Monday Menu: Lemon-Nut Pork Chops

And we are back. I took last week off because I had some deadlines to meet, including finalizing the cover for Full Sail.  Stay tuned for a sneak peak soon.

I hadn’t made this recipe in quite a while and had forgotten what a good combination butter, lemon and in this case, pecans are with pork. But I had some misfit lemons I bought at the store that I needed to use up and lots of pecans, so I searched through my recipes and this one popped up.

Lemon-Nut Pork Chops

• 4 boneless pork loin chops (approx. 1/2 to 3/4” thick)
• ½ tsp crushed garlic
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup finely chopped pecans or hazelnuts (the finer the grind, the better this works, if you have a coffee grinder that’s best)
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 lemon, quartered

skillet

Rub chops with garlic, salt, pepper, & zest. Melt butter in skillet on medium heat. Brown chops, 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Spread 1/4 nuts on plate. Remove chops 1 at a time and press 1 side into nuts. Add ¼ more nuts each time. Sprinkle any remaining nuts over chops. Stir lemon juice into pan drippings, deglaze, heat for 1 minute and spoon over chops. Serve with lemon wedges.