Traditional Smothered Pork Chops

Why This Traditional Smothered Pork Chops Works

At the start, the pork chops go into seasoned flour, which coats the outside in a thin layer. In the hot oil, that flour browns and forms a crust. That crust keeps the surface from drying out too fast and gives the gravy something to grab onto later. Browning the chops also leaves tasty browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

After the chops come out, the onions and garlic go into the same pan. As they cook, they soften and pick up some of the browned bits. When the leftover flour is stirred in and then hit with chicken broth and buttermilk, the flour swells and thickens the liquid into a smooth gravy. The buttermilk keeps the gravy creamy and soft, not heavy.

Once the pork chops go back into the pan and are covered, the low heat and steam slowly work on the meat. Over the 30 minutes, the chops relax and turn tender while sitting in the gravy, and the crust soaks up some of the sauce instead of drying out.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the pork chops cook too long in the browning step often dries them out before they ever hit the gravy. The outside gets dark and tough while the inside keeps losing juice, so even after simmering in the sauce, the meat stays chewy instead of tender.

When the pan is too cool during browning, the chops sit in oil and steam instead of searing. The flour coating turns pale and pasty, and later the gravy tastes floury and the chops feel a bit soggy instead of having a light crust under the sauce.

Skipping the step of cooking the leftover flour with the onions for a full minute leaves the gravy with a raw flour texture. The sauce can taste chalky and feel grainy on the tongue instead of smooth and silky.

Pouring in the broth and buttermilk too fast, without whisking, makes the flour clump. Those lumps swell as the sauce simmers, so the gravy ends up with gummy bits and doesn’t coat the chops evenly.