Pork Chops in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Pork. The other white meat. While that’s a true statement, it also presents the same blessings and curses of the first white meat. Just like chicken, pork can be versatile but also feel like the same old, same old when looking for dinner options. 

My go-to recipes for pork usually involve some sort of homemade Carolina barbecue sauce for a shoulder, grainy mustard sauce for a tenderloin, and stuffing it with just about anything for a thick chop. I came across a couple of different recipes with the same idea for chops that I hadn’t thought of: make a cream sauce without the cream. 

In this recipe, the creaminess comes from making a roux of butter and flour. Deglaze with chicken broth and add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Adding the sliced mushrooms with a little garlic rounds it out. But you could easily improvise with shallots and a little thyme, parsley, or oregano as well. 

The paprika in the recipe called for dusting it on the chop before browning it in the pan. I found it a little difficult to tell if the chop was properly seared or that was just the seasoning. So here, I call for you to use it in the sauce rather than on the meat. 

Here’s the recipe:

2 lbs. boneless pork chops

2 TB butter

1 TB olive oil

1/2 c. mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 TB all-purpose flour

1 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Generously salt and pepper the chops. Place skillet over heat on medium-high and add the butter and olive oil. Once butter becomes melted and foamy, add the chops. Brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes or less if they are not as thick a chop. Set aside. Turn heat down a little to medium. Add mushrooms and cook down. Add the garlic, paprika, and Dijon. When garlic is fragrant, add the flour and whisk into a roux. Gradually pour in the broth to make a sauce. Stir until thickened a bit by the heat and then add the pork chops to further cook. Serve immediately.