Honey Mustard Pork Chops

February is tomorrow and I made it through January without significant incident, which is its own kind of accomplishment. January can go either way: some years it is productive and forward-moving and some years it is the month you wait through. This one was mostly good. I cooked well and showed up to work and called Gloria on Wednesdays and Sundays and made dal twice more and am beginning to understand how the spices work together in a way that feels like vocabulary rather than recipe-following.

I made a batch of butter chicken on Saturday, my first time. I followed the recipe from the South Indian cookbook, which was a fairly traditional version with a cashew-cream tomato sauce and a spice blend I mixed myself. It took longer than I expected because the sauce requires time: you have to caramelize the tomatoes with the spices and let them cook down before adding the cream and the chicken. The result was orange and fragrant and exactly right and I ate it over rice and thought I cannot believe I did not know how to make this until this year.

Brought leftover dal to work and Tamara asked what it was and I told her and she said she had never tried Indian food and I said would you like to? She said yes. I told her I would make a proper meal for her and Ms. Wanda sometime. That sounds like a thing a person with a full life would do. I think I am becoming a person with a full life, incrementally, by extending the table to include more people.

Making that butter chicken on Saturday reminded me that cooking for others is one of the quieter ways to say you matter to me — and when I told Tamara and Ms. Wanda I’d put a proper meal on the table for them, I started thinking about what that meal might look like. These honey mustard pork chops have that same quality the butter chicken did: a sauce that takes a little patience and rewards you generously, something glossy and warm that turns an ordinary evening into a small occasion. If I’m becoming a person with a full life, this is the kind of recipe that helps me get there.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)

Instructions

Season the chops. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Season both sides evenly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Sear. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pork chops and sear without moving them for 4–5 minutes per side, until a golden crust forms and internal temperature reaches 145°F. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. In the same skillet, whisk together Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, honey, chicken broth, and apple cider vinegar, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Simmer and reduce. Let the sauce simmer for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in thyme.
Finish and serve. Return pork chops to the skillet and spoon the sauce over them. Cook for 1–2 minutes more to warm through. Serve immediately, spooning extra sauce over each chop.

Nutrition (per serving)

Honey Mustard Pork Chops — The Recipe I’d Make for a Full Life