Southern Fried Pork Chops

Southern Fried Pork Chops – This delicious, bone-in pork chops recipe is simple to make, so juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Similar to our country-fried steak recipe, the pork chops are marinated in a buttermilk seasoning mixture, and they come out flavorful after being cooked on the stove-top in the skillet.

Serve this Southern fried pork chops recipe with your favorite side dishes, like Instant Pot mashed potatoes (or this fried potatoes recipe) with white country gravy, green beans, and a country-style homemade biscuit for the ultimate, classic Southern dish and dinner idea.

If you love country-fried recipes like this one, we think you’re also going to love how we cooked deer tenderloin. It’s similar to the cooking process, and it uses up that venison that you may have in the freezer. Or, a classic Southern staple, this Southern Fried Chicken is always another great choice.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients Needed
• Substitutions
• Oven Fried Pork Chops Option:
• Equipment
• How to Make Fried Pork Chops
• Recipe FAQs
• Storage
• Brown Fried Pork Chop Gravy:
• More Southern Recipes You’ll Love
• Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients Needed

With the ingredients being simple and easy, there’s not much to say about what’s required, however, we’ve touched on a few notes and tips below that can be helpful!

• Pork Chops – For this recipe, we like to use bone-in pork chops, the same as in this broiled pork chops recipe. We typically use 4 pork chops, although if they’re really small, you can get by with 6, with the ingredients. You may get less meat when choosing bone-in but you’ll have more flavor when choosing bone-in. If you have boneless pork chops, this creamy crock pot pork chop recipe is delicious too!
• Red Pepper Flakes & Chili Powder – You can leave these out if you prefer but they add a bit of a kick, which is delicious in this type of recipe.
• Flour – Use all-purpose flour for this recipe.

Substitutions

If you find that substituting is necessary, or desired, here are some suggestions that can help:

• Pork Chops – You could use boneless pork chops if you would like, however, they will cook a little more quickly. If you prefer to use thick-cut pork chops, instead of storebought thin pork chops, they will take longer to cook and you might find that your breading starts to brown a bit too much (bordering on burning) before the pork chops are cooked all the way through. If you choose to go with thick-cut pork chops, I suggest using a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature reaches 145°F. 
• Oil – Feel free to use canola oil or peanut oil instead of vegetable oil.
• Paprika – Smoked paprika will also do the trick and will add a nice smokiness to the dish. 

Oven Fried Pork Chops Option:

Baking the pork chops in the oven is an option if you prefer it. Here’s how:

• Oven-Baked Fried Pork Chops – You could also make these pork chops in the oven. Arrange the dredged pork chops in a single layer on a wire rack set above a baking sheet. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. 

Equipment

• Mixing bowls 
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Whisk 
• Wire rack 
• Skillet – Wee used a 12-inch skillet. You could use a larger or a smaller one. Just make sure you have 1 inch of oil filling it for proper frying. One benefit of using a larger pan is that you won’t have to fry in as many batches to avoid crowding the oil. 
• Candy thermometer (optional, but recommended) 
• Tongs 

How to Make Fried Pork Chops

Making these southern-fried pork chops is easy but there are three steps to make these one of your favorite pork chop recipes:

• marinating the pork chops
• coating the pork chops in the seasoned flour mixture
• frying the pork chops in the hot oil

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

1. Make the marinade. Whisk together the buttermilk, salt, pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and paprika in a bowl. 
2. Marinate. Add the pork to the bowl with the buttermilk mixture, making sure to coat the meat in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for 2-4 hours.
3. Make the Breading. Whisk together the four, red pepper flakes, chili powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. 
4. Dredge. Dredge the sides of the pork chops in the flour mixture, making sure to coat each piece thoroughly, and arrange the pieces on a wire rack until you are ready to fry. 

5. Heat the oil. Pour the oil into a large skillet (you should have about 1-inch of oil). Heat the oil over medium heat, to medium-high heat (don’t want to get it too hot, so make sure it gets to 350-360°F – I recommend using a candy thermometer to check the temperature). 
6. Fry. Fry the pork for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through until they’re golden brown. Transfer the fried pork to a plate lined with paper towels. Be careful not to crowd the pan here folks. If you need to fry the pork in batches, do so by adding the remaining pork chops to the oil. Just be sure to bring the oil back to temperature between batches.

Recipe FAQs

Storage

• Refrigerator. Once the pork chops have cooled to room temperature, seal the leftover pork chops in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. 
• Freezer. Allow the leftover fried pork chops to cool completely before sealing them in a freezer-safe airtight container and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw in the fridge before reheating. (Do note that the breading for these pork chops is prone to falling off upon thawing. They will still taste delicious, though!)
• To reheat. Arrange the pork chops in a single layer in a baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. 

Brown Fried Pork Chop Gravy:

If you prefer a white gravy, you can follow our white gravy recipe but use pork drippings instead of bacon grease.

What you’ll need for brown, pork chop gravy:

• 4 tablespoon of reserved seasoned flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon reserved pork drippings/oil

If you love gravy on your pork chops, there’s a delicious pork gravy you can make to go on top. Here’s how you can make it with the fried pork chop drippings:

1. Make sure to reserve the extra seasoned flour that you used to coat the pork chops.
2. Allow the oil to cool a bit, after frying the pork chops, and then reserve about a tablespoon of oil and fried pork bits. (TIP: I will pour the oil in to another dish, and use a mesh strainer to capture the pork bits, and place back in my skillet.)
3. Turn the burner to low and pour in one cup of beef broth. Allow this to warm through for a couple of minutes. (You don’t want this to be too hot when adding the remaining ingredients, so the cold/cooler broth and flour won’t curdle when adding.)
4. Next, mix together 4 Tablespoons of the reserved seasoned flour (or new flour if you’ve ran out), with one cup of beef broth. Whisk this together until blended and pour in to the broth that’s already warm in the skillet.
5. Whisk this together, turn the heat up to medium, or medium-high heat, whisking constantly until thickened.

Usually, this gravy could still use some salt and pepper since we’ve added broth. Feel free to add salt and pepper to your taste preference. Or, we’ve also shared a pork gravy recipe that is a bit different for some zing. Love mushrooms in your gravy? This mushroom gravy on Salisbury steaks will be a recipe you’ll love too!

More Southern Recipes You’ll Love

Whether you’re looking for more Southern side dishes or main dishes to add to your meal planner, we feel like you’re going to be a fan of these too:

Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

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