the brine and rinse with cold water. Pat dry and now your meat is ready to be cooked.