One-Skillet Pork Chops with Plums and Red Onion
Ingredients
- 2 (1 1/2-inch thick) boneless pork chops
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 large red onion, 1/4-inch sliced
- 3 large large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
- 3 large plums, 1/2-inch sliced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (use ghee to make it Whole30!)
Instructions
- Season pork chops generously (as in, way more than you think!) with salt and pepper and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a 10-inch skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat for several minutes. Add oil and warm for 30 seconds. Turn on your oven vent—things are about to get smoky! Cook pork chops for 3 minutes per side, or until an instant thermometer registers 135 degrees F. If the sides look pink, use tongs to sear each side for 30 seconds. Transfer pork chops to a holding plate and reduce heat to medium.
- When the skillet has cooled for a few minutes, add the second tablespoon of oil, red onion, garlic, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are soft but not totally shapeless. Add the plums and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until they are soft and warm, but not mushy. Remove skillet from heat and stir in lime juice and butter until melted.
- Return the pork chops and any juices that have collected on the plate to the skillet. Garnish with more thyme and serve straight from the skillet.
Notes
Tips
Bone-in pork chops work great, too, but allow a bit more time to cook them.
If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can sub in 1 teaspoon dried thyme. Have a giant rosemary bush in your yard? Use that instead!
I love this dish on it’s own, but serve it over brown rice or farro if you need to bulk it up on a hungry night.
This recipe doubles beautifully—just use a 12-inch skillet instead of a 10-inch one.
Use what’s in season, or what you’ve got on hand. Yellow onion will do the trick in place of red, and you can swap any stone fruit that looks great for the plums. Halved figs would also be delicious. When peaches and plums are no longer in season, apples with lemon instead of lime juice are great here, though they’ll take a few more minutes to soften.