Smothered Pork Chops

An American classic, Smothered Pork Chops are a quick and easy way to get a delicious comfort food meal on the table any night of the week.

This is a dish of my childhood. Though, as I recall it included a cream-of soup and, as was the fashion of the time, the pork was cooked well beyond well-done. ;)

Although my recipe has eliminated the cream-of soup in favor of a buttermilk gravy, it’s still just as comforting and delicious as I remember from my youth. And have I mentioned how easy it is?

Ingredients For Smothered Pork Chops

Pork Chops – bone-in, center cut chops are the chop of choice for this recipe. Boneless could be substituted, but as I’ve mentioned in my Stuffed Pork Chop recipe, the bone infuses the chops with a flavor that you don’t get from the bone-less version. Because these will go through two cooking methods, I choose chops that are at least 1-inch thick. That way I don’t end up with the over-cooked pork chops of my youth. Sorry, mom!

Seasoning – you know me, unless I’m cooking cultural cuisines, I keep the seasonings simple to allow the flavor of the meat to shine. In this case, it’s a simple mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I do have you combine them in a small bowl before seasoning the meat, simply because I think it’s easier to evenly season the meat when they are all combined.

Fats – for this recipe, I use vegetable oil to sear the pork chops. I like that it doesn’t add another flavor component to the dish and most vegetable oils work well with the higher heats required to sear the meat.

Once the chops have been seared, butter is used to create the gravy. Salted or un-salted work equally as well. The butter adds a nice creamy flavor to the dish.

Chicken Broth – I use a low-sodium chicken broth in all of my recipes because it lets me decide how much salt I want to add to the recipe. Along with the buttermilk, the chicken broth creates a savory gravy that works deliciously with the pork chops.

Buttermilk – regular milk could be used for the gravy, but I like the tangy flavor that buttermilk adds to this dish. I think it compliments the pork in a way that regular milk doesn’t.

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, here is a quick substitute that uses things that are generally on hand in most pantries.

How to Cook Smothered Pork Chops

Overall, cooking this recipe is pretty straight forward. There are a couple of tips that I do want to point out.

The first is that when searing the chops, make sure that your pan is very hot. The best visual clue that I can give you is that the oil will start to get shimmery. The second tip is once the chops have been placed in the skillet, don’t move them. I know it’s difficult, but once they have a good sear on them, they will release from the pan easily. It takes anywhere from 4 – 5 minutes, but can vary depending upon your cooktop.

Another important tip is to continuously stir or whisk the flour after you have added it to the melted butter. It can go from a beautiful, blond color to burnt very quickly.

And my last tip is to test the internal temp of your chops after they have been simmering in the gravy for about 5 minutes so you don’t end up with shoe leather pork chops. The best way to do this is with an instant read thermometer.

My preference is a medium-rare which is 145˚F. If you have a different doneness preference, here is a quick reference for temperatures.

I guess I have one more tip, enjoy this recipe with some Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes.

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