Pan Fried Pork Chops with Savory Tomato Gravy

Just reading this recipe's title may give you pause, but I can assure you it is wonderful. It is also novice cook simple, requires nothing you probably don't regularly have in your kitchen. I grew up on this recipe and so I imagine that it was originally in Woman's Day or on the back of a soup can. My grandmother, Southern Cook Extraordinaire, probably “doctored” it up, then my mom worked her magic on it and then when it came down to me, I added my own spin. It has always been one of my eldest son's favorite meals and I recently went over to his house so I could show him and my daughter-in-law how to make it. Since it is fresh in my head, I am gonna share it here. And FYI, this recipe does not belong in my Healthy Eating Hall of Fame. It is comfort food, plain and simple...literally.

Ingredients:

Pork Chops with Savory Gravy

4-6 Pork chops, (bone in and fat still on....using lean pork loin will result in an inferior version. This is a good thing, however because those chops are generally considerably less expensive.)

1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup

1 large bell pepper, sliced into thin rings

1 medium sweet onion, also sliced into thin rings

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (you can use more, less or none at all....but fair warning....don't over do it..garlic is a nice addition to the dish but you don't want it to overwhelm the flavor of the peppers, which it will do if you use too much)

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Put a drizzle of oil, a sprinkle of salt and a quick grind of black pepper in the bottom of a large pan frying pan. Brown the chops, letting them get a little crispy brown around the edges but don't let them burn. It takes about 10-12 minutes, turning once or twice and cooking over medium heat to achieve this. Salt and pepper them a little more, as they cook. 

Once the chops are browned, remove them from the pan and add the onions and the garlic (there should be some drippings in the pan from the chops) and saute until the onion start to become limp. Deglaze the pan with a couple of tablespoons of water, stirring well.  Add the green peppers and cook for just a couple more minutes.  Add tomato soup and half a can of water. Stir until the peppers and onions are coated. If it seems a little too thick, you can add a little more water but you don't want it to get “runny”...remember that thick is good here. Lay the chops on top of the pepper/onion/tomato soup and lower the heat. Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes, turning the chops over at least once. You want them to sink down into the liquid so that they are mostly covered in the sauce, but do that after they have cooked a while, not at the beginning.

While the chops are simmering, you can prepare the special mashed potatoes that makes this dish unique.

To serve: 

Place the chops and the gravy in the same serving vessel. Use the gravy like you would any other.

Miracle Mashed Potatoes*

Ingredients:

5-6 large potatoes, peeled, cubed and cooked (this is not a good recipe to leave the skins on)

½ stick of butter or margarine (that is about ¼ cup if you don't have sticks)

Milk

Salt and pepper

Miracle Whip Salad Dressing*

Cook the potatoes in a salted water, until they are soft enough to mash. Drain off any excess water and add the butter and just a splash of milk before you start to mash them. You can add more milk if they seem too dry but do not add more butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Once you have the potatoes mashed to the consistency you want, add 1/2 cup of Miracle Whip and stir well to incorporate into the potatoes. Keep warm until ready to serve. *You can use regular mayo if you don't have Miracle Whip. 

(By the way, if you don't make mashed potatoes often, here are a couple of tips. If you do not have a potato masher, you can use a big fork. I like to use my potato masher so that the potatoes are slightly lumpy but my mom always used the electric hand mixer. Makes no real difference how you do it, long as you mash them. Add milk, butter, etc. a little at a time and while the potatoes are hot. It will make a big difference. Lumpy mashed potatoes are not a crime but runny mashed potatoes kind of are.)

You can serve this with a couple of other veggies but keep it light, to balance the dishes. This is the basis of a pretty substantial meal and you don't want to over do it. We served it with green beans and homemade biscuits and that was it.    

My Most Excellent Preparation of Pork

Dave and I loved Mexican food. It was our all time favorite. Well prepared Mexican food is generally very simple yet the combination of ingredients enhanced by the use of spices is something that you really have to taste to understand. It is not all about hot, it is not all about meat. Some of my favorite Mexican dishes are completely vegetarian.  Too bad so many Americans think of Taco Bell as the benchmark of Mexican cuisine.

But that is not what I am posting about today.  I am posting "my most excellent preparation of pork" for use in Mexican recipes.  You can use this recipe for other dishes, but it is especially spiced for Mexican dishes.

This cooking method will work very well with just about any cut of pork, except something cured, of course. Since it is going to be slow cooked, you can buy something less expensive like country ribs and get great results. In fact, I wouldn't waste my money on a more expensive cut of meat for this recipe.  It is pretty "rustic".

You will need either a large cast iron skillet with a heatproof lid or any other container (casserole dish, etc) that you can put into the oven and that your meat will fit into with the lid securely closed. You can also do this in a slow cooker, which is just about perfect, actually.

Take your pork and rub it generously with salt and pepper.  I use medium coarse sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper but plain old salt and pepper will do fine. If the meat is particularly fatty, you might want to trim it, which is fine. Just don't remove all of the fat....some fat helps the flavors of the seasonings permeate the meat.

Put the meat in your pot, pan, dish, etc. and place at least 6 cloves of fresh garlic in the meat.  If you have a large roast, cut crossed slits into it and stuff the cloves in; if you have ribs, push the cloves down between the pieces of meat.  You do not want to leave the cloves sitting on top. You want the juices from the cooking meat to mingle with the garlic so that the flavor is distributed through the meat.

Next place 10-12 whole bay leaves on, around and under the meat.  Put on the lid and place in a 350 degree oven.  Let meat cook for about 40 minutes, turn once and replace the lid and cook for another 30-40 minutes.  When you turn the meat, the garlic and bay leaves may break up which is fine. Once that first 40 minutes of cooking has passed, it really doesn't matter where the garlic and leaves are any more.  Lower the heat to 300 degrees and let meat cook, covered for at least another hour or longer. Turn off the heat and let the meat remain in the oven for another 30 minutes or until the heat in the oven is down around 200 degrees.

• The cooking times given above are generally correct. However the actual time will depend on the quantity of meat being cooked.  I have cooked a Boston butt for as long as 4 hours using this method and I have cooked meaty ribs for 2 hours. If you are unsure about whether the meat is done or not, cut into it and if it is still pink, cook it until it isn't. 
• Long, slow cooking like this makes it hard for the meat not to be completely and thoroughly cooked, unless it is an unusually large or thick piece. If you use a meat thermometer, you want the interior temp to be at least 160 degrees at the thickest part of your cut of meat.  I personally never use a meat thermometer for something like this because of the length of time it is being cooked.
•  If you are using your slow cooker, you can put the meat on to cook in the morning and it should be ready by dinner time. Use the lower setting if you will be cooking the meat for 6-8 hours.The high setting would probably yield meat that was done in about 4-5 hours.

Take the meat out of the the pan and place on a plate or other surface where you can remove any bone, fat, etc.  Shred the meat with your fingers. I remove any bay leaves that are left in the pot and put the shredded meat back into the juices from cooking, stir well and let the meat "rest" for a few minutes.

Once the meat is cooked, use it as a filling for tacos, enchiladas, burritos, etc. Or make up some homemade BBQ sauce and use if for sandwhiches.  It is tasty enough to server solo, too, so the possibilities for pork cooked this way are just about endless.