Pan-Seared Pork Chops with White Wine, Orange, Thyme Sauce

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As Homer Simpson’s daughter Lisa confirmed and Homer discovered, bacon, ham, and pork chops do indeed come from the same animal, a magical, wonderful animal. The pig!

European Explorers Brought Pork To The Americas

You can draw a curly line from the pigs brought to our shores by the Europeans.

Explorers to your latest backyard barbeque.

Christopher Columbus took eight pigs as far as Cuba in 1493.

But it’s explorer Hernando de Soto who’s considered the “father of the pork industry” in the United States.  He landed on the shores of Tampa Bay in 1539 with 13 oinkers.

Today more than 60,000 pork producers annually market more than 115 million hogs.

With an average litter of 10 piglets each it’s not hard to imagine the growth from the original 13.

Pork Is The Most Consumed Meat in the World

Did you know that pork is the most consumed meat in the world?

You might find it surprising, but pork owns the top spot at 40.4% of total meat and poultry consumption.

This outdistances both chicken and beef, by a respectable margin, and lamb and mutton is not even close.

Everything But The Oink

And just about every part of the pig has been used to nourish us.

There’s ham, bacon, pork chops, spare ribs, pork butt (which is actually the shoulder), and pigs feet.  Ear, and tail are also consumed.

As the old saying goes, chefs use everything but the oink.

Pan-Seared Pork Chop Recipe

Let’s talk pork chops.

From salt and pepper to battered and fried to slathered in a bourbon barbecue sauce, you can dress them up or down for any occasion.

They are tender and easily adapt to the flavors they’re paired with.

And the pork chop is a cinch to cook on a weeknight.

You’re going to love my pan-seared pork chop recipe with a fragrant sauce of white wine, orange, and thyme.

Voila, in a short 30 minutes you have a feast fit for the explorers in your life.

Your Freezer is Your New Best Friend Forever

Pan-Seared Pork Chops with White Wine, Orange, Thyme Sauce

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This delightfully easy and lovely sauce works just as well over lamb, chicken and fish.

• Author: Life At The Table

Ingredients

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• 4 pork chops
• 1 cup Chardonnay
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• olive oil
• kosher salt

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Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 450˚F.
2. Combine the butter and flour in a small bowl. Using your fingers, knead the butter and flour together until a paste is formed. Set aside.
3. Season your chops.
4. Heat on oven-proof skillet on medium-high to high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Give the skillet a swirl to evenly distribute the oil.
5. Lay the chops in the skillet. Sear on one side until browned to your liking.
6. Flip the chop to the other side, turn off the heat, and place the skillet in the oven. Roast in the oven until the chops reach an internal temperature of 145˚F. This will take 2-3 minutes depending on how thick your chops are.
7. Remove the skillet from the oven and move the chops to a sheet pan, platter, or plate to keep them warm.
8. Place the skillet back on the stove.
9. Add the wine.
10. Turn the burner on high until the wine begins to simmer. Lower the heat, but maintain a simmer to reduce the wine in half.
11. Once reduced, add the orange juice.
12. Bring the wine and the orange juice to a simmer.
13. Add the dried thyme.
14. Add the flour and butter mixture to the sauce in fourths, whisking after each addition.
15. Once all the flour and butter mixture has been incorporated, simmer on low for about 5 minutes.
16. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Notes

Serve this dish over risotto, smashed sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus or any other vegetable or starch your heart desires.