Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Mix together brown sugar and chili powder in a small bowl.
- Dust pork chops with salt and season with half of the brown sugar mixture.
- Chop bacon and toss with the remaining brown sugar mixture.
- In your skillet, cook seasoned bacon over medium heat until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- In the same skillet with bacon grease, add thinly sliced onions and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden and caramelized.
- Increase heat to medium-high. Sear the seasoned pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side until a crust forms.
- Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 135°F.
- Remove chops and tent loosely with foil to rest.
- Deglaze the skillet with chicken broth, scraping up all the browned bits.
- Add the heavy cream and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the caramelized onions and crispy bacon, then simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Place pork chops on plates and top with the bacon-onion cream sauce.
Nutrition
Notes
- Rest the chops — Pull at 135°F and tent loosely with foil. Carryover heat brings them to 140–145°F while the sauce finishes. That 5-minute rest is the difference between juicy and chalky.
- Don't rush the onions — 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. The sweetness comes from cooking off the water and letting the sugars develop. Constant stirring slows that process down.
- Use a meat thermometer — An expensive cut deserves precision. Pork at 135°F is juicy; at 160°F it's dry. A thermometer removes all guesswork.
- Prep ahead if needed — Cook the bacon, caramelize the onions, and build the sauce up to several hours in advance. Reheat the sauce gently while you sear the chops fresh — the finish takes under 20 minutes once your mise en place is set.
- Bone-in holds better — The bone conducts heat more evenly and keeps the meat moist through the covered finish. Boneless works, but reduce the covered cook time by 2–3 minutes and check temp early.
- The sauce is the point. You want something under the pork chop that can hold it — creamy mashed potatoes or polenta work well, and roasted sweet potatoes bring a natural sweetness that echoes the brown sugar in the rub. Creamed corn works if you want to keep the richness going.
- Crusty bread on the side earns its place. A sharp green salad — lemon or apple cider vinaigrette — cuts through the cream and gives the plate some contrast.
- Leftovers reheat well over rice with the sauce poured over everything.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep the pork and sauce together — the sauce helps the chops stay moist on reheat.
- Reheat gently over low heat in a small pan, adding a splash of chicken broth or cream if the sauce has thickened too much in the fridge. Avoid high heat — pork chops dry out fast past 145°F.
- The bacon-onion cream sauce freezes well on its own for up to 1 month. If you're building a meal prep batch, cook the sauce separately and sear the chops fresh when you're ready to eat.