Peppered Pork with Mushroom Sauce

Fourth of July is coming and I am not dreading it this year. Last year I dreaded it—the first one after Marcus, the fireworks, the neighborhood smells, the memory of him at the lake with Darius. This year I am making peace with the holiday the way I've been making peace with holidays all year: you show up, you cook, you honor what was good and you hold what was lost and you do both at the same time because the living do not have the luxury of choosing one or the other.

I made ribs this week. Pork ribs, slow-smoked on Calvin's grill for six hours—Calvin set the alarm for five AM so he could get them going before the day's heat made standing at the grill inadvisable, and he came to bed at midnight and got up at five and he did this without complaint, which is the kind of thing a man does when he knows it matters to his wife. He doesn't fully understand what's happening in me around food, the way it carries the grief and works through it, but he respects the process without needing to understand it, which is everything a good husband is. The ribs were right. The fall-off-the-bone kind, with a dry rub that I've been adjusting for fifteen years and that is currently exactly as I want it, which means I will probably change it next week because perfection makes me nervous.

Bernice's Table had thirty-eight people Tuesday. We are one person away from our previous record. I am going to forty before the summer is out. I can feel it. The word is still spreading—we had two new people this week who came because someone who ate here two months ago told them it was good, which is the only recommendation that matters in the food world, the referral from someone who has personally tasted and personally benefited. "It was good." Three words. The whole marketing strategy of every kitchen that ever was.

The slow-smoked ribs were the centerpiece, but it’s the smaller weeknight versions of that same impulse—peppered pork, a pan sauce that takes patience, something worth standing at the stove for—that have been getting me through the weeks between the big cooking days. This peppered pork with mushroom sauce is that kind of recipe: deliberate, deeply savory, and exactly the thing you make when you need the cooking itself to be the point. Calvin approved, and Darius had seconds, and that felt like enough of a verdict.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in pork chops, about 1 inch thick (roughly 2 lbs total)
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine or low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Season the pork. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Combine black pepper, salt, and smoked paprika in a small bowl, then press the mixture firmly into both sides of each chop. Let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes while you prep the remaining ingredients.
Sear the chops. Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large heavy skillet (cast iron works well) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pork chops and sear without moving them for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until a deep brown crust forms and internal temperature reaches 145°F. Transfer to a plate, tent loosely with foil, and rest.
Build the mushroom base. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the pan. Once melted, add mushrooms in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 3 minutes until browned on one side. Stir and continue cooking 3 to 4 minutes more. Add garlic and thyme; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Deglaze and reduce. Pour in the white wine (or 1/3 cup broth), scraping up all the browned bits from the pan bottom with a wooden spoon. Let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 3/4 cup chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook 4 minutes until slightly reduced.
Finish the sauce. Stir in heavy cream and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer gently over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Bring it together. Return the pork chops to the skillet, nestling them into the sauce. Spoon the mushroom sauce over the top and cook 2 minutes just to rewarm. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately, with mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or crusty bread to catch the sauce.

Nutrition (per serving)

Peppered Pork with Mushroom Sauce — The Kind of Cooking That Carries You Through