Pork Chop Surprise
A Tasty Retro Revival
Pork Chop Surprise is a very retro recipe. I found the original version in a cookbook for “home economists” from the 1960s. I took the recipe and modified it for the modern day.
It is a very surprising recipe for sure!
The surprise is how all of the ingredients come together for such a delicious dinner. Bone in chops, creamed corn, parmesan cheese, and grated onion make up the base of this recipe.
What comes out is a tender, delicious, and very flavorful mix of salty and sweet.
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post. It is pretty self explanatory but I will share a few of the products I use in case you are not familiar.
There is also a Pinterest button on the recipe card if you want to pin the recipe to Pinterest.
Speaking of which, if you want to follow me on Pinterest you can find me at The Tipsy Housewife.
Mustard and Honey
The mustard and honey mixture you brush on the pork chops before you sear them adds a great, tangy flavor and also helps in caramelization.
Even if you do not like mustard, I feel like you will still like this. It does not yield a strong mustard flavor, but more of a tanginess that is a great compliment to the corn topping.
Bake Uncovered
I bake this uncovered so that the whole dish gets all caramelized and juicy. If you know your oven and you are afraid that it will get too well done, you can bake this covered but I would recommend uncovering this at the end of cooking so the cheese and corn mixture can get toasty.
Did you know they put corn on pizza in some countries in Asia? Honestly, after seeing how good this dish is maybe I’ll have to try it!
Deglazing The Pan
There is a step where you add water to the pan after you sear off the chops. This deglazes the pan so that you get all the meaty bits and flavors from the bottom of the pan that normally get stuck there when searing.
You then pour that juice over the chops before adding the corn mix.
If you have any doubts about how good this dish is they’ll melt away once you smell it cooking. Melt away like tender pork in your mouth!
Pork Chop Surprise
Pork Chop Surprise is a very retro recipe. I found an original recipe in a cookbook for "home economists" from the 1960's. I took the recipe and modified it some. It is a very surprising recipe for sure. The surprise of the recipe is how all of the ingredients come together for such a delicious dinner. Bone in chops, creamed corn, parmesan cheese, and grated onion make up the base of this recipe. What comes out is a tender, delicious and very flavorful mix of salty and sweet.
Ingredients
- 6 bone in pork chops, mine were about 1/2 inch thick. Adjust your cook times for thicker chops. yes you can use boneless but I do not think the broth that comes out will be as juicy.
- 1 can of cream style corn (14.75 ounce can)
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, I use the finely crumbled one (Kraft)
- 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley (mostly for color)
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 tablespoon of grated onion (you can use more or omit depending on your preference)
- *all spices can be adjusted to your preference
- 1/4 cup of mustard (any kind)
- 3 tablespoons of honey (I used a truffled honey, any kind will do)
- Seasoning Salt of any kind, I used Lawry's
- 2 tablespoons of butter
Instructions
- Combine the mustard and the honey, mix well. Add some black pepper and mix. Take your chops and pat them dry with paper towels. Then season both sides lightly with seasoning salt. Brush the chops all over with the honey mustard . You will use most of it, but discard the rest when done covering the chops.
- Heat butter in a skillet. Prepare a baking dish by spraying with oil or butter. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the chops to the skillet and sear for a couple of minutes on each side. You don't want to cook them fully, just get a golden brown sear on them in spots.
- Add the chops to the prepared baking dish. Add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet carefully and use spatula to bring up the meaty bits as this simmers. Then pour this meaty bit water all over the chops.
- In a bowl combine your corn, the parmesan, the onion and all the rest of the ingredients. You can add more cheese if you like. Totally up to you.
- Spoon the corn mixture all over the top of the chops. It is ok if some drips into the dish off the chops.
- Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. The cook time will depend on thickness of chops and the oven. You can use a meat thermometer to make sure you take these out around 145 to 150 internal temp. They will cook ten more degrees when they are out of the oven as they cool. You will know when they are done when they are caramelized and there should be a nice jus in the bottom of the pan. If you use boneless you may not have as much juice.
- Serve with the jus from the dish.
Potatoes For A Side Dish
If you are looking for a great side dish for these chops, these Bacon Fat Fried Potatoes are the perfect choice!