Sauteed Garlic and Lemon Chops

My husband is a died and true Meat and Potatoes man.   He’s not bothered with having anything fancy.  Simply prepared, meat and potatoes . . .  he’s a happy camper.  It comes from having been brought up during WW2, during rationing, etc.  He’s happy with most things you put in front of him, but simple food pleases him most of all.

Nothing pleases him more than a pork chop.  He does love his pork chops.   I am not so fussed.  I can take or leave meat pretty much in general (except for a good steak!)  Todd . . .  he adores a well cooked chop!

He especially enjoys these chops . . .  which are just a bit fancier than plain fried chops . . .  but still nothing too far out of the ordinary.  Simple ingredients . . .  mushrooms, onions, lemon  . . . garlic.  It’s all in how you put them together really.  

I clip the fatty edge of nicely seasoned chops which helps to keep them flat in the pan so that they brown evenly all over  . . .  and a simple coating of flour and lemon zest gives them additional flavour.

They don’t take all that long to cook.  When I was a child my mother used to cook our pork chops to death.  You could have shingled a roof with them, they were that stiff and hard.   Of course the fear of trichinosis was quite real back then.  It’s not so bad today.  Our meat is really well checked and controlled.   You still want to cook them through, but don’t dry them out!

A simple sauce of chicken stock and lemon juice, with fried mushrooms, onions and garlic is their crowning glory.   They look a bit fancy, but they are really quite simple.  I served these with some chips and veg the other day, but rice or mash would go just as well!  Enjoy!

Place the flour onto a large plate.  Zest the lemon over top of the flour. Mix together.   Set the remainder of the lemon aside.  Slash the fatty edge of the chops at 1/3 inch intervals, and give them a slight bashing with a rolling pin.  (I put them in a plastic bag for this.)

Season the chops all over with salt and pepper.  Dredge the chops well in the lemon zest and flour mixture, patting to help the flour adhere a bit and allowing any excess to fall off.  Heat 1/2 of the oil and the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chops.  Brown them well on one side, about 3 minutes, then flip them over and brown them on the other side, an additional 3 minutes.   Remove to a plate and keep warm.  

Add the remaining oil and butter.   Tip in the mushrooms.  Cook without disturbing for several minutes, until they begin to brown.   Cook, stirring occasionally for about three minutes.then add onions and grlic.  Cook to soften onion.   Add the chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pan.   Bring to the boil to reduce the broth by half.  Return the chops to the pan. Cut the lemon in half.   Squeeze half of the juice into the pan.  Cut the other half into thin slices.  Toss them into the pan.  Cook gently for several minutes until the chops are cooked through and the flavours are well melded.  Taste and adjust seasoning as required.   Discard the bashed garlic cloves. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

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