The essentials of this delicious recipe come from DinnerThenDessert.com.
This recipe is a favourite in our household … oven-baked pork chops seasoned with brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper, teamed with garlic roast potatoes!!
Here are a few of the modifications made for our recipe:
- Tenderizing both sides of the pork chops, with the bumpy side of a kitchen mallet, by placing each chop on a piece of parchment paper that folds over to cover both sides of the chop. Then gently pounding both sides of each parchment covered pork chop to tenderize. The tenderizing helps ensure the meat is tender and the parchment paper makes cleanup easy.
- Roasting the potatoes longer so they are cooked through.
- Using olive oil instead of canola oil.
- Using garlic for the pork chops AND the potatoes.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 medium to large size Yukon Gold potatoes or red potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 1 inch chunks
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pork loin chops (bone in or out)
- 2 tablespoons crushed or minced garlic (1 tablespoon for chops and 1 tablespoon for potatoes)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar packed
- kosher salt or sea salt to taste (roughly 1/4 teaspoon for chops and 1/4 teaspoon for potatoes)
- ground black pepper to taste, for both chops and potatoes
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, coat the cut and peeled potatoes with the olive oil and toss them together with the crushed or minced garlic, kosher salt and pepper.
- Scrape the seasoned potatoes onto one side of a cookie sheet, or better yet the Heritage The Rock Plus Reversible Grill/Griddle (my favourite), leaving room on the other side for the chops.
- Place potatoes in oven for 10 to 15 minutes BEFORE adding the pork chops, to ensure the potatoes and chops are finished cooking at the same time. While potatoes are cooking …
- Tenderize the pork chops by placing them between parchment paper. Then, use a tenderizing mallet to lightly pound the chops (both sides) to help ensure they are tender when cooked. (Optional)
- Combine the brown sugar and remaining garlic, salt and pepper in the empty bowl the potatoes were in. Mix it all together well.
- Add chops to bowl and spoon the seasoning onto all sides of each chop.
- When 10 to 15 minutes is up for the start of roasting the potatoes, remove the potatoes from the oven (careful!! the pan will be very hot). Place the chops on the other half of the cookie sheet or The Rock Plus Griddle. Potatoes should be one side, chops on the other.
- Return pan to oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chops. The internal temperature of the meat when ready to remove from the oven should be 145 degrees.
- Rest the meat for 3 to 5 minutes before serving. Leave the potatoes in the oven until chops are ready to serve.