Serves: 4
Ingredients
- Coconut oil (for greasing)
- 4 bone-in pork rib chops (approx. 8 oz / 227g each), 0.5 to 0.75-inch thick, trimmed
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- 1 slice bacon, cut into 0.25-inch pieces
- 2 large onions, halved and sliced thin
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp (5 ml) minced fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) tapioca or arrowroot flour
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) water
- 1.75 cups (14 fl oz / 414 ml) Beef Broth or Stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 0.25 tsp (1.3 ml) sea salt
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and season them with pepper. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with coconut oil.
- In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook the bacon pieces over medium heat until crisp, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the skillet.
- Increase the heat for the bacon fat to high. Once it is just smoking, add the pork chops and brown them well on both sides, about 2 minutes total. Transfer the browned chops to the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chop (avoiding bone) registers 145°F (63°C).
- While the pork is in the oven, reduce the skillet heat to medium. Add the sliced onions and 0.25 tsp (1.3 ml) sea salt to the fat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the pan, until the onions are soft.
- Stir in the minced garlic and minced thyme, cooking for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Whisk in the 1.75 cups (420 ml) of beef broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the 2 bay leaves and the reserved cooked bacon to the broth. Carefully return the pork chops (and any juices from the baking sheet) to the skillet. Spoon onions and sauce over the chops.
- Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer gently for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pork is very tender.
- In a small bowl, whisk the 2 tbsp (30 ml) of tapioca flour with the 2 tbsp (30 ml) of water to create a slurry.
- Transfer the cooked pork chops to a serving platter and tent them loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Whisk the tapioca slurry into the sauce remaining in the skillet. Continue to simmer, stirring, until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove and discard the 2 bay leaves. Taste the sauce and season with additional sea salt and pepper as needed. Spoon the thickened onion sauce over the pork chops and serve.
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Smothered pork chops are Southern comfort done right — browned bone-in chops braised under a blanket of slow-cooked onions and rich beef gravy. Crisp bacon and bay leaves round it out. Half an hour of gentle simmering turns everything meltingly tender.
Pro Tips
- Render the bacon first and brown the chops in its fat over high heat — just 2 minutes total, so the crust sets before the braise.
- Give the sliced onions a full 5-7 minutes in the same pan, scraping up every browned bit. The fond and the onions together are the gravy.
- Finish the chops in a 425°F oven for 5-7 minutes to 145°F before they meet the sauce — the oven sets the crust that braising would soften.
- Return the chops to the skillet with their juices and spoon the onions over them; the covered 30-35 minute simmer on low is what makes them 'smothered.'
- Whisk the tapioca flour and water into a smooth slurry and thicken the sauce at the end, then pour it over the rested chops.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes pork chops 'smothered'?
It's the technique: brown the chops, then braise them under a blanket of onion gravy until they turn meltingly tender. The sauce and onions smother the meat as it cooks.
Why bone-in rib chops?
The bone keeps the chops juicy through the long simmer and flavors the gravy. Boneless chops work but need a shorter braise to stay tender.
Can I make this ahead?
Yes — the chops get even more tender as the sauce sits. Reheat gently on the stove and thicken the sauce with a fresh slurry just before serving.
Why thicken the sauce at the end?
The tapioca slurry goes in after the chops are out, so it thickens the braising liquid into a proper gravy without making the meat gummy.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels and season them with pepper.
- Grease a rimmed baking sheet with coconut oil.
- In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook the bacon pieces over medium heat until crisp, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the skillet.
- Increase the heat for the bacon fat to high.
- Once it is just smoking, add the pork chops and brown them well on both sides, about 2 minutes total.
- Transfer the browned chops to the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chop (avoiding bone) registers 145°F (63°C).
- While the pork is in the oven, reduce the skillet heat to medium.
- Add the sliced onions and 0.25 tsp sea salt to the fat.
- Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the pan, until the onions are soft.
- Stir in the minced garlic and minced thyme, cooking for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Whisk in the 1.75 cups of beef broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the 2 bay leaves and the reserved cooked bacon to the broth. Carefully return the pork chops (and any juices from the baking sheet) to the skillet. Spoon onions and sauce over the chops.
- Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer gently for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pork is very tender.
- In a small bowl, whisk the 2 tbsp of tapioca flour with the 2 tbsp of water to create a slurry.
- Transfer the cooked pork chops to a serving platter and tent them loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
- Whisk the tapioca slurry into the sauce remaining in the skillet.
- Continue to simmer, stirring, until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove and discard the 2 bay leaves.
- Taste the sauce and season with additional sea salt and pepper as needed. Spoon the thickened onion sauce over the pork chops and serve.
