If you’ve been reading my blog long enough you know that our family loves pork chops, from broiled to smoked and smothered. Southern Fried Pork Chops are somewhere at the top of my most favorite pork chop recipes. They are almost as simple to make as my quick boneless pork chops, but the added flavor from bacon fat, that thin layer of crust and a touch of heat from cayenne pepper make them that much more flavorful. A little extra effort here pays off big time. I may be wrong here, but I find breaded pork chops to be a little juicier than un-breaded ones too. It kind of makes sense though: the layer of breading acts as a barrier and keeps moisture inside.
Some of my readers may wonder why I called this recipe Classic Southern Fried Pork Chops so let me clarify before going any further. My rationalization for that was that this recipe captures what I think is the essence of Southern pork chops: seasoning meat with salt and pepper, then dredging it in flour and pan-frying in lard. That said, there are many variations of Southern pork chops, with some interesting additions that don’t overpower pork, too many to count, and every family has one. And unless you really deviate from the general formula, they will still be classic.
To get a beautiful, thick crust on my pork chops are I do two things. Firstly, I use a little bit of thick Dijon mustard to help the spices adhere to the meat. Dijon will also create a moister surface that will help more flour to stick to the meat. Secondly, I double dredge the chops in the flour to make sure I get more flour on the surface and better adherence. More flour equals better crust.
If you don’t like mustard, which you won’t really notice after cooking, you can dip the pork chops in buttermilk like in this chop recipe prior to dredging in flour. Using buttermilk is another great way to get a thick and delicious crust. Some Southern pork chop recipes recommend using self-rising flour with buttermilk for even thicker crust, so if you do use buttermilk, make sure to experiment with using self-rising flour as well.
This recipe uses part rendered bacon fat and part vegetable oil for frying pork chops. Bacon fat adds a lot of flavor. If you don’t care about that extra flavor, only using vegetable oil is fine too, but I believe that a true classic Southern pork chop must be fried in pork fat.
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp granulated onion
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper plus more to taste
- 4 bacon strips
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine granulated garlic, onion, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.
- Pat dry pork chops with a paper towel. Using your hands, rub Dijon mustard all over the pork chops.
- Sprinkle the spice mix and evenly rub into the chops on each side.
- Dredge in flour really well on both sides and set aside.
- Preheat a large, about 12-13-inch, heavy (cast iron is recommended) frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Fry the bacon strips, on both sides, until crisp and fat has rendered out. Remove the bacon and reserve for other uses.
- Add vegetable oil to the frying pan. Let the oil warm up to cooking temperature, about 325F.
- Dredge each pork chop in flour again, making sure each side is covered really well. Place in the frying pan and cook over medium heat about 4-5 minutes per side, until deep golden brown and the internal temperature of the pork reached 145F. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the pork chops you are using.
- Remove pork chops, place on a platter and cover with foil and let rest for 3 minutes before serving.
Jean
There was no pork chops left. My family ate them all. They love this recipe.
victor
Happy to hear that. Try them with my Garlic Mashed Potatoes next time.
Jim Durrett
Hello, I am an admirer of your site and recipes. You do an excellent job of explaining the history, in some cases of your recipes, and your instructions and photographs are par excellence. One question about your above fried pork chop recipe. I usually use a simple
salt brine in water for my chops for a few hours before cooking. What is you opinion of that? Thanks for your reply. Making your chicken bog tomorrow. Happy Memorial Day!
JD
victor
Hi Jim, I am honoured. Brining lean pork meat is a very good idea. And so is white chicken meat. I use this chicken brine for both chicken and pork, it works well for both. It’s has a lot of flavor. Chicken bog – what a delight! My wife is such a fan of it that I had to make another batch last night as she wanted more.
Cory
What is brine?
victor
Brine is just salted water at its simplest, but you can also add sugar and herbs/seasonings to flavor it. Here is my chicken brine, which I also use for pork.
Rebecca
Can you bake these
victor
Pork chops are best cooked quick over medium-high heat, that way they come out the juiciest. But sure, you can bake them too. Or broil.
Dana
Very juicy and delicious. I followed the directions all but the cayenne pepper. I left it out. I cooked 2 large pork chops about 1” thick for four min on each side at medium heat. Perfect!
Haley
Made this last night for my family and they loved them! Made them gluten free by using 1/4 cup of tapioca flour and 1/4 cup of coconut flour instead of traditional flour and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!
Kara
I haven’t ate these chips yet but they’re almost done cooking and most of the breading has come off! Any idea why? Could I have too much oil in my pan?
victor
Kara, too much oil won’t make the breading come off. Perhaps the chops weren’t dried enough so the mustard and the breading didn’t stick to the meat well enough. If you flip them too soon it may happen as well.
Dianne
Great recipe
Francesco
Family not fond of pork but the plates were clean before they were washed, they loved it!
Heather L Kindret
My husband absolutely loved these!! I did substitute the dijon mustard with my homemade hot mustard though 🙂
Hammer Lensing
Looks Awesome!!! I’m a Pork Producer and Fanatic!!!
I LOVE PORK!!!
Hammer.
Hammer Lensing
Looks Awesome!!! I’m a Pork Producer and Fanatic!!!
I LOVE PORK!!!
Hammer.
jimmy parks
tastey
jimmy parks
VERY GOOD AND BORN AND RAISE IN FLORIDA
Diane
Absolutely delicious! I added sliced onions to the hot oil while the chops were resting, nice addition, they were crispy perfection. Best pork chops ever 👌
Maddie
Thank you so much for sharing this! These were some of the best pork chops I’ve ever had!
victor
You are very welcome, Maddie.
Penni Hairston
Can’t wait to make this recipe today for dinner 🥰
Carolyn
Love this recipe! The meat is so tender. Will definitely make this again! Thanks
victor
You are very welcome!
Paulette Gloden
Made this for dinner tonight. It was really good. And the best part it was easy and relatively quick to make. . I will be making these again.
Arnold R. Hibler
Great flavor and very juicy, not dried out! Highly recommended!
Indra
Sounds delish. Will definitely try this.
Robyn
Covering it with foil doesn’t end up making the crust soggy from the steam??
victor
I cover loosely so don’t notice much, if any, sogginess. You don’t have to cover though. There will be slightly more heat loss though. It’s trade-off.
Rob Zaborski
A lot of thanks for your great recipe. Debby and the kids really loved these pork chops. The best we’ve ever tried actually.
victor
Glad to hear it, Rob. Thanks for your feedback.