Lizzie's Pork Chops

Four ingredients, one pan, one hour. That is the whole recipe. Pork chops get a hard sear in olive oil, swim in garlic-studded chicken broth on the lowest flame you can manage, and come out the other side tender enough to cut with a fork.

Browning first is a must. Raw pork chops dropped straight into broth give you gray, sad meat with no flavor. Hard sear, both sides, no shortcut. That Maillard crust is what gives the finished braising liquid its depth.

Low and slow is the whole game. A hard simmer will seize the meat and toughen it before the connective tissue breaks down. Low heat for an hour gives bone-in chops time to turn meltingly tender while the broth reduces into something almost sauce-like.

One clove of garlic is on the shy side. Two or three are more honest. The recipe is so sparse that every ingredient counts, and garlic is doing the heavy flavor lifting.

This is the kind of back-pocket recipe you riff on endlessly. Add herbs, swap broth for cider, throw in vegetables. The base is a forgiving template.

Pro Tips

• Use bone-in pork chops, at least ¾ inch thick. Thin boneless chops overcook fast and dry out during a long simmer.
• Pat the chops dry before searing. Wet meat steams and refuses to brown properly.
• Keep the lid slightly ajar for the last 15 minutes to reduce the broth into a glossier sauce.
• Check internal temperature. Pork chops are safe at 145°F (63°C); the chef-recommended doneness for juicy meat.

Variations

• Add a sliced onion, a bay leaf, and a sprig of rosemary to the broth for a more layered pot.
• Swap chicken broth for apple cider and add a handful of sliced apples 20 minutes before the end.
• Stir in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard and a splash of cream at the end for a French-country finish.