Quick Barbecue Pork Chops

I recently confessed to having a tough time with pork chops. I asked the ladies on my cooking board for recommendations and this Quick Barbecue Pork Chops was one that immediately caught my eye. What could be easier than browning chops and then letting them simmer on the stove with BBQ sauce and a little brown sugar?


I think this recipe hinges on the sauce you use. When it comes to BBQ sauce everyone has their own preference, with tangy vs. sweet being the biggest divider. We are tangy fans and after a lot (and I do mean a lot. I think we tried every brand our store sells) of searching we found that Dinosaur is our favorite. Homemade sauce would obviously be great as well.

I served my chops with Buttermilk Mac and Cheese and green beans, but if you're making these in the summer I suggest potato salad and fresh corn on the cob. We both enjoyed the flavor of the chops and I enjoyed not having to work very hard to make them. I'll definitely be using this method again.

Quick Barbecue Pork Chops
Get Off Your Butt and Bake

2 tablespoons canola oil
4 boneless pork chops
1 1/2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper on both side, then add to skillet. Let brown, about 5 minutes per side, turning only once. Add BBQ sauce, bring to a simmer, then turn heat down to maintain a light simmer. Sprinkle in brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. Mix the sauce, water and brown sugar together by moving the pork chops around a bit.

Let simmer slowly for about 20 minutes or until chops are tender.

Ribs, Mac & Cheese, Cornbread

Our Sunday decorating commenced after breakfast when SP built a fire that we kept going for most of the afternoon. We got the decorations out of the garage and brought in the tree we picked out on Saturday. We put on some Christmas music (yay for DirecTV's XM Satellite Radio) and got to it. In between hanging ornaments and garland we worked on our respective dishes for dinner that night - country-style ribs, mac & cheese and jalapeno cornbread.


The ribs were a disappointment that night, but excellent the next day. SP decided to experiment with boneless ribs we saw at the wholesale club, but they were dry in some parts and perfect in others (something we discovered after we'd eaten). SP made a rub using various spices (I think thyme, white pepper, dried sage, cayenne and salt were involved) and a mop using apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. I asked him to make a tomato-based BBQ sauce to go along with the ribs and we're both glad he did. That involved tomato sauce, Worcestershire, white vinegar, onion powder, salt and pepper (among other things). After we'd eaten I attempted to salvage some of the rib meat for our lunches and discovered that it was perfectly cooked in some parts - it tore into perfect shreds of meat that we mixed with the rest of the BBQ sauce. If only all the meat had been that good. At least our lunches were tasty.


For the mac & cheese I mixed cheddar with some mozzarella in my usual recipe, adding a bit of grated garlic for an extra zing. It was thick, rich and creamy. The cornbread is an Ina recipe. I made a half order since the regular recipe makes way too much. As it is we only ate half the pan for dinner and lunch the next day. I'm saving the rest for chili tonight.

These pictures didn't come out as well as I'd hoped so I'll take some more later, but just to give you an idea here's our tree:


... and the banister leading up the stairs:

Anniversary Weekend Day 1 (Saturday Evening)

Saturday evening we wanted to do something fun for dinner and Sweet Lucy's has been on our must-try list for ages. It's actually not that far of a trip so we hopped on the highway for an early dinner. It was a good thing we went early - by the time at we left at 6:30pm the place was packed.

I knew as soon as we walked inside this was going to be some seriously good BBQ. The smell was outrageously good. I'm salivating just typing this entry. I ordered the BBQ pulled pork platter:


... which came with two sides (I chose kickin' collard greens and baked macaroni and cheese), coleslaw and a nice thick piece of cornbread:


...hot from the oven. The cornbread was outstanding, with a nice corn flavor made better with melted butter dripping off the top. The pork:


... was soft and luscious, with plenty of smoky flavor and spicy BBQ sauce. And speaking of spicy, the kickin' collard greens:


...had quite the kick to them. They were slow braised in a vinegar-based sauce with a pleasant kick from hot pepper flakes. I'd never tried collards before and these were fantastic. Also good was the macaroni and cheese:


...nice and creamy with lots of crunchy bits from the top of the casserole. I loved every sinfully delicious bite. SP decided to go whole hog (pun intended) and order the full rack of ribs platter:


... which also came with two sides (he chose the collards and mashed sweet potatoes), coleslaw and cornbread. His ribs were also smoky and spicy:


... with plenty of meat on the bones. I ate one rib and had no trouble picking it clean. SP's a good eater and he only managed to eat maybe half the ribs. Conveniently everything comes in the styrofoam clam shells so we just packed up the leftovers to take home. We also enjoyed the mashed sweet potatoes:


... that had a pure flavor mixed with lots of butter. Fantastic. We're already planning another trip out there with my folks. It's nice to know we can get good BBQ close to home. And so ends Day 1 of the Anniversary Weekend Extravaganza.