Sauteed Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Chops

One of the reasons I enjoy this hobby is that there is so much to learn, and that is the reason I love Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. Preceding each section of recipes is some great instructional material for beginners like me. In the basics of prk chops he says:

Today’s pork is so lean that small cuts like chops must be cooked with liquid.

Worth a try, I thought. I took his basic recipe for Sauteed Pork Chops and altered it to my liking. (I find wrapping a boneless pork chop in a slice of prosciutto adds a lot of flavor.) If you can, go to an Italian deli for the prosciutto. You will get much fresher prosciutto in much larger slices. In addition, the vacuum-wrapped prosciutto usually found in supermarkets is too thin to wrap without breaking.

Sauteed Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Chops

4 center-cut loin boneless pork chops, 3/4 inch – 1 inch thick
4 slices prosciutto, sliced medium
2 tablespoons Tea Oil, grapeseed oil, or other oil with a high smoke point
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sprinkle the chops lightly with salt and pepper and rub it into the surface of the meat. Wrap each chop in a slice of prosciutto.

Place a saute pan over high heat for 2-3 minutes until a few droplets of water dropped into the skillet sizzle away in a few seconds. Add the the oil and let it get hot. Add the chops and leave then undisturbed for two minutes. They should release easily from the pan at that time. Turn them over and brown the other side.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the wine and garlic. Cook until the wine is almost completely reduced, turning the chops occassionally. Add the beef broth, cover, and turn the heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes, turning the chops occassionally. When the chops are done, they will read 150F on an instant-read thermometer.(The center of each chop should be just the barest hint of pink)

Remove the chops from the pan, put them on a plate and tent with foil. Turn the heat up on the sautee pan, scrape the yummy blackened bits from the bottom, and let the liquid reduce a bit. Cut the butter into about 8 small pieces. When the sauce has reached the desired consistency, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time. Add the lemon juice. Pour over chops.