Maddie's Pork Chops

 

• trimmed pork chops of some sort (ideally thick-cut, but you can accommodate cheap, thin ones with skill)
• orange juice (enough to come about halfway up the side of the chops when they are in the skillet)
• rosemary (lots -- at least the equivalent of a 1-1/2" sprig per chop, and more for garnish)
• minced garlic (I don't know how much.  How much do you like?  The recipe can tolerate quite a bit.)
• thyme
• dry white wine
• olive oil
• butter

Heat a skillet (or two... or three... enough to fit all of your chops comfortably in a single layer) and add equal amounts of oil and butter sufficient to evenly coat the bottom of the pan -- you're looking to saute your chops in enough oil to produce a good crust, but you don't want a lot of extra fat weighing down your sauce later.  Make sure your chops are dry, then add them to the pan(s) when the oil is really hot -- it's a balancing game: if your chops are thin, you want the oil smoking hot so that you can sear them for just a minute or two on each side without cooking them through; if your chops are thicker, then you can use a little lower heat and a little more time while not running as much risk of blackening chops instead of browning them.

Once the chops are browned on both sides, remove them, turn down the heat to medium/medium-high, and de-glaze the pan(s) with white wine.  Add to the wine your garlic, a grind or two (or more) of black pepper per chop, and maybe some minced shallot if you've got it.  Reduce au sec before adding the orange juice and rosemary and returning the chops to the pan(s).  If you're using thick chops and a lot of orange juice, then you can leave the pan(s) uncovered.  If you've got thin chops and less juice, then you'd better cover them so that they don't dry out.

Bring the liquid to a boil, then back off to a simmer.  Braise the chops until they are done. I don't know how long, it depends on how thick they are.  Using a thermometer on chops can be tricky, so you really need to develop the ability to poke them with your finger and tell that way whether they are done.  Nice thick chops will probably take 15 or 20 minutes; but as with most braises, they won't be completely dried out and inedible if you let them go a little too long.  Turn them over a couple of times as they braise.

When the chops are done, remove them to a platter, then turn up the heat full blast on the remaining braising liquid.  Reduce the mostly-orange-juice by more than half until it thickens and turns medium-brown as it begins to caramelize.  Turn off the heat (or at least turn it way down low, but be careful that you don't burn your sauce at this point, since there is not much water left in it and it is very hot...), add some thyme, and return the chops and accumulated juices to the pan(s) to rewarm them and coat them in the glaze.  Salt to taste.

Serve the chops with an extra spoonful of the reduction sauce (strain it if you want to get fancy; and add a little white wine if it has gotten too thick.)  Garnish with a little sprig of fresh rosemary and some orange zest (a nice curl or two, if your bartending skills are up to it.) 

Thanks for posting Daikon.

Good luck, but it's really not a difficult recipe. 

I don't think they exist!