Braised Pork Chops with Fennel Sauce Recipe
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops 1¼ to 1½ inch thick
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup of finely chopped onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic finely chopped
- ½ cup finely chopped fennel bulb finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons Pernod or anisette
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup heavy cream optional but I recommend
Instructions
- Start by preheating your sauté (fry) pan over medium-high heat. If your pan isn't big enough to sear all four chops, cook them in two batches. You never want to overcrowd the pan, or the meat will steam.
- Add the oil and let it get hot.
- Add the chops and sear them on each side for a few minutes. When you add the chops, don't try to move them around. They will stick to the pan and stay stuck to the pan until they sear up and release on their own. This is an excellent indicator to flip them to the other side.
- After the meat is browned on both sides, remove it from the pan and reserve it on a plate or bowl—no need to keep it warm since you will finish cooking the chops in the braise. Be sure to save any juices that might bleed out of the chops to add to the pan later.
- Most recipes say to pour off all but a couple of tablespoons of any fat left from the meat or oil in the pan at this point. It's been my experience that no fat is left, and I often have to add a little more to sauté the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the onion, garlic, fennel, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook these ingredients on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Be sure to stir them often so they don't burn.
- Remove the pan from the heat, add the Pernod or anisette, and return the pan to the heat. Shake and cook for about 1 minute. I don't think it will flame up, but if it does, be careful not to burn yourself and have a cover nearby if you need to put out the flame.
- Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and then lower heat to simmer. At this point, add the meat back to the pan and continue to cook until the internal temperature of the meat is about 155°F. Remove the meat from the pan and keep it warm by loosely covering it with foil.
- Add the cream and reduce the sauce until it begins to thicken to your desired consistency. When I first tasted the sauce before adding the cream, I thought it was slightly bitter from too much Pernod or the fennel. The original recipe calls for three tablespoons of Pernod, but I reduced it to two—your choice. Adding the cream got rid of the bitter taste, so I like using it.
- We served the pork on a bed of egg noodles with sauerkraut and applesauce on the side.
- Delicious!
Notes
I used center cut but you could also substitute pork blade chops that comes from the loin or the pork blade steaks that come from the shoulder.