Peach Pork Chops with Brown Butter Pan Sauce

Peach Pork Chops with Brown Butter Pan Sauce

These Peach Pork Chops are our favorite way to use up a counter full of August fruit. The chops and the sauce share a pan but never really share the heat, which is what keeps this one simple. Bone-in chops sear in oil alone until deeply golden, then rest on the board while a full stick of butter browns in that same skillet with shallots, honey, peach wedges, and a bundle of garden herbs. Some wedges hold their shape and some collapse into the sauce, which is exactly what turns it pink and fruity. Off the heat, cold butter, lemon, and red pepper flakes pull it all together, and the chops slide back in at the end to soak up every bit. One pan, about forty minutes, no grill and no oven.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: servings, 1 chop with sauce

Calories: 1002kcal

Author: Briana

Equipment

Ingredients

Pork Chops and Seasoning

3 pounds bone-in pork chops about 1 inch thick (about 3 pounds total)
1 tablespoon kosher salt use 1½ teaspoons if using Morton's or table salt, see notes
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon black pepper coarse ground or freshly ground, to taste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon sweet paprika optional, for color
2 tablespoons oil any neutral oil, grapeseed, avocado, canola

Brown Butter Peach Pan Sauce

2 sticks unsalted butter 1 cup Plugrà butter, divided
3 medium shallots thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt to taste, use ½ teaspoon if using Morton's or table salt, see notes
¼ to ½ cup honey to taste, depending on how sweet your peaches are
4 whole peaches pitted and cut into wedges
⅓ cup chicken stock plus more as needed
1 tablespoon lemon zest about the zest of 1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice juice of 1 lemon
¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
fresh basil torn, for serving

Herb Bundle

4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
2-3 sprigs fresh sage leaves
2 sprigs fresh oregano

Instructions

Season the chops. Pat the pork chops very dry. Combine the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and paprika, then season both sides generously. Let sit at room temperature while you prep everything else.
3 pounds bone-in pork chops, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
Sear the chops. Heat the oil in a large stainless skillet over medium-high until it shimmers. Sear the chops with room between them, working in batches if needed, until deeply golden on both sides and 140°F in the center. Transfer to a board and tent loosely with foil.
2 tablespoons oil

Don't add the butter yet! It will burn at the higher heat.

Wipe the pan. If the seasoning left dark, crusty bits behind, give the skillet a quick wipe. Burnt spices will muddy the color of the brown butter, and color is how you judge it.
Cook the shallots. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt and cook until tender and translucent, 2–3 minutes. Scoop out and set aside.
2 sticks unsalted butter, 3 medium shallots
Brown the butter. Add 10 tablespoons of the butter to the skillet. Cook, swirling, until it foams, then turns golden with lightly toasted milk solids and smells nutty. Pull it a touch early, since it will continue to cook in the hot pan.
Build the sauce. Stir the shallots back in, then add the honey. Nestle in the peach wedges and tuck the herb bundle alongside.
¼ to ½ cup honey, 4 whole peaches, 2-3 sprigs fresh sage leaves, 2 sprigs fresh oregano, 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
Soften the peaches. Cook over medium until the peaches are soft, 4–5 minutes. Some wedges will hold their shape and some will break down into the sauce. Add the stock and let it bubble for a minute to give the sauce body. It should be spoonable, not syrupy; splash in a little more stock if it tightens up.
1 teaspoon kosher salt, ⅓ cup chicken stock
Finish off heat. Pull the pan off the burner and swirl in the last 2 tablespoons of cold butter until glossy. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Keep the pan off the heat from here so the sauce doesn't split.
1 tablespoon lemon zest, 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice, ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Bring the chops back. Slide the rested chops into the skillet along with any juices from the board, and spoon the sauce over until coated.
Serve. Pull out the herb bundle and discard it, pressing it against the side of the pan first to squeeze out any butter it's holding. Tear basil over the top and finish with cracked pepper. Serve with skillet cornbread and whipped honey butter and veggies like blistered green beans or a salad.
freshly cracked black pepper, fresh basil

Notes

A note on salt. This recipe was developed with Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you're using Morton's kosher salt or table salt, use about half the listed amount and add more to taste since those crystals are denser, so the same spoonful is significantly saltier. Also, don't skip adding salt to the sauce: wiping the pan after searing takes some seasoning with it.
Optional dry brine. Salt the chops ahead and let them sit uncovered in the fridge for 45 minutes, or up to 24 hours. It dries the surface for a better crust and seasons a little deeper. Not required.
Pull at 140°F. An instant-read thermometer is the difference between juicy and sad. The chops will climb to a safe 145°F while they rest and the sauce comes together. Pork at 145°F is still faintly pink in the center, which is exactly right — and the long rest lets the juices reabsorb.
Watch the color of the butter, not the clock. Foaming, then golden, then nutty and smelling like toasted nuts, and it can happen quickly. Aim for lightly golden milk solids, since the butter stays in the pan and keeps cooking. Plugrà gets there faster and more evenly than standard butter, and at 82% butterfat there's less water to cook off, which also means a glossier sauce that clings to the chops instead of pooling around it aand getting greasy.
Start low on the honey. It's doing real work if your peaches are firm and tart, helping them soften and rounding out the sauce. With a very ripe August peach, start at 3 tablespoons. You can always add more if needed.
Don't go shy on the lemon. It's what keeps a rich, sweet sauce balanced. Taste before serving.
Use woody herbs, and whatever you have on hand. The herb bundle infuses subtle flavor into the sauce, and herbs with woodier, firmer stems (thyme, sage, oregano, rosemary) will hold up to cooking for a while. Don't add basil; it will just wilt almost instantly.

Nutrition