Pork Chops With Peppercorn Sauce Ala Pam

I like pork chops and I like peppercorn sauce so when I saw this recipe from Pam on her For The Love Of Cooking blog, I knew it had to be made.  I considered grilling the chops but then Bev said her favorite chops have always been “like Mama made” – floured and pan fried - so I stuck with Pam’s version.  Her recipe is for two chops but I had ten, so I amended the amounts to get the ingredients below plus I didn’t use the oven to cook them.  You can click on the above link for the original recipe and Pam’s great presentation pics.

Pork Chops With Peppercorn Sauce - Adapted from For The Love Of Cooking

Ingredients:

Brine:

2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup kosher coarse sea salt

4 tbsp brown sugar

6 cups ice water

Pork Chops:

8 1 inch thick bone-in pork chops

Peppercorn Sauce:

3 tbsp butter (if needed)

¾ cup sweet onion, finely diced

6 tsp mixed peppercorns, crushed

3 clove of garlic, minced

¾ cup dry white wine

3 cup + 6 tbsp chicken broth, divided

1½ tsp Dijon mustard

4 fresh thyme sprigs (I used 1 tsp dried)

¾ cup heavy cream

6 tbsp corn starch

Side Note: Mix very well with the remaining 2 tablespoons of chicken broth until no lumps remain before adding to the simmering sauce

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

 Instructions:

Brine:

Make the brine by combining the hot water with the salt and brown sugar; mix until completely dissolved. Add the cold water and place it into the refrigerator until it is cold. Add the pork chops to the COLD brine; cover and refrigerate for 6 hours.

Pork Chops:

1. Remove the chops from the brine and give them a brief rinse in cold water. Pat dry with paper towels until very dry.

2. Heat the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

3. Season both sides well with freshly cracked black pepper.

4. Dredge both sides of four seasoned pork chops in the flour then place into the HOT skillet.

5. Cook until side one is golden brown then flip and cook to an internal temp of 138F.  Remove from pan and keep warm in a 140F toaster oven while cooking the remaining chops.

Peppercorn Sauce:

6. When chops are all cooked, heat the same skillet over medium-high heat; add a bit more butter if needed.

7. Add the shallots & peppercorns then cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.

8. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.

9.Add the wine and cook, stirring often, until mostly evaporated, about 2 minutes.

10. Add 3 cups of chicken broth, the dijon, and the thyme and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

11. Add the cream and mix well.

12. To thicken gravy, combine the reserved chicken broth with the corn starch; mix until thoroughly combined then add to the simmering sauce and stir well.

13. Taste and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, if needed.

14. Return the chops & their juices back in the sauce and flip to coat them. Plate and top with more sauce.

We served it with boiled potatoes, for plate mashed, and salad.  I had some remoulade sauce in the fridge and since it is similar to 1000 Island Dressing, three of us used it on our salad.

The Verdict:

The pork and the gravy was a mega-hit and got rave reviews from both our guests and us.  As cooked, the pork was moist & tender and the peppercorn gravy was totally delicious.  And the remoulade made an excellent salad dressing but it doesn't take much as it is pretty potent (I used too much).  Thanks Pam for a super good meal.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/17/21 event date