Another thing Stillwater lacks is good grocery store options. We have 2 Wal Marts, and it was just announced recently that we're getting ANOTHER one. Yes, it's going to be a Neighborhood Market, which is strictly a grocery store. But that's not really the point. Why do we need to have 3 of the SAME STORE?? In a town of 50,000 people? We also don't have a local butcher. But about a year ago Michele introduced me to Ralph's Packing, a butcher about 15 minutes away in Perkins. One trip and I was sold. When I've got a special occasion dinner I always go there for fresh meat. Their frozen meat is sold in big bulk, but I'll still buy it, portion it out if needed, and store it in the freezer. I also discovered their enhanced pork chops. I'm not sure exactly what they do to them, but they are so much juicier than regular pork chops. I won't buy anything else now.
A couple weeks ago I was on Pinterest, looking for something to do with the pork chops I had taken out to thaw. The first couple I came across needed several hours or overnight of marinating. I didn't have time for that, so I kept searching. And then saw Spicy Fried Pork Chops. It's very rare that I ever fry anything at home. Don't get me wrong...I love fried food. A lot of the posts on this blog prove that. But I just avoid doing it at home. It's messy, it can be smelly, and then you have to do something with all the grease. I was going to keep searching, but I decided to just jump in and try it. Besides, the picture looked amazing.
Here is the recipe photo
And here is my version
Wow, this was fantastic. It was so juicy and tender, just the way fried food should be when it's done properly. The recipe doesn't exactly call for it to be deep fried, but it does say to fill the pan not more than halfway full. That's way too much oil for me. I did less than half that, so it was more of a pan fry. Probably why I didn't get such a thick crust, but honestly it didn't matter.
I will say that I pretty much failed on the creamy gravy. This was my first attempt, so that's not fully unexpected. I used too much flour, because I could taste it a little. I didn't have heavy cream, so I used half & half instead, and I'm honestly not sure if it made a difference. I think mine looks so much thicker because of the extra flour.
I made this dish again the other day, and as you can see the gravy was still really thick.
Clearly I need to learn how to properly make gravy.
I will most certainly be making this again. It won't be on a regular rotation, because of the frying. But I'll definitely make it occasionally.
Recipe Found On Creole Contessa
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