Grandma’s Baked Pork Chops

 My Grandma was a wonderful cook.  It’s been sixteen years since she passed away, but I still remember Sunday dinners at her house like it was yesterday.  I remember crowding in, knee to knee, around her tiny dining room table, with my parents, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.  We’d dive into course after delicious course, and the sounds of laughter and love would fill the house.

(She was Italian, and in case you haven’t heard, Italian people like to eat.)

She was an amazing home cook, and managed all of it in a kitchen about the size of my dining room table.  It amazed me then, and it amazes me even more now.

I’m forever kicking myself because I never hounded her in the kitchen.  If I’d been smart, I would have shadowed her in her teeny tiny kitchen, writing down her recipes, and asking her advice as she made them…because they were all in her head.  But, alas, I was a silly kid who always thought there would be enough time, and another tomorrow, and so when Grandma passed away, so did most of her recipes.  I have a few, but not many, and the recipes I do have aren’t really Italian! (By the way…if any of my relatives are reading this and have my Grandma’s fried cauliflower recipe, I’d love a copy.)

This pork chop recipe is one that someone, God love ’em, managed to write down.  It’s simple both in preparation and in ingredients, and the result is always delicious, and to me, comforting.  These simple little pork chops also hold a special place in my heart because they were what my Grandma cooked for us the last time Aaron, my then fiance (although my Grandma would only call him my “friend”), and I had dinner with her.

You can easily adapt this for any amount of people.  It’s as easy to make for a party of one as it is for a party of ten.

I start by generously sprinkling my inch-thick, bone in, center cut pork chops with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.  Then, I dip the chops in some beaten egg, and coat them with Italian seasoned breadcrumbs.

Once they are breaded, I pour a little bit of oil in a large skillet.  I heat the oil up and then brown up the chops on both sides.

Once the chops are browned and crispy on the outside, I place them all in a 9×13 inch pan.

The pan gets covered, tightly, with foil, and then popped into the oven for a full hour and a half!

During that 90-minute span, magic happens.

When the pork chops come out of the oven, they are so tender and juicy, they fall right off the bone.  I’ve passed this recipe on to many friends over the years, and it always makes me smile when I get a text or an email about how Grandma’s wonderful pork chops are making the rounds, and making hungry people happy all over the place.

I think Grandma would be proud.

GRANDMA’S BAKED PORK CHOPS