A Southern-style recipe for crispy, lightly breaded country-fried pork chops with velvety homemade pan gravy.
Author: Mandy Rivers | Updated: 8/24/26Fried pork chops and gravy is a home-style meal you can easily make at home and isn't as messy and complicated as you might think!
Frying pork chops doesn't require "deep frying", meaning you don't need a half gallon of oil to submerge the chops. You'll add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan then use that same (now seasoned) oil to make the gravy.
There's very little to clean up when you're done and you won't have a ton of grease to dispose of either - you'll probably use it all in the gravy!
4 TIPS FOR FRYING PORK CHOPS
1. DEAL WITH EXCESS MOISTURE Meat packaging plants pump a lot of water (they call it "brine") into meat to make it weigh more (so it costs more). This excess moisture can become problematic when frying because it can make the breading separate from the meat. There are two ways to address this:
- If you have time, sprinkle the chops with salt then let them rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes (on both sides if you have a rack or do one side at a time if not). The salt will draw out excess moisture which will “bead up” on the chops. Blot the chops dry then follow the recipe.
- If you’re in a hurry, after seasoning the chops with salt and pepper, dust them with cornstarch before dredging them in flour. The cornstarch acts as a barrier to contain the moisture and creates a “sticky” layer that helps to keep the breading on.
2. WAIT FOR WET SPOTS After you've dredged the chops in flour, let them rest until wet spots start to appear in the flour. This signals that the flour is adhering to the pork chops.
3. DON'T USE TOO MUCH OIL Once all the chops are placed in the pan, the oil should not come higher than 3/4 up the sides of the chops. If oil sits on top of the chops while they're cooking, the breading will likely come away from the meat in those areas.
4. DO NOT MOVE THE CHOPS The breading needs time to cook away from the pan. Cook the chops without moving them until you can see the bottoms turning golden brown then nudge them to see if they will move on their own easily. If not, give it another minute before trying again.
TIPS FOR MAKING PAN GRAVY
- Don't burn the oil - the gravy will taste like the oil that you cook the chops in so don't let it get too hot or the gravy will taste burned.
- You don't have to measure - you just want equal parts oil and flour. If you don't want to pour out and measure the oil, just whisk in the flour until the roux is about the thickness of ketchup.
- Cook the flour roux until golden brown - your gravy will be the color of your roux so cook it long enough that you get a nice, brown color.
- Let the pan/roux cool a little before adding liquid - if you pour broth (water or milk) into a raging hot pan, the gravy can seize and get lumpy. Reduce the heat a few minutes (or even turn it off) to let the roux cool some before adding liquid.
Recipe for Fried Pork Chops with Pan Gravy
Fried Pork Chops & Country Gravy
A Southern-style recipe for crispy, lightly breaded country-fried pork chops with velvety homemade pan gravy.
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in pork chops
- Salt & pepper
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- Vegetable oil
- 4 cups chicken or beef broth
Instructions
- Add flour to a pie plate or other deep-sided dish. Season pork chops liberally with salt and pepper then dredge in flour. Shake all excess flour off of each chop then set aside.
- Wait a few minutes or until a few wet spots start to appear in the flour-coated pork chops before cooking.
- Pour enough vegetable oil in a large frying pan to coat the bottom (about an 1/8 of an inch deep). Heat oil over medium-high heat until approximately 350 degrees.
- Cook chops (in batches – do not overcrowd the pan) in hot oil until golden brown on the bottom. When the chops can be nudged from their place in the pan without sticking, they are ready to flip. Flip pork chops and finish cooking on the other side.
- Once all the chops have been cooked, set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Pour off all but 1/2 cup of pan drippings leaving all the bits of goodness in the pan (I usually just eyeball this but if you’re unsure, simply pour off all the oil in the pan then measure 1/2 cup and add back to the pan).
- Of the remaining flour used to coat the chops, measure 1/2 cup and add it to the hot oil. You want the roux (oil/flour mixture) to be about the thickness of ketchup.
- Whisk the flour and oil together and cook over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes or until medium brown. Reduce heat to low.
- Add broth to pan then whisk constantly until smooth and well combined with the roux. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over medium heat then cook for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
- Serve gravy with pork chops and white rice or mashed potatoes.
Notes
- I grew up making gravy like this with plain water but usually use beef or chicken broth (or bullion) now. If using water you'll need to add quite a bit of salt to the gravy.
- For white or sawmill gravy, use milk or a combo or milk and broth.
- See two sections above recipe card for tips on making the chop and gravy.
Author: Mandy Rivers
Oh this sounds great! I can never make fried chops turn out correctly. I get the 1st side all nice and brown but by the time it is the top side is all flooded with meat juices and the flour basically washes away. Once I flip it over to cook the other side the darn things stick something awful and all the breading either dissolves or just refuses to leave the pan. I've tried non-stick and well seasoned cast-iron. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, one day maybe, one day I shall figure it out.
ReplyDeleteOh, bless your heart! I've had some dud batches too over the years. The only things I could tell you are to a) make sure you just barely dust those suckers with flour b) make sure you don't have too much oil in the pan (you don't want it higher than halfway up the sides of the chops) and also c) to not cook them at too hot of a temperature. Keep trying, it'll all come together one of these days. And until then, just serve them ugly-side down!
Deletewe hear ya lol
DeleteI put my chops in an egg wash then in the flour then back in the wash then flour again and I always have enough oil to cover them completely, like a deep fryer. They never stick to the bottom and the crust dosen't fall off.
DeleteI can't think of any recipes I love more than those that involve meat and gravy!
ReplyDeleteAnd Fried Apples and Biscuits!
ReplyDeleteI, for one, am really glad that you don't have weird ingredients!! Heck, I can barely get my family to eat anything with a regular veggie in it, much less some kind of odd thing that I can't even find at the regular grocery store!! Keep up the great work girlfriend!!
ReplyDeleteI love this....agree with others, dont like ingredients I cant find @ grocery store. Have cooked porkchops many times, but your tips are helpful & gonna try this gravy...Thanks so much
ReplyDeleteThis is how we fry our pork!! Salt and pepper!! But for the gravy we use milk! Served with mashed potatoes! Yum!!
ReplyDeleteMe too! Fried gravy with milk!
DeleteThis is absolutely delish looking. I would rather have recipes from good ol' housewives so don't have that conversation with yourself anymore. :)
ReplyDeleteConsider yourself hugged,
http://simpleesue.com/try-one-new-recipe-a-week-bed-and-breakfast-cherry-crumb-coffee-cake/
you are spot on gal. i'm old lady of 71 years and still cook the old fashioned recipes. we never used oregano,garlic or nothing like that. just good old salt and pepper. love your site thanks, Roxie
ReplyDeleteLove this, but will be using pork steak instead of chops. Ive always made my gravy this way, but i have added milk to get the consistency i want- i will be trying it w/o milk!! Thanks for this site - i love the old fashioned recipes too!!
ReplyDeleteMy 3yr old and I just made these the other nite...He loves to help in the kitchen and is a picky eater so it helps him eat better. He did the breading of the chops all by himself! We love pork chops and use the boneless ones I think ppl. over cook the pork to the point of dryness. How do they avoid this?
ReplyDeleteI hate dry chops. So I use a thermometer and make sure they are at exactly 160°. They are cooked but still nice and juicy. Sometimes people think chops have to be well done but they dont. You can cook them medium and not worry about getting sick or anything.
DeleteI made these serve over a homemade potato pancake and my boyfriend said it was one of the best things I've ever made (and I've made him a lot!). Sometimes, simple is best. Thanks for the recipe! (Also, my name is Jessica, but it was easier to check out as anonymous than to set up an account :-P)
ReplyDeleteIts nice to see a gravy recipe like I grew up with. The only difference is that when my family makes gravy, we use half water and half milk, instead of all water.
ReplyDeleteI love basic seasoning -- and plenty of it -- on chops, too. But while this might be considered a horror, have you ever replaced some of that water with wine ... ?
ReplyDeleteI haven't used wine with "country" recipes like this but I use it when I'm making a pan reduction sometimes.
DeleteThe name is Pooch. I don't have all the stuff they want to register. Okay, this is me. S&P only. Don't like the other spices. You got a good piece of meat, why cover up the flavor. One question: Does your gravy tastes like pork chops or just regular water/milk gravy? It seems I could never get the meat flavor in the gravy and yes, I did leave all those bits and pieces. Don't know where I go wrong,. I make good gravy for biscuits, just can't seem to pick up the meat flavor for steak, pork chops or chicken. Help!
ReplyDeleteThe longer you cook your roux in the pan drippings, the more flavor you get but the best way to get the "meat flavor" is to use stock or broth instead of plain water. Any time I roast, simmer, etc. pork, I freeze any leftover stock to use when I make gravy. And then I just use canned beef of chicken broth when I'm making those types of gravy.
DeleteI always make the gravy with whole milk instead of water, and use a buttermilk wash on the chops before the flour. It all works really well. I also season the flour with garlic salt, ground pepper, and a little paprika before applying it to the chops. The flavor is amazing. I learned to do this from our ranch foreman's wife in the early 60's, and was she ever a good cook!! We had fried pork chops, biscuits, & gravy for breakfast before we went out to gather cattle at about 5:00 AM... it would definitely stick to our ribs!
ReplyDeleteLooks delish ! Now i'm hungry for some, lol. Love your site & the name SYM. Keep'em coming.
ReplyDeleteI use milk any milk 1% 2% 0r whole in place of this water and you have the best darn gravy ever, its called milk gravy and you cant get enough it. I always use milk when making gravy for chicken or porkchops. Thats the onley 2 meats that I add milk to the gravy.You have never tryed good gravy until you have made this.AWESOME STUFF i promis
ReplyDeletee you!
Just found your blog and i just have to say...as a transplanted Southern girl living in (overly healthy) Northern California.....I love you!!! and thank you soooooo much for bringing GOOD DAMN food back to my families' table!
ReplyDeleteYou are cooking the food I grew up with! You and my mom do pork chops the same way, however, the only difference is she always did cream gravy. ( Heavenly stuff--I could almost bathe in it!) It was a huge shock to me to realize that the foods I grew up with in rural Illinois were so very southern. I asked my mom about it a while back and her response was that it was "farm food" and that farmers were everywhere. Keep on doing what you do!
ReplyDeleteThe simple recipes as they are called are what I grew up on. Many years later, these are my recipes that I use and my family enjoy eating :-)!!. Thankyou for all the recipes you share I truly enjoy them
ReplyDeleteThat gravy recipe wasn't working at all. I followed it and tried it twice and it tasted more like corn starch ball than anything. Was super bummed it wasn't good enough to go on my tasty chops.
ReplyDeleteOMG! Reading your recipes are like reliving my childhood!! This is the food I grew up on. Made my kids Fried Pork Chops, gravy and white rice a couple of months ago and they thought they'd died and gone to heaven!
ReplyDeleteThis is how my Mama and my Gramma made pork chops that I grew up on, dreamed of, and proudly feed my large family. Only difference is that my Mama and Gramma used half milk half water in the gravy (that Papa liked so thick you had to spread it with a spoon!) and I use just whole milk. Keep the recipes you think nobody wants coming, these are the types of dinners I am raising my family on, and teaching my kids to cook. Nobody cooks like Mama and Gramma anymore!
ReplyDeleteThat's how I was taught to make gravy, except we use milk instead of water. ☺
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the basic old fashion recipes, I have many from my grandmothers and grannys, so basic and everyone loves them. Glad to see salt, pepper, and flour without adding everything in the kitchen, I am with you, people put way to many extras and it ruins the taste.
ReplyDeleteNice simple traditional recipe which makes it nearly fool-proof. The only thing I did differently when I made these last night was put a pinch of sage in the dredge because that's what my mom always did. I also use either chicken stock or 1/2 milk/stock when I make the gravy. My West Virginia born & raised mom was a great cook and that's how she did it. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteSimilar,but i flour,then dip in a milk-n-egg wash,then flour again.......makes an awesome crust.
ReplyDeleteI make gravy the same, except use evaporated milk and water...more water than evap...probably a 2 to 1 ratio. I usually use a whole can of evaporated milk, and 24 oz. of water. I use about a half cup flour to the left over grease. If it's too thick, I add more water, and a little whole milk (instead of opening more evaporated milk).
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for printing this recipe. My mom taught me this and i used to make it but as i got older i for got the ratios ,
ReplyDeleteSome of our Mamas died back in 1963 and some of our older sisters made off with the Good Housekeeping cook book before we were tall enough to reach it so keep putting out your recipes cause some of us are still serving dry pork chops and bloody fried chicken and we need you! (Not to mention you add some laughter to our misery when our long-suffering husband asks if we think if McDonald's might still be open.) So drop that Thorazine! We need your brand of schizophrenia! This recipe looks good! All my love.
ReplyDeleteI just made a roux from your recipe....I don’t have a cookbook but google sent me to you! Thank you! It was delicious!! I like throwing in a little Tony chacheres for some heat!
ReplyDeleteExcellent recipe. I added a little chicken bouillon to the gravy. Made with your rice and wow, it was awesome. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for a simple recipe. I'm horrible at frying and so I've been searching for simple recipes to practice. I especially like your comments about how to keep the breading on the chop. Super helpful.
ReplyDelete