Cast iron skillet, Fall Apart Tender Pork Chops & Gravy Over Rice, is comfort food to feed the soul! A handful of ingredients come together in the frying pan and oven, creating a dish to be remembered for years to come that uses simple pantry ingredients you probably already have on hand! Perfect weekend dinner food that fills your house with good old-fashioned, mouthwatering aromas!

With fall right around the corner, comes warm and comforting skillet meals, casseroles, and crock pot concoctions to warm the tummy and stick to your ribs weeknight meals after work, school, sports, and just plain too much to do!

And along with school starting, in come the never-ending colds and flus.

This recipe is a cure-all for whatever is troubling you! So let’s make this!

This starts with just a few basics, and any can be subbed & swapped for whatever you personally enjoy!

Just make sure that you use a deep-sided pan that can tolerate both the stovetop as well as the oven.

I start with my favorite butter!!! REAL butter, that I don’t think I could cook (or bake!) without! For this I used Minerva Dairy’s Garlic & Herb Butter, but you can use their regular butter if you’d prefer.

(Or use whatever butter that makes you smile, of course.)

Now. We like an obnoxious amount of gravy, especially for this dish. So I only used 4 boneless pork loin chops. You can certainly stretch this to 6 chops, but just make sure that you use a big enough pan.

But trust me. The gravy is AWESOME and you’re going to want a LOT of it.

So just melt your butter, and sear your chops on both sides. When gorgeously browned on each side, remove them to a plate.

Don’t wipe out the pan. Add the rest of the butter and toss in your mushrooms and thyme.

Sauté them until they’re nice and golden-delicious!

Then evenly spoon them over the tops of your pork chops that you have resting.

Again, leave all the butter and juices in the pan! Don’t wipe out all the good stuff!

Add your sliced onions, and toss them to coat with all that incredible yumminess!

Place your chops back into the pan, right over the bed of onions, and make sure that they’re all topped nicely with the mushrooms.

Next, in a bowl, whisk up your sauce.

(*If you’ve heard of “browning sauce” and didn’t know what it is, this is it.)

VERY good stuff, but use it SPARINGLY. A little goes a very long way!

(I never measure over the pan, so that if I accidentally pour too fast and overflow my measurement, it doesn’t go into my dish and be too much. So be careful when adding it!)

Then pour your sauce slowly and carefully over your chops and mushrooms.

Place a tight-fitting lid on it, pop it into a fairly low oven, and bake for 2 1/2 hours. (3 if they’re super thick!)

Towards the end of your baking time, make your rice.

When the chops are done, melt-in-your-mouth-tender, and falling apart when you cut one…..

….place your rice onto a serving platter.

Then carefully lift your chops out of the pan and place them over your rice. TENT with foil to keep them warm.

*You’ll have a lot of sauce in the pan that will be a little thin at first. Grab a whisk and stir, whisking vigorously, until it cools down and thickens a bit.

Ladle more sauce over your chops. Don’t skimp. Go for it!

Then garnish with finely chopped parsley if you have some on hand. A little greenery always makes a dish look finished and that you took the time to really care.

Always remember, we eat with our eyes first! Make it pretty!

Reserve the rest of that gravy sauce for when your serve up platefuls!

Let everyone ooh and ahh for a sec, then pile up your plates while it’s hot!

Ladle more gravy, LOTS and LOTS of it, onto each serving!

The rice will start to absorb it, and each bite of pork chops and rice are heavenly dipped in it!

Be prepared to lick your plate. Not that I do this. (Ha!)

But, pssst!, I have been known to finger-swipe my plate when no one is looking. 😉

And I’m betting you and your family will, too!!

This stuff is just sooooo good!! These Fall Apart Tender Pork Chops & Gravy Over Rice are perfect for weeknight and Sunday dinners that the entire family will enjoy! And I’m sure will become a fall and wintertime favorite!

Hope you all enjoy!

4 servings

Fall Apart Tender Pork Chops & Gravy Over Rice

Ingredients

4 pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick (boneless pork loin or bone in), trim fat and pat dry
Goya Seasoned Salt (with or without pepper / or your own favorite), garlic powder, and regular black pepper, to taste
6 Tbl. Minerva Dairy Garlic & Herb Butter, [i]*divided[/i]
1 (8 oz.) container fresh sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup cold water
2 packets (.87 oz. each) dry beef or pork gravy mix, either works
1/4 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can beef consommé
1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
(1 Tbl. sour cream, optional at end)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300ºF.

Season chops on both sides with seasoning salt, garlic powder and pepper to taste.

In cast iron skillet (that has a tight-fitting lid), melt 3 Tbl. butter until hot and almost smoking over medium heat. Brown chops on each side, turning every 2 minutes so that they don't curl. When nicely browned on each side, about 6 - 8 minutes total, remove to a small plate.

Add 3 more Tbl. butter to pan, melt, and add mushrooms and thyme. Sauté until golden, pile onto each chop.

Turn off heat and move pan to a cool spot.

Add onions to the bottom of the pan separating into rings, tossing in the butter. Carefully place chops with mushrooms on top of onions.

In small bowl, whisk together rest of ingredients. Pour slowly and evenly over chops.

Cover with lid, and pop into 300ºF oven and bake for 2 1/2 hours. (*3 hours if super thick-cut.) Do not lift lid during baking.

Make rice during last 30 minutes of baking time.

To serve, place chops onto servings of rice, whisk leftover gravy sauce in pan until creamy, cooled down a little and thickened a bit (this will take a few minutes), and ladle (lots!) of gravy over chops and rice. (*For a richer sauce, whisk in 1 Tbl. sour cream.) Garnish with finely chopped fresh parsley if desired.

Notes

*Peas can be added to gravy sauce if desired. Or simply serve with a vegetable or salad on the side.
**Also delicious served with/or over mashed potatoes instead of rice.