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| Pork Chops with Lemon Thyme Cream Sauce |
All it takes is one pan, a few simple ingredients and 30 minutes to these succulent pork chops in a lemony thyme cream sauce.
Today I hit the jackpot with reduced-for-quick-sale meats at my local market. The meats are never bad, or “off” so I buy there with complete confidence.
So I had this package of beautiful rib/sirloin chops and wanted to make something special–something with lemons since I’m a huge lover of lemon anything.
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| Simple ingredients, gourmet taste |
I wanted a nice sauce and a rich sauce that would be full of flavor. I can think of no herb that goes better with pork than thyme. Unfortunately, I lacked any fresh, as what I tried to overwinter didn’t survive, but I did manage to dehydrate it. You don’t have to use fresh–the stuff in the little jars will do just fine.
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| Nice “company” meal |
To me, all cream-based sauces taste better with a touch of wine, so of course, that went in the mix, but if you don’t want it in there, you can substitute it with an equal amount of chicken stock.
The ingredients for the sauce can be doubled if you like a lot of sauce, but I found that it was so well flavored that about 2 tablespoons on top of each chop was enough to make this sing…a little will go a long way here, or so I thought.
This is another simple one-skillet meal that’s got a real gourmet touch, much like my now famous Mushroom Asiago Chicken!
Pork Chops with Lemon Thyme Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 rib or sirloin pork chops bone in about 1/2-inch thick*
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp shredded lemon zest
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- *Boneless chops may be substituted.
- Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbs. butter and let it melt.
- Mix the flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Dredge pork chops in seasoned flour mixture, shaking off excess.
- Brown pork chops well on both sides, about 5-8 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
- In the same pan you browned the chops, reduce the heat to medium and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, wine, thyme and salt. Mix well.
- Place pork chops back in pan, cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove pork chops to a serving platter, cover and keep warm in a 200 degree F oven while making sauce.
- Increase the heat under the pan to medium. Blend in heavy cream and remaining butter. Let the mixture bubble and reduce by 25%–it should be like a thin gravy.
- Drizzle sauce over pork chops and serve immediately.
Nutrition
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| Pork Chops with Lemon Thyme Cream Sauce |
Copyright © Judith Hannemann aka The Midnight Baker 2015. All Rights Reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without The Midnight Baker’s express consent.
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In Good Flavor says
This looks so good! Simple ingredients can make the best meals. This pork dish is one of them.
Judith Hanneman says
I'm always amazed at how such simple ingredients can produce something so gourmet!
Anita P says
Did I miss something. What do you do with the other 2 tbsp of butter?
Judith Hanneman says
Thanks for catching that–it goes in with the cream. I corrected it.
Dogscanlookup says
We really enjoyed this! Here's my two cents…
1. I added a little bit of shallot… Because yum.
2. It really seemed like way too little liquid to be cooking the chops for 20 minutes. That may have also been the size of my skillet.
3. 20 minutes on top of searing is wayyy too long for a 1/2" pork chop. I seared mine about 8 minutes on each side and that was plenty to cook it through and that was bone in! Anything beyond that and it's gonna dry out. Also, don't be afraid of a little pink in thicker pork chops. Food science has come a long way since the 80s and it keeps things juicy!
3. Loved that the sauce was rich, but intense, so we didn't feel the need to slather it on. Always a bonus on cream sauces! So good!
Served with roasted potatoes and a side salad. Definitely going into our rotation! Thanks for this!
Judith Hanneman says
Glad you liked it and LOVE the shallot addition! Oh yeah, I've known pork is safe rare for ages (they say all of it is sold frozen/thawed and that kills trichinosis) but somehow the thought of pink pork….well… LOL. It's become a personal preference to serve it well done for me!!!
Elizabeth says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I added a few things from the fridge that needed to be used (sorry, I don't mean to criticize your recipe). I added a chopped vidallia onion, sliced zucchini, sliced baby bella mushrooms, fresh basil, and a bit more kosher salt with the wine, lemon, etc. Even with all the extras, I thought there was the perfect amount of liquid and sauce. The pork was cooked perfectly, as written in your recipe. My husband isn't a big fan of cream sauces, but with every bite, he said, "yum!"
Judith Hanneman says
I'm not insulted at all!!!! I'm a firm believer in making a recipe your own and using up stuff from the fridge!!! My late husband wasn't a fan of cream sauces either so I know–I'm making up for not having a lot of them now!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! <3