Pork Chops O’Brien

Twelve days postpartum. Mama is in residence in the apartment, sleeping in the small bedroom we’d originally planned to be the baby’s room (Brayden is sleeping in a bassinet next to our bed for the first three months per the OB’s recommendation). The house is full and quiet at the same time — the rhythm of newborn-feeding-and-changing has its own internal clock that subdivides the day differently than any clock I’ve ever lived under.

Brayden is sleeping in roughly three-hour stretches at night, which is normal for a twelve-day-old and which is the kind of normal that feels exhausting in a way I had not been able to fully prepare for in advance. Dustin is on paternity leave from his music-internship work for two more weeks. Mama is doing the cooking, the dishes, the laundry, and most of the apartment-management while Dustin and I focus on Brayden.

Sunday Mama made pork chops O’Brien because the dish was a Mama-classic from before I was born and she’d wanted to make it for Brayden’s second-Sunday-home. The recipe came down from her own mother Carol — she remembers Carol making it on Sundays in the late 1970s when she and Aunt Linda were teenagers. The dish is named after the O’Brien-style preparation of diced potatoes-peppers-onions that’s a midwestern American breakfast-hash standard.

The technique (in Mama’s hands while I watched from the recliner with Brayden): four bone-in pork chops about an inch thick, salted and patted dry, seared in a heavy skillet in butter and oil for three minutes a side until deeply golden. Out to a plate.

The O’Brien base in the same skillet: three small russet potatoes diced into half-inch dice, one yellow onion diced, one red bell pepper diced, one green bell pepper diced. Sweated in the rendered pork fat for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and the vegetables have caramelized at the edges.

The cream sauce: one can of cream of mushroom soup (Mama insists on Campbell’s, which is what Carol used), a half-cup of milk, a half-cup of sour cream, a teaspoon of dried thyme, salt, pepper. Stirred together and added to the skillet. The pork chops nestled back into the sauce on top of the O’Brien base. Lid on, low heat for ten minutes until the pork is heated through and the sauce has come together.

Plated with the O’Brien hash spooned over rice or just as the side itself. Mama brought me a plate at six PM while Dustin held Brayden in the recliner. I ate slowly. The dish reads as the kind of midwestern Sunday cooking that doesn’t care about trends and has been right for fifty years.

O’Brien diced potato-pepper-onion in the rendered pork fat. Cream-of-mushroom sauce. Lid on for ten. Here’s the build.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in pork chops, about 3/4 inch thick
3 cups russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Par-cook the potatoes. Place diced potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook for 5–6 minutes until just barely tender but not falling apart. Drain and set aside.
Season the pork chops. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Season both sides generously with salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika.
Sear the pork chops. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil. Once the butter foams, add the pork chops and sear for 4–5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through to an internal temperature of 145°F. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
Build the O’Brien base. Reduce heat to medium. In the same skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and bell peppers and cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to caramelize.
Add the potatoes and garlic. Add the drained potatoes to the skillet along with the minced garlic, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir to combine and press the mixture into an even layer. Cook undisturbed for 3–4 minutes to develop a golden crust on the bottom, then stir and repeat once more.
Return the chops and finish. Nestle the seared pork chops back into the skillet on top of the potato mixture. Cook for 2–3 minutes to warm everything through together and let the flavors meld.
Garnish and serve. Remove from heat, scatter fresh parsley over the top, and serve straight from the cast iron.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pork Chops O’Brien