Italian Buttermilk Pork Chops

Buttermilk is one ingredient I only started using more often thanks to Dorie Greenspan. Some of her recipes have called for it and of course, it’s only a small amount. What am I going to do with the rest of it? Thankfully there’s a few recipes I’ve been able to use it in. One easy way to use up buttermilk is as a marinade for chicken and even pork. Many folks are probably familiar with ‘buttermilk chicken’ but the same idea works perfectly well with pork chops too. To add some flavor, I added some dried oregano, thyme and minced garlic to the marinade and let it chill overnight before browning and finishing off in the oven. The result? Flavorful, juicy pork chops!

4 pork chops
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 – 2 cups buttermilk
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil

Season your pork chops with salt and pepper; place chops in a gallon sized zip top bag.
Add the remaining ingredients and place in the fridge for 4 hours to chill (or you could chill overnight too.) Remove the pork chops from the bag and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a hot skillet with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, brown your pork chops on both sides. Once browned, place the pork chops on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes. Don’t over cook otherwise it will result in dry, tough pork!

I served this with parmesan & parsley orzo and roasted caprese tomatoes.