Pretzel-Crusted Pork Chops with Orange-Mustard Sauce

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This is a great little recipe to have in your arsenal.  Pretzel-Crusted Pork Chops with Orange-Mustard Sauce uses only a few ingredients, is relatively quick and easy, and packs a huge punch in flavor.  

I purchased some pretzel rods before the holidays with plans on turning them into oh-so-festive chocolate dipped treats.  Those plans fell by the wayside and I was left with a bag of pretzels that would probably go uneaten.  How could I get some use out of them?  Pretzels and pork seemed like a good match.  With a mustard sauce.  A quick Google search and I found this little jewel of a recipe.

The original recipe includes making a balsamic glaze to drizzle over the chops and making candied orange peel for the sauce.  As lovely as those elements sounded, I was looking for less, how shall I say it, work.  By ditching the balsamic and using orange marmalade, this dish was on the table in less than thirty minutes.

With the practical stuff out of the way, let's talk about the important stuff.  How did the chops taste?  Incredible.  Crunchy and slightly salty from the pretzels, each bite swiped in the pool of sauce was divine.  We loved them.

While perfect for a weeknight meal, these chops would be great to serve when you want your guests to be impressed and gush things like "you shouldn't have gone to so much trouble" and "I wish I could cook as well as you."  They never have to know how easy they were!

Linking to:  Ingredient Spotlight - Oranges & Orange Juice

Pretzel-Crusted Pork Chops with Orange-Mustard Sauce
adapted from Bon Appetit, September, 2006

1 cup whipping cream
1/8 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon orange marmalade

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 cup crushed pretzel sticks
4 1-inch-thick center cut pork chops

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 

Mix cream, mustard, and orange marmalade in heavy small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced in half, about 12 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

Place flour in shallow bowl.  Whisk egg in second shallow bowl.  Spread crushed pretzels on rimmed baking sheet.  Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. Working with 1 pork chop at a time, press 1 side of pork chop into flour, dip floured side only in egg, then press into pretzels, coating 1 side only.  Transfer to baking sheet, prepared side up.  Repeat with remaining pork chops.  

Melt butter in large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork chops to skillet, coated side down, and cook until brown, about 2 minutes.  Turn chops over and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until pork is cooked through and thermometer inserted horizontally into chop registers 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let chops stand for 5 minutes.

Serve chops with sauce served beneath or over the top.