Smothered Pork Chops ~ Southern Style
By: Giangi Townsend
Published: Thursday, November 8, 2018 - 2:50am

Ingredients




PORK CHOPS:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fine stone ground cornmeal
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg yolk
1.5 cup Canola oil
4 bone in center cut pork chops
GRAVY:
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups sodium free chicken stock
2/3 cup whole milk

Preparation

1 COOK THE CHOPS: 2 Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt and black pepper in a broad, shallow bowl. Transfer the mixture to a small low rim cookie sheet and spread evenly. Wipe the bowl and pour the milk and the egg yolk. Whisk until thoroughly combined. 3 Preheat the oven at 250F and place a heatproof platter lined, or cookie sheet, with double thickness paper towels inside. 4 Pour the oil into a 10-inch skillet to a depth of about ½ inch and place over high heat. When the oil is hot, beginning to smoke, turn down to medium high 5 Submerge the chops, one at the time, in the milk egg wash until completely coated, letting any excess drip back into the bowl. Press each chop firmly into the flour mixture. Coat all sides and shake off excess. Slide them gently into the skillet making sure you do not over crown the oil – 2 at the time. Fry one side for about 3 minutes or golden brown. Turn to the other side and cook for another 3 minutes. (turn one more time if you see blood come thru the bone part of the chop). 6 Transfer with tongs to the cookie sheet and transfer in the oven. Repeat with the other 2 chops. 7 PREPARING THE GRAVY: 8 Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the frying skillet and add the onions to it. Cook until translucent but not browned, about 4 minutes. 9 Scatter the flour in the pan over the onions and cook, stirring well until the onions are well coated. Cook while stirring for about 4 minutes and the onions are toasty. 10 Add the milk and broth and whisk until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the gravy is thickened, about 4 to 6 minutes. 11 Season to taste with salt and pepper. 12 Remove the chops from the oven and arrange them on a long platter. Smother them with the gravy and bring to the table.

About

Fall is finally here in Arizona. We went from 100º to 60º almost overnight. If you live here, it is dramatic and we are super excited to finally get to showcase our sweaters and boots.
With that also our cooking changes. We go from light dinners to soul food. Sauces are reappearing as well as hearty stick to your bones food.
This dinner was inspired by Sunday morning breakfast that I was craving but never got to prepare. I was in the mood of gravy over steak. Yup!! That is what I think at 5am.
The breakfast never materialized, however the thought and craving stayed.
Smothered Pork Chops is an adaptation from The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen by Matt and Ted Lee. Who does not love some good Southern food once in the while?
TIP:
	For the chops:  make sure that they all are the same thickness. Do not overcrowd the skillet when frying.
	For the gravy:  I chose to leave some of the dripping of corn and flour from the chops thus giving it a nice texture and color. You will be the judge on how you like your gravy. We like ours a bit thicker.