Rosemary Garlic Butter Pork Chops

If you’re after a quick, simple and absolutely delicious way to serve pork chops, you’ve come to the right place. Follow me…

Preparing Pork Chops

If you take a little care in the preparation and cooking of the mighty chop, you’ll find it really does come out beautifully and takes on an array of delicious flavours. For this recipe we’ll be using boneless chops – these are loin chops, but steaks will work just as well. Two things you can do right off the bat to get the pork ready to rock and roll is to bring it to room temp and score the fat. Although people do dispute it, I do find that bringing the meat close to room temp helps relax it, which in turn helps prevent it from seizing up and going chewy in the pan. Scoring the fat will help prevent it from curling up in the pan, which in turn helps the pork keep better contact with the pan and develop flavour more easily.

Dredging through flour

I dredge the chops through seasoned flour for a few different reasons:

Crust – The flour helps build up a nice crust on the meat. Absorb – This crust absorbs the butter sauce and helps it cling to the meat. Curling – I tested with and without flour and the chops that were dredged in flour curled in the pan a lot less than those that weren’t. Can’t tell you the science behind that, just an observation!

To cook the chops, we’ll be pan-frying them in a little oil until golden brown on each side. You can also flip the chops and render down the fat if it’s quite thick. Process shots: add pork to seasoned flour (photo 1), coat both sides (photo 2), add to hot pan with oil (photo 3), fry both sides (photo 4).

Rosemary Garlic Butter Sauce

The sauce comes together with ease and only requires 4 ingredients:

Garlic – Must be fresh. Don’t use the jarred stuff, it comes in a brine which will throw off the flavour of the sauce. Rosemary – Again, make sure it’s fresh. Dried rosemary is not suitable for this recipe. Chicken Stock – Creates the base of the sauce. Butter – You’ll want to use unsalted butter to gain more control over the saltiness of the sauce.

Another bonus ingredient is the resting juices from the pork. Don’t waste this – it adds loads of ‘free’ flavour to the sauce!

Sauce consistency

It’ll be pretty thin at the start, but after a short simmer, it’ll begin to thicken. Plus, when you add the pork back in the excess flour will help thicken the sauce up a little more right at the end. Process shots: add rosemary and garlic to pan (photo 1), fry (photo 2), add stock and butter (photo 3), stir and simmer (photo 4).

How do I make sure the pork doesn’t come out dry?

In general, you probably won’t need to fry pork chops for as long as you think. Pork can have a blush of pink in the centre given it reaches 63C/145F. So only fry it until just cooked, as it will continue cooking as it rests and when added back to the pan. Bringing the pork to room temp and resting once cooked will also help.

How garlicky is this dish?

It’s apparent, but certainly not overbearing. Even if you love garlic, give it a go with the quantities below and adjust if you’d like next time.

Can I use a different meat?

Yes! Check out my Garlic Butter Chicken, Garlic Butter Cod and Garlic Butter Salmon. Both have almost identical ingredients, with slightly different methods.

Serving Garlic Butter Pork Chops

When it comes to serving, you’ll want to add a lemon wedge to each plate. A squeeze of lemon juice will cut through the richness of the sauce and finish everything off nicely. Here I’ve served with Green Beans and Baby Potatoes, but check out my Side Dishes for more inspo! Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these garlic butter pork chops shall we?!