Juicy pork chops, a velvety cream sauce, and bold Parmesan come together in this quick main dish with a subtle nutty flavor. The meat is first quickly seared on a hot pan, then gently finished under foil in the oven, so it stays tender and doesn’t dry out.
This recipe is easy enough for beginners. Preparation takes 10 minutes, and finishing the meat along with making the sauce takes another 15–20 minutes. You can serve the chops with fluffy mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes with butter. If you use bone-in chops, they’ll develop an even richer flavor when seared.
What You’ll Need
For juicy meat:
- 4 pork chops, ideally bone-in,
- vegetable oil with a high smoke point,
- salt,
- freshly ground black pepper.
For the Parmesan sauce:
- 250 ml heavy cream (33% fat),
- 100 ml vegetable broth,
- 150 g Parmesan, finely grated,
- 1 tablespoon butter,
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour,
- a pinch of salt,
- freshly ground black pepper,
- a pinch of ground nutmeg.
The original recipe doesn’t specify exact amounts of oil, salt, or pepper, so adjust them to the size of your chops and your own taste.
Step-by-Step Preparation:
1. Preparing the chops: Rinse the pork chops thoroughly and pat them dry with a paper towel. Season both sides with salt and pepper. You can use bone-in or boneless meat, but bone-in chops will develop a richer flavor when seared.
2. Quick searing: Heat vegetable oil in a heavy pan. Once the pan is hot enough, add the chops and sear them for about 2–3 minutes on each side until golden. No need to cook them through at this stage, as they’ll finish in the oven.
3. Finishing under foil: Immediately transfer the seared chops to a small roasting dish or baking pan. Cover the dish tightly with foil to keep the steam in, and place it in an oven preheated to 140°C. Let the meat finish cooking gently for about 10–15 minutes until tender.
4. Making a light roux: While the chops are in the oven, melt a tablespoon of butter in a deep pot or clean deep pan. Add a tablespoon of flour and stir constantly for about a minute until it bubbles. The roux should stay light in color.
5. Adding the broth: Whisk in the cold vegetable broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Bring the mixture briefly to a boil to create a smooth base for the cream sauce.
6. Finishing the Parmesan sauce: Reduce the heat to low and pour in 250 ml of heavy cream. Let the mixture heat through, then gradually stir in the finely grated Parmesan. Whisk until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is thick and silky smooth.
7. Seasoning: Remove the finished sauce from the heat and add a pinch of ground nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper. Taste before adding salt, as Parmesan is naturally quite salty. Add just a small pinch of salt if needed.
8. Serving: Take the chops out of the oven and, if you like, stir any juices left in the pan into the sauce. Serve the meat generously topped with the Parmesan cream. Mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes with butter make perfect sides.
How to Prevent Dry Pork Chops
Sear the chops quickly on the pan just to give them a golden color. Don’t try to cook them through at this stage, as prolonged exposure to high heat would drive out too much moisture from the meat.
It’s also important to cover the baking dish tightly with foil. In an oven heated to 140°C, the meat finishes gently in a moist environment and becomes tender in 10–15 minutes without drying out.
How to Adjust the Sauce Consistency
Parmesan thickens the sauce quite a bit, so add it gradually and keep whisking. If the sauce is too thick after the cheese melts, you can stir in 2–3 tablespoons of warm broth or a little milk. Off the heat, whisk again until you reach the desired consistency.
