Sage Rubbed Pork Chops With Gravy and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I love the thrill of creating a recipe on the fly. The potato recipe was adapted from Alton Brown, but the pork chop recipe came together in the pan tonight while I was cooking. If you saw the paper with my chicken scratch hand writing all over it you would laugh...but this came together like it was just meant to be! :)

Sage Rubbed Pork Chops

• 4 boneless pork chops (add more if you need to)
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage, sliced thinly
• 1 teaspoons kosher salt for the rub + 1/2 teaspoon for the gravy
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper for the rub + 1/4 teaspoon for the gravy
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
• 4 oz baby bella mushrooms, diced
• 3 tablespoons butter
  
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 teaspoon gravy master
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 3 tablespoons water

• 3 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons salt
  
• 16 oz half & half cream (I used 1 cup fat-free half & half and 1 cup 1% milk and it was fantastic!)
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed (you can also use minced garlic from a jar. 1 teaspoon = 1 clove)
• 6 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese
  

Combine the ground sage with 1 teaspoon of the salt, garlic powder and rosemary in a small bowl. Lightly rub the seasoning on the top and bottom of the pork chops and set aside. Let them come to room temperature with the seasoning on them. Browning meat is always best when it is at room temperature and this will give the meat a chance to soak up all the wonderful flavors from the spices. Set them aside for a little while.

Dice up the onion, mushrooms and fresh sage.

Peel the potatoes, rinse and then cube. I cut them into pieces around 1 - 1/2 inches.

Try to keep them all around the same size so they cook evenly. You don't want them too small so they turn to mush. Put them in a pot and put enough water in the pot so it covers the potatoes by about 1/2 an inch to an inch. Add the 2 tablespoons of salt to the *water* that has the potatoes in it. I know what you are thinking..."that is WAY too much salt!". I know it sounds like a lot, but it isn't. Just make absolutely sure that you are adding the salt to the water that the potatoes are cooking in and then draining them after they are cooked and NOT adding this much salt directly to the potatoes after they cooked. Turn on the stove and let them come to a boil.



For the gravy: add the chicken stock to a small saucepan over medium heat.

Use a measuring cup or another small bowl and combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. A slurry is just a combination of either cornstarch and water or flour and water that is combined and then added to a recipe to thicken it.

Add the cornstarch and water to the pan with the chicken stock.

Stir in the gravy master, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Whisk constantly until it begins to boil. Reduce heat and cook another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large skillet melt the butter. Add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Slide the onions off to the sides and add the pork chops to the pan making sure that the bottoms of the pork chops are not sitting on a pile of onion (you want the pork chops to get nice and brown on the bottom). Let the pork chops cook for 4 minutes...they should have a nice golden brown color.


Turn the pork chops over to cook the other side. Add the mushrooms and fresh sage at the same time that you flip the pork chops over. Cook the pork chops for 4 minutes on the second side.


Once the pork chops have browned on both sides, add the gravy to the pan. Cover and cook for 9-13 minutes. The length of time you cook them will depend on the size of your pork chops. Mine cooked for about 12 minutes, but if they were any thinner they would have overcooked. Keep and eye on them and if you are unsure cut into one of the pork chops at around the 10 minute mark to see how it looks. I wouldn't use real thin pork chops for this recipe. The average cut for a center cut pork chop would work perfectly.


Now that the pork chops are cooking get back to those potatoes. In a small saucepan add the half & half (or half & half and milk combo) and garlic. Heat over medium heat just until you start to see it simmer. Once it starts to simmer remove it from the heat. Remember - you DO NOT want to turn your back on cream or milk on the stove. It WILL boil over and make a huge mess if left unattended. Check on the potatoes. Once they are fork tender, drain them and return them to the pot. Add the garlic/cream mixture and the parmesan cheese. Use a potato masher and mash them up. They will look *very* soupy and you will think that you have done something wrong. Don't worry, you haven't. Leave them to sit for about 5 minutes and they will thicken up beautifully.


Once the pork chops are done serve them with the potatoes and you can even use some of the gravy on your potatoes if you want!


Mashed Potatoes Adapted From: Alton Brown