Southern Fried Pork Chops Recipe

These fried pork chops come together in minutes and are served up with a simple delicious pan-gravy for the perfect weeknight meal. You will already have most of the ingredients for this recipe already in your food pantry.  

Be sure to try serving these southern fried pork chops with my Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Butter Glazed Green Beans.  

Fried Pork Chops

Fried pork chops are a Southern classic consisting of thin-cut bone-in pork chops that are coated in egg wash, dredged in seasoned flour, and then fried until golden brown. They are very easy to make and are delicious when cooked correctly. Don’t worry I show you in my video the perfect cook times to ensure they are tender and juicy.  

While fried pork chops are great served up by themselves, I prefer to add a simple pan-gravy to the mix to help keep them moist and flavorful. I highly recommend making my sauce which only takes an additional 3-4 minutes to make

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Pork Chops – Make sure to get single bone-in thin cut pork chops so that they cook quickly and evenly.
• Flour – You will need all-purpose flour, but you can alternatively use self-rising flour.
• Eggs – Large cold eggs will be perfect.
• Buttermilk – I like to use buttermilk, but you can simply use whole milk. To make buttermilk at home whisk together 1 cup of whole milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
• Cornstarch – This will ensure our flour batter is light and fluffy when frying.
• Spices – I like to use ground cayenne, garlic, and onion granules to help season the flour.
• Shallots – These will be used for our pan sauce.
• Garlic – Finely minced garlic cloves will help add flavor to our pan gravy.
• Lard – Rendered bacon fat will help add incredibly flavors to our frying oil.
• Oil – Any of your favorite oil will work for this, but I prefer to use expeller pressed canola, vegetable, safflower, peanut, avocado, or olive oil.
• Beef Stock – A good beef stock will help ensure our pan sauce is delicious.

How to Make Fried Pork Chops

Follow these easy-to-make instructions and images to help make these delicious fried pork chops:

Start by making the egg wash mixture by whisking together the eggs, buttermilk, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.  

Next, in a separate shallow bowl or pan whisk together the flour and cornstarch with the spices until combined. Be sure to taste it to make sure it is seasoned well because this is what will be used to season our pork in addition to the egg wash.  

Heat some oil along with some optional rendered bacon fat over medium heat in a large frying pan, cast-iron skillet, or rondeau.

Bread one pork chop at a time by completely coating in the egg wash.

Next, dredge the egg wash coated pork chop in the flour until coated. Press down on the pork chops to ensure the breading will stick when frying. Place on a cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper until all the pork chops are breaded.  

Place the pork chops in the pan taking care to space them apart and cook them for 3 to 3 ½ minutes per side. Be sure to not overcook so that your pork chops will not be tough.  

Set aside on a cookie sheet tray with a rack to drain off any excess frying oil. If your pan is not big enough you will need to cook in batches.  

Drain most of the oil from the pan leaving only 2 tablespoons and add it back to the burner over medium heat and quickly cook the shallots and garlic for 1 minute.  

Stir in the flour until combined to make a roux and then pour in the beef stock to make a gravy. Turn the heat up to high so that it will quickly become thick. Season with salt and pepper.  

Serve the pork chops with the gravy and optionally garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: These are meant to be served as soon as they are done cooking. You can alternatively keep them warm on a sheet tray with a rack in the oven at 200° for up to 30 minutes before serving. They will tend to dry out if you choose to keep them warm in the oven.

How to Store: Cover and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They will freeze covered for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.  

How to Reheat: Place on a rack in the oven at 350° for 4-6 minutes or until warm. You can also heat it in the microwave. 

chef notes + tips

• You can add a few dashes of hot sauce to the egg wash mixture to add more spicy flavors.
• Alternatively, you can skip adding in the cornstarch and simply use self-rising flour.
• If you do not have access to garlic or onion granules, feel free to substitute with powder.
• The oil will be perfect for frying if you sprinkle some flour in it and it fries but does not burn.

 More Pork Recipes  

• Ham and Potato Soup
• Monte Cristo Sandwich
• Breaded Pork Chops
• Red Beans and Rice
• Smothered Pork Chops

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Southern Fried Pork Chops Recipe

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5 from 23 votes

These fried pork chops come together in minutes and are served up with a simple delicious pan-gravy for the perfect weeknight meal.

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

For the Pork Chops:

• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup corn starch
• 1 tablespoon garlic granules
• 1 tablespoon onion granules
• ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup oil for frying
• ¼ cup lard
• 6 5–6-ounce bone-in pork chops
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Pan Gravy:

• 1 peeled and small diced shallot
• 2 finely minced garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups beef stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Start by whisking together the eggs, buttermilk, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan. Set aside.
• Next, in a separate shallow bowl or pan whisk together the flour, cornstarch, garlic granules, onion granules, cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons of salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground pepper until combined. Be sure to taste it to make sure it is seasoned well because this is what will be used to season our pork in addition to the egg wash.
• Heat the oil along with some optional rendered bacon fat (lard) over medium heat in a large frying pan, cast-iron skillet, or rondeau. The oil should be at 350°.
• Bread one pork chop at a time by completely coating in the egg wash.
• Next, dredge the egg wash coated pork chop in the flour until coated. Press down on the pork chops to ensure the breading will stick when frying. Place on a cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper until all the pork chops are breaded.
• Place the pork chops in the pan taking care to space them apart and cook them for 3 to 3 ½ minutes per side. Be sure to not overcook so that your pork chops will not be tough.
• Set aside on a cookie sheet tray with a rack to drain off any excess frying oil. If your pan is not big enough you will need to cook in batches.
• Drain most of the oil from the pan leaving only 2 tablespoons and add it back to the burner over medium heat and quickly cook the shallots and garlic for 1 minute.
• Stir in the flour until combined to make a roux and then pour in the beef stock to make a gravy. Turn the heat up to high so that it will quickly boil and become thick. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve the pork chops with the gravy and optionally garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Notes

Make-Ahead: These are meant to be served as soon as they are done cooking. You can alternatively keep them warm on a sheet tray with a rack in the oven at 200° for up to 30 minutes before serving. They will tend to dry out if you choose to keep them warm in the oven.

How to Store: Cover and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They will freeze covered for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.

How to Reheat: Place on a rack in the oven at 350° for 4-6 minutes or until warm. You can also heat it in the microwave.

You can add a few dashes of hot sauce to the egg wash mixture to add more spicy flavors.

Alternatively, you can skip adding in the cornstarch and simply use self-rising flour.

If you do not have access to garlic or onion granules, feel free to substitute with powder.

The oil will be perfect for frying if you sprinkle some flour in it and it fries but does not burn.

Nutrition

Calories: 283kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 12gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 776mgPotassium: 337mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 93IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 2mg

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: southern

Author: Chef Billy Parisi