Time: 1 hour
Feeds: 2 people
Ingredients:
- 2 thick cut, bone in pork chops, see notes
- 2 tbsp butter
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- Petite Yukon gold potatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Garlic powder, to taste
- Onion powder, to taste
- Paprika, to taste
- Any kind of green vegetable you’d like
Directions: First step is getting the potatoes going as they’ll take the longest to cook. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put a medium pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Add the potatoes to the pot and boil for 5-10 minutes depending on their size, small ones needing to boil for less time. Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse with cold water until they’re cool enough to handle. Cut them into halves or quarters depending on size and preference and add them to a baking sheet. Toss the potatoes in the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika until well coated in everything and put the tray into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, stir and flip everything around, and then bake for another 20 or so minutes until everything is browned and crisped to your liking.
For a dinner like this, I like to choose a green vegetable that I can roast in the oven with the potatoes. When the potatoes are half way done, toss your veggie in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and add to the sheet tray with your potatoes if there is room or on a quarter sheet on their own. Roast until they’re done to your liking.
Once the potatoes have been stirred and are about half way done, you can also get the pork chops going. Place a large skillet on the stove and start heating it over medium heat. While the pan is heating, quickly season your pork chops with a generous amount of salt. Add the butter to the skillet and let that melt. Place the pork chops in the pan and start to get them cooking. You’ll want to keep an eye on the temperature of your pan to make sure that your pork chops aren’t browning too quickly. Continuing cooking the pork chops, flipping every 2-3 minutes, until the pork reaches a temperature of 140 degrees in the thickest part. It’s smart to temp it at the bone too as that can be a cool spot in the meat. Remove from the heat to a plate and season with pepper. They’ll just need to rest for a minute or so while you pull the rest of the dinner out of the oven and then you’re good to get everything plated up!
Notes: When making pork chops like this, I like to get the t-bone style cut as they’re usually nicely tender. You can absolutely get the really thick loin cut pork chops as well but I find those can be a little more tricky to get done to the appropriate temperature without drying out and becoming tough.
You’re also welcome to cook your pork to whatever temperature you’re comfortable with, but 140 is a great place to aim as it’s plenty cooked while still being really tender.