Creamy Lemon Thyme Pork Chops

close up shot of lemon thyme pork chop on small white plate with potatoes and asparagus

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Pork chops drenched in the easiest and most irresistible creamy lemon thyme sauce!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Western

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £2.50 / £3

Equipment

Large Heavy-Based Pan & Tongs
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Wooden Spoon
Kitchen Paper
Jug (for stock)

Ingredients

4x Pork Chops, brought close to room temp (see notes)
Salt, Black Pepper & Garlic Powder, to season pork
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Butter
2 Shallots, very finely diced
2 cloves of Garlic, very finely diced
2 tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves, finely diced
1 Lemon, zested and halved
180ml / 3/4 cup Chicken Stock
180ml / 3/4 cup Double/Heavy Cream, at room temp
1 heaped tsp Dijon Mustard

Instructions

Pat the pork chops dry with kitchen paper then season both sides with a pinch of salt, pepper & garlic powder.
Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large heavy-based pan over high heat. Add the pork chops and fry both sides for a couple of minutes, or until golden brown on the outside and just about cooked through the centre (timings will depend on thickness of the chops). Stack the chops on top of each other with the fat aligning, then use your tongs to flip them on the sides and sear the fat for a couple of mins. Remove from pan and place to one side. Lower heat to medium.
Melt in the butter, then fry the shallots until they begin to soften and turn golden. Add the garlic, thyme & lemon zest and fry for another 30 seconds or so.
Stir in the stock and cream, then stir in the mustard and your preferred amount of lemon juice. I usually go for 1 tbsp lemon juice (~ half a lemon), but start with less and work up if you'd prefer. Simmer for around 5 mins until the sauce thickens, stirring somewhat frequently.
Stir in any resting juices from the pork, then season to taste and adjust if needed. Add the pork chops in and baste in the sauce, then serve up and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Pork Chops - Here I used some boneless loin chops which were about 120g/4oz each. They're pretty thin, hence the quick cooking time. You could also use larger pork chops, they'll obviously just take longer to cook. In all cases, you'll want to get the internal temp of the pork to at least 63C/145F (will be a blush of pink at this temp). Also, if the strip of fat is quite thick consider scoring it so it doesn't cause the pork to curl up in the pan.

b) Lemon - I find the zest of the whole lemon and the juice of half of it gives a pretty good punch of lemony flavour, without it being too overbearing. If you're at all wary just start off with less juice and work your way up. Make sure you only remove the very outer layer of the lemon (the yellow waxy part) and not the white part. If you haven't got a zester just use a fine cheese grater and finely dice it from there.

c) Sauce - Ensure you're using heavy (US) or double (UK) cream, otherwise you risk the lemon juice curdling the cream.

d) Serving - Here I've served with Roast Potatoes and Asparagus. I used my Roasted Baby Potatoes Recipe and chucked in some asparagus for the last 10 mins or so of cooking.

e) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 (no sides).

Nutrition