Skillet Pork Chops with Garlic and Lemon
Seared chops finished in a covered pan, with a butter and stock sauce built from the drippings.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 8 oz
- cal / oz
- 65
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Boneless center cut pork chops | 4, about 1 inch thick | frozen at home, they thaw in the cooler over a day |
|---|---|---|
| Kosher salt | 1 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic | 4 cloves, minced | whole heads keep for weeks with no cooler space |
| Lemon | 1 | zest and slices |
| Dry white wine | 1/2 cup | a boxed single-serve pour travels better than a bottle |
| Chicken stock | 1/2 cup | 1 bouillon cube plus water works |
| Butter | 2 tbsp | salted, it keeps a day or two out of the cooler |
Method
- Prep everything before the pan gets hot. Mince the garlic, zest the lemon and cut a few slices, salt and pepper both sides of the chops.
- Heat a heavy skillet over the fire or a high flame until a drop of water skitters. Add the oil and swirl.
- Lay the chops in and leave them alone for 3 minutes. Flip, brown the second side for 2 minutes, then pull them onto a plate.
- Drop the heat. Add the garlic, herbs, and lemon zest to the drippings and stir for 30 seconds, no longer, or the garlic turns bitter.
- Return the chops, lay a lemon slice on each, cover the pan, and cook 8 to 12 minutes over low heat. They are done when the center reads 145F, or when the juices run clear and the meat has just lost its pink.
- Move the chops to a plate to rest. Pour the wine into the pan and scrape the browned bits loose, then add the stock and let it reduce by half.
- Kill the heat, swirl in the butter until the sauce goes glossy, and pour it over the chops.
This is a home recipe that survives the trip mostly intact, because the oven was never doing anything a lid cannot do. The original bakes the chops at 375F after a sear; over a fire you cover the pan and drop the heat instead. The trapped steam brings the center up gently, which is the whole point of the oven step. Fresh herbs became dried, which is the only real loss.
The sear is not optional. Everything the sauce tastes like is stuck to the pan after those five minutes, and the wine is there to lift it back off. Butter goes in off the heat so it thickens the sauce instead of splitting it. Thick chops matter too: thin ones go from raw to dry in the time it takes to find your fork.
Packing
Salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and a crumbled bouillon cube go in one small jar at home. Chops travel frozen in a vacuum bag at the bottom of the cooler and thaw on their own. Butter, garlic, and the lemon ride in the lid pocket.
Variations
- No wine: use all stock and a squeeze of lemon juice for the acid.
- Skip the sauce entirely and eat the chops straight from the pan. The sear and the herbs carry it.
- Add halved baby potatoes to the pan before covering. They cook in the drippings and you skip a second pot.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/oven-baked-pork-chops