By Danielle's end-of-year school exhaustion, comfort cooking, smoked chicken. The summer heat is building the way a roux builds: slowly at first, then all at once, and when it hits, the only response is to keep stirring. Stirring the roux. Stirring the life. Stirring the pot of a family that is four at the table now (sometimes five when Luc comes home, sometimes three when Colette is at a friend\'s), and the stirring adjusts, and the adjustment is the skill, and the skill is: show up with the spoon regardless of how many bowls need filling.
The food this week was good. The company was better. The week was a week — not a milestone, not a crisis, just seven days of waking up and cooking and working and sleeping (six hours most nights now, bless Dr. Tran and the therapy that turned the water off) and being alive in Louisiana in the part of the year where the mosquitoes are back and the AC is straining and the only thing keeping the heat at bay is the cold beer and the knowledge that crawfish season is winding down and deer season is five months away and the calendar is a circle and the circle is the roux and the roux is everything.
The roux metaphor felt real this week — slow, then all at once — and by Friday I wasn’t looking for anything ambitious out of the kitchen. I wanted something that cooked fast, fed everybody at the table (however many showed up), and didn’t ask much of me. These Busy-Day Pork Chops are exactly what that kind of week calls for: a hot skillet, a little seasoning, and the quiet satisfaction of a plate that just gets the job done.
Busy-Day Pork Chops
Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Season the chops. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Mix garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then rub evenly over both sides of each chop.
- Heat the skillet. Heat vegetable oil in a large cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes.
- Sear the chops. Add pork chops in a single layer. Sear without moving for 4—5 minutes per side until a deep golden crust forms and the internal temperature reaches 145°F. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
- Build the pan sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Simmer for 2—3 minutes until slightly reduced, then swirl in butter until melted and glossy.
- Finish and serve. Return chops to the skillet and spoon sauce over the top. Serve immediately with whatever’s easiest — rice, butter beans, or a piece of bread to soak up the pan drippings.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 480mg