By March is breathing down our necks and I can feel spring coming the way you feel a train before you see it — a vibration, a change in the air, a sense that something big and unstoppable is on its way. The garden knows. The azaleas are budding. The live oaks are dropping last year's leaves to make room for new ones. And the marsh — the marsh smells different in late February. Richer. Like the pluff mud is warming up and releasing everything it's been holding all winter.
I started hardening off the seedlings this week — setting them outside during the day and bringing them in at night, getting them used to the real air and the real sun before I plant them in the ground. It's like sending children to school. You can't keep them on the windowsill forever. They have to learn to handle wind and rain and the occasional squirrel. The tomato starts are sturdy. The peppers are slower, which is normal — peppers take their time, like some people I know.
At school, we're counting down to spring break. The children are restless in the way that winter makes children restless — cooped up, bored, ready for sun and grass and the freedom of not being inside. I made sloppy Joes for lunch on Wednesday, which is not a Lowcountry dish and is not sophisticated food and is absolutely what four hundred children needed on a gray February Wednesday. Ground beef, onion, tomato sauce, a little brown sugar, a little vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, served on a bun with a side of tater tots. Sometimes food doesn't need to be gourmet. Sometimes food just needs to be sloppy and warm and served by someone who is happy to see you. That is my culinary philosophy, baby, and I am sixty-one years old and I have not found a reason to change it.
Earl and I celebrated our anniversary this week. Forty-one years on February 28th. We didn't do anything fancy — Earl doesn't do fancy and I gave up expecting fancy around year five. We ate dinner at home. I made pork chops, which were Earl's mother's specialty and which I learned from her in the first year of our marriage, standing in her kitchen in that apartment off Broad Street, watching her bread and fry pork chops with a confidence that I aspired to. Her secret: a dip in buttermilk before the flour. Makes the coating cling and the meat stay juicy. I've been making them her way for forty-one years. Earl says they taste just like his mama's. I say that's because she taught me and I listened. Listening is the most underrated skill in cooking and in marriage.
Happy anniversary to us. Forty-one years. One kitchen. One table. Two chairs. It's everything.
Now go on and feed somebody.
Forty-one years calls for the only recipe that matters in this house, and this week I made it just the same as I have every year — Earl’s mama’s pork chops, the buttermilk way, the right way. There’s no better anniversary dinner than one that carries that kind of history in it. Here’s how I make them.
Buttermilk Pan-Fried Pork Chops
Prep Time: 10 min (plus 30 min soak) | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops, about 3/4 inch thick (roughly 2 lbs total)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, but recommended)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or lard, for frying
Instructions
- Soak the chops. Place the pork chops in a shallow dish. Pour the buttermilk and hot sauce over them, turning to coat. Cover and let soak at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator. This is the step that keeps the meat juicy — don’t skip it.
- Mix the dredge. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper until evenly combined.
- Dredge the chops. Remove each pork chop from the buttermilk, letting the excess drip off, then press firmly into the flour mixture on both sides. Pat the coating in so it adheres well. Set the coated chops on a wire rack or plate while you heat the oil.
- Heat the oil. In a large, heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal), heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers — about 350°F if you have a thermometer. A pinch of flour dropped in should sizzle immediately.
- Fry the chops. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, lay the pork chops in the hot oil. Fry 4 to 5 minutes per side, until the crust is deep golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 145°F. Resist the urge to move them around — let the crust set.
- Rest before serving. Transfer the finished chops to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Let them rest 5 minutes before serving. This lets the juices redistribute and keeps everything you worked for right where it belongs.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 620mg