Lunch
Creamy Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms and Fresh Parsley
Lunch
Glazed pork chops
Lunch
Italian Chicken With Pepper
Lunch
⏲ ~28 min total · prep 21 · cook 7 · 4 servings
Published Sep 15, 2026 · Updated Sep 15, 2026
Two shallow cuts through the fat rim stop the chop from curling as it cooks. A curled chop sears on one edge only and cooks unevenly. Cut through the fat, not into the meat.
The oil should shimmer before the meat goes in, and the chops should sit undisturbed for the full 4 minutes. Moving them early costs the golden crust. Pat them dry first, even if they look dry.
Pull the chops at 140°F and let the 5-minute rest carry them to 145°F, which is where pork is fully cooked and still juicy. Chops held in the pan until 145°F land at 150°F and tighter. The thermometer reads the future here.
Thirty seconds of garlic in the butter left in the pan, then broth to stop it browning. Cream added before the fond releases means a thinner, flatter sauce. Scrape the pan bottom as the broth simmers.
Return the chops and their collected juices to the sauce for a final minute, turning once. The plate juices carry seasoning back into the sauce instead of going to waste. Serve straight away, sauce poured over.
Serve each chop with the garlic cream poured over rather than alongside, and give the pan a final scrape, because the last of the sauce is the part people fight over. At 4.0 net carbs a serving, the natural partners are green beans or braised cabbage, both of which pick the sauce up well. A 1-inch chop with a proper pan sauce needs very little else on the plate. One chop per person is honest, two for anyone who has been outside all day.
Refrigerate chops and sauce together in a covered container for 3 to 4 days; the sauce thickens as it chills, which is normal. Reheat gently on the stove over low heat with a splash of broth to loosen the cream, since high heat splits it. The microwave works at half power and short bursts. Cooked pork chops freeze for 2 to 3 months, though the cream sauce is better made fresh; freeze the chops alone and mix a quick sauce when you reheat.
Yes. Current food-safety guidance lists whole cuts of pork as fully cooked at 145°F with a 3-minute rest, which the recipe's 5-minute rest covers with room to spare. That is the whole reason to pull at 140°F and let carryover finish the job.
The pan was too hot when the cream went in, or it boiled hard during the reduce. Cream needs a bare simmer to thicken without splitting. Lower the heat, whisk, and it usually comes back together.
Yes. Simmer the cream a minute or two longer to compensate for the body the cheese adds, and season carefully, since Parmesan was carrying salt. The sauce stays good, a little glossier and lighter.
The recipe calls for 1-inch boneless chops, and that thickness is what makes the 4-plus-4 minute sear land at 140°F. Thinner chops finish faster, so start checking at 2 minutes on the second side. Thicker ones need lower heat and more patience.
It works but yields a thinner sauce, since the fat in heavy cream is what coats a spoon. Simmer it longer to reduce, and expect a lighter sauce. Add the Parmesan off the heat so it melts without graininess.
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