Crunchy Spicy Pork Chops- Baked, not Fried!

I love pork chops - they are fairly cheap, and easy to prepare - so they are on the dinner rotation quite often.  I get tired of the same recipes though.  There's the tried and true Chinese Pork Chops, I make these a lot.  And of course there's the trusty list of pork recipes that I refer to time and time again.  But sometimes you just want something different.  Something new.  You get tired of the same old. 

That's where these babies come in.  If you like spicy (or even if you don't, the spice factor can be adjusted to your taste), and you like the whole breaded/fried taste without the actual frying part, you will love these. 

A word of advice - make extra gravy!  The gravy is to die for.  When my daughter first tasted the gravy, she squealed 'Moooommm!!  I could drink this stuff!!'  Needless to say I did make extra, and it's in a mason jar in the fridge as we speak.  It can be used for fries, chicken fingers, anything really - it's the bomb.  (Do people still say that?  The bomb?  I can't keep up..)

The chops were simple and quick, and the hands-off oven time is my favorite part.  I served these along side a mixed garden salad with feta and balsamic glaze dressing.

Enjoy!!



Spicy Baked Pork Chops
 
4 bone-in pork chops
2c panko
1/2c hot sauce (I used Frank's)
2 eggs, beaten
1T Cajun seasoning
1T each black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, hot paprika
For the Gravy:
3c beef broth
3T flour
2T EVOO
2T butter
2 tsp each of Cajun seasoning, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
A couple dashes of hot sauce (I used Franks)
 
Mix seasoning blend (Cajun, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and hot paprika) in a bowl.  Remove 1T to add to the panko crumbs later.  With remaining seasoning, add eggs, and hot sauce and mix well.  Pour over chops in a large Ziploc and let marinate for at least an hour.  Mix panko with the remaining 1T of seasoning.  When marinating is complete, preheat oven to 425.   Dredge chops in panko blend on both sides, and place on a rack sitting on a cookie sheet.  Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare the gravy.  Add butter and EVOO to a pan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour, seasonings, and hot sauce, and slowly whisk in broth.  Mix well, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
 
Serve the chops hot out of the oven with the divine gravy on top.  So good!!!
 

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