Stuffed Pork Chops with Gravy

Apparently Thursdays are now "pork chop" days, because this is two weeks running that we've eaten pork for dinner. What can I say, I'm unimaginative in my eating. Also, I still have a million pork chops in the freezer that need to get eaten. And I just love pork, period. It's like Anthony Bourdain once said on an episode of No Reservations -- "the pig is a noble and delicious animal." So true, Tony, so true.

I've never stuffed anything other than a chicken, and so I had to look up what it meant to "butterfly" a pork chop. Apparently it's just a fancy way of saying "stick a sharp knife into the side of a chop and cut a little pocket." So that's how you stuff a pork chop! I've always wondered. Seriously.

The recipe I found online called for stuffing the chops with a mixture of blue cheese/bacon/chives. That sounded too salty, even for me, so I went with a more traditional stuffing route. Bread cubes, melted butter, chicken stock, and onions. I used whole wheat bread, but I think corn bread or white bread would be tastier.

After stuffing, the chops get browned on both sides in a hot skillet, and then transferred to a greased pan for baking in the oven. Only 25 minutes, and you're digging into a piping hot pile of porky goodness. Time in the oven didn't dry the meat out at all, and the savory stuffing was a perfect compliment to the juicy, delicate chops. Delicious!

Stuffed Pork Chops with Gravy

Ingredients:

- 2 pork chops, butterflied

- 2 slices bread, chopped into cubes

- 1 tbsp butter, melted

- 1/4 cups chicken stock

- 1 tbsp diced onion

- Salt + pepper for seasoning
- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp minced garlic

Steps:

(1) Preheat oven to 325.

(2) In a small bowl, combine bread, butter, chicken stock, and diced onion until desired stuffing consistency is reached. Set aside.

(3) Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper to taste.

(4) Stuff each chop with heaping spoonfuls of stuffing.

(5) In a hot skillet, cook garlic in olive oil until fragrant. 

(6) Add pork chops and brown on both sides. Remove chops from skillet and place in greased pan. (Save oil/fat from skillet)

(7) Stick everything in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.

(8) Serve with favorite gravy.

Homemade Gravy

Ingredients:

- Leftover oil/fat from browning chops in the skillet.

- 1/2 cup chicken stock

- 1/2 cup heavy cream

- 2 tbsp flour

Steps:

(1) Heat skillet with leftover oil/fat from pork chops.

(2) Add chicken stock and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

(3) Keep stirring until liquid has noticeably reduced.

(4) Add flour, and stir until well mixed.

(5) Season to taste with salt/pepper.