Pork Chops in a Mustard Cream Sauce

Three weeks ago I went to the butcher and saw center cut pork chops on sale ($3.99/lb, so good), so naturally I snatched up two for a date night dinner with my girlfriend. Sadly, we both had the same not so fond memories of how our moms cooked the chops when we were kids. My mom always breaded them and baked the heck out of them in the oven, not delicious.

After doing some searching on the internet for a good recipe, looking for good mustard sauce or crust for the chops that wouldn't require an oven, we found this recipe on the Food and Wine website. It only required a little tweaking (they finish the chops in the oven), and we were able to make it just on the stove. The results were amazing! We've never had pork chops that tasted so much like... well... pork. I don't think you have either. The sauce is actually a classic French sauce, I'm just not sure which one it is. Any idea?

First, it all starts with our pork chops. They're really the star of this show.

 

Season them liberally with salf and pepper on both sides and make sure to rub it in a little bit.

 

Heat up a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet, until it's shimmering, but not smoking. You can tell if it's ready by spritzing water on it. If the water spatters and evaporates, then the oil is ready. When that happens, it's time to put the chops in.

 

Make sure that the oil is really THAT hot, we want to make nice sear on the pork. You should cook the chops for about six minutes on each side, or until nice and golden brown. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

While that is cooking on the first side, gather the ingredients for the sauce.

You'll need to dice half of a shallot. I didn't have any and the ones in the vegetable market looked bad, so I used a quarter of a small onion. (The sauce was a little too sharp, I really do recommend the shallots)

 

You'll also need to gather the following ingredients.

 

Chicken stock, red wine vinegar, heavy cream (YUM) and dijon mustard. I may have forgotten something, we'll see in a bit.

By now, your first six minutes is up, so you need to flip over the pork chops.

 

Look at that nice sear, it's going to taste delicious. Also, some of the fat on the outside of the chop has melted in to the oil, it will make for really good sauce!

After six minutes on the second side, take the chops out of the pan and let them rest. I tent some aluminum foil over a plate for this, just to keep them warm.

At this point, I turn off the heat in the pan, because it's REALLY hot still. Then, toss in your diced shallot (or in my case, onion).

 

Let it cook for about 3 minutes, until the onions get tender. I overcooked mine a little and they started the caramelize. It was still okay, until they started burning.

 

This is the point where I turn the flame back on to medium, and add in the red wine vinegar. Really stir it around vigorously in the pan with a wooden spoon. You want to scrape all of the brown bits up off the bottom.

 

See, onions starting to burn... bad time. It will take the vinegar less than a minute to evaporate, so have your next ingredient ready, chicken stock. Add it to the pan and let it reduce by half. It should take about three minutes.

Ouch, more burning onions and blurry picture. Double bad. So, when that's done, add the cream, making sure that the flame is low. You don't want it to boil, you just want to warm it through.

 

When the cream has reduced just a little bit, add in the dijon mustard and stir. That's really what the above picture is. That should be the consistency of your final sauce. It looks so good.

You can add some salt and pepper to taste, but if you seasoned the chops well enough, you won't need it.

Serve up the pork chops smothered in the delectable sauce. You probably want something starchy to sop it all up. Not a drop should be wasted, it's liquid crack.

 

 

Really, it's so good, there's almost a heavenly glow around it. I promise, it's not just my bad camera skills. HEAVENLY GLOW. It's that wonderful.

Here's a recipe so that you can experience it all on your own.

Pork Chops with Mustard Cream Sauce (adapted from Food and Wine Magazine)

2 center cut pork chops, about an inch thick

salt and pepper

1-1/2 tsbp olive oil

1/2 shallot, finely chopped (or 1/4 small onion, diced)

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup heavy cream

~1 tbsp dijon mustard

1. Season pork chops liberally with salt and pepper while heating oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

2. When oil is shimmering, but not smoking, add in pork chops, cook for six minutes on each side, then remove and let rest.

3. Turn off the heat and add the shallot, sauteing it using just the residual heat in the pan.

4. Turn flame back on to medium or medium low and deglaze the pan using the red wine vinegar. Allow to evaporate completely, which will take about 30 seconds.

5. Add in chicken stock, stirring with a wooden spoon to make sure that you are mixing in all of the bits from the bottom of the pan. Let reduce by half, which will take about 2 or 3 minutes.

6. Turn head to medium low and add the cream. Let reduce slightly, about 2 minutes, then add in dijon mustard an stir.

7. Return chops to the pan and just turn them over to coat in sauce. Add parsley for garnish if you want. Serve with some starch to absorb sauce, but don't think you're too good for licking your fingers.

Enjoy!