Special Pork Chops

Summer has found its rhythm and so have I. Tuesdays at Bernice's Table, Wednesday evenings cooking for New Hope AME's youth program, Sundays my own table. The structure holds me and I hold the structure.

There is a girl who has been coming to Bernice's Table with her grandmother for about three months now. Her name is Kezia and she is fourteen years old and she has been standing at the edge of the serving line watching how everything works. Last Tuesday I asked her if she wanted to help. She said yes so fast the word came out before she was done thinking it. I gave her the ladle and talked her through the portions and watched her find her footing. By the end of the night she was moving like she'd been doing it for years.

Afterward she asked me how I make the gravy. I walked her through it right there in the church kitchen — the roux, the color you're looking for, the way you have to keep moving and not panic when it starts to look like it won't come together. She wrote it down in a small notebook she pulled from her jacket pocket, which means she came to Bernice's Table hoping she might learn something. A fourteen-year-old with a notebook in her pocket is someone who is paying attention to her life, and that makes my heart glad.

I called Destiny afterward and told her about Kezia. Destiny said it sounded like someone had found a kitchen mentor. I said I wasn't sure I was ready to be a mentor to anybody. Destiny said, Mama, you've been doing it for years, you just haven't called it that. She's not wrong. I've been handing things down without naming what I was doing. That is maybe how it's supposed to happen — the transmission quiet, happening through the hands, through a ladle, through a notebook with a recipe written in it before the lesson is even over.

Kezia came back Wednesday with her notebook and asked if she could learn how to make cornbread next. I said yes. We made two pans.

When I walked Kezia through that roux — the color to watch for, the way you have to keep stirring and trust the process even when it looks like it’s falling apart — this is the dish I had in mind. Special Pork Chops have been the centerpiece of my gravy teaching for a long time, because the pan drippings give you something real to work with, and the reward at the end is undeniable. If you’ve got a notebook in your pocket and you’re ready to learn, this is the recipe that will teach you what a good gravy can do.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Season the chops. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Season both sides evenly with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Sear. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and sear 3—4 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add sliced onion to the drippings in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.
Make the roux. Sprinkle flour over the onions and stir constantly for 1—2 minutes, cooking out the raw flour taste and letting the mixture deepen to a light tan color. Don’t rush this step — the color is what you’re after.
Add liquid. Slowly pour in the chicken broth while whisking to prevent lumps, then add the milk and Worcestershire sauce. Continue whisking until the gravy is smooth and begins to thicken, about 3—4 minutes.
Finish. Return the pork chops to the skillet, nestling them into the gravy. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15—18 minutes until the chops are cooked through (internal temperature of 145°F). Stir in butter and adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve. Plate the chops and spoon the onion gravy generously over the top. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Special Pork Chops — The Night I Handed Down the Ladle