These, served with mashed potatoes and gravy, constitutes one of my husband's all time favorite meals. Pork chops are super easy, generally inexpensive, and best of all- naturally allergy friendly.
Pork Chops
Ingredients:
Pork chops
Oil
Rosemary leaves
Salt
Pepper
Beef or Chicken broth (I use Wolfgang Puck stock found at Fred Meyers)
Use a heavy pan - cast iron, anodized aluminum, or a good stainless steel pan is best. Non-stick pans will suffice, but they won't give you as good of a crusty caramelized exterior. Heat the pan on the stovetop on medium high. Season the chops with salt and pepper.
Add the oil. Don't add oil to a cold pan. Add the thawed chops gently. Leave the chops alone for 3 to 5 minutes. Right before you flip the chops, take some rosemary leaves and rub them between your palms over the pan. this will bruise the spices and make the oils come out. The goal is to rub them and allow them to fall onto the meat and oil.
Once the edges of the chops start to come up slightly from the pan, it's time to flip the chops. DO NOT use a fork, only use tongs or a metal spatula. If you try to flip too early, the pork could be stuck to the pan and tear, making the pan very hard to clean and ruining the caramelization.
Cook the chops on the new side until the edges come up from the pan, like before. Add some more rosemary and flip them. When they are done, take them out of the pan and set aside on a warm plate.
Add some water, wine, or broth to the pan and scrape up the browned bits on the pan. This will deglaze the pan. The liquid will boil shortly and begin to evaporate off, making gravy.
