Pork Chops in Lemon-Caper Sauce
Another tasty refugee from NY Times that sounded really good to me. I enjoy pork roast, pulled pork, pork gyoza, you get the idea… I like pork. But will few exceptions pork chops are fairly mundane in the main dish category. When I saw this recipe, I thought this might be the one.
Ingredients:
6-8 bone-in pork chops (about 8 ounces each)
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
½ tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 Tbs. olive oil
4 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 very small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tsp.)
2 tsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 ½ cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium, if store-bought
2 Tbs. drained capers
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest, plus 2 Tbs. juice
1 tsp Trader Joe’s Chili-Lime spice
Cholula Hot sauce (optional)
Directions:
- Dry the chops with paper towels, and season aggressively with salt, pepper and the thyme.
- Swirl the olive oil into a large skillet, and heat over medium until the oil begins to shimmer. Add chops, and cook until well browned on each side and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chops to a plate, and cover to keep warm.
- Drain the fat from the skillet, then melt 2 Tbs. of butter in it over medium heat until sizzling. Add the shallot and garlic, and sauté until the aromatics soften, reducing the heat if necessary, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the flour, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the wine and chicken stock, raise heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by half, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the capers, parsley, lemon zest and juice and hot sauce to taste (if you’re using it), and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 Tbs. of butter until it’s melted and the sauce looks smooth.
- Nestle the pork chops into the sauce, and allow them to warm up for a couple of minutes, then serve, pouring sauce over each pork chop to taste. Garnish with more fresh parsley