This recipe originated with Cooks's Illustrated Smothered Pork Chops, but I changed their recipe quite a bit. I also got the idea of shredding the pork, stirring it into the sauce, and serving over noodles (steps 4 and 5 below). The result was fantastic and this is now my favorite way to serve it. Sort of like "Smothered Pork Chops Stroganoff". You can skip the last two steps and just serve the pork chops with the sauce.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 thick-cut bone-in (T-bone style) pork chops
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large onions, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 quart beef broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine onion powder, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and cayenne in small bowl. Pat chops dry with paper towels and rub with spice mixture.
2. Heat oil in large oven-proof pan over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown chops, 3 to 4 minutes per side, and transfer to plate.
3. Melt butter in now-empty pan over medium heat. Cook onions until greatly reduced and beginning to brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth and bay leaf, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to boil. Return chops and any accumulated juices to pan, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until chops are completely tender, about 1-1/4 hours.
3. Transfer chops to platter and tent with foil. Discard bay leaf. Melt butter in small pan, stir in flour, and cook for a couple minutes to make a roux. Bring remaining contents of baking pan to a simmer and stir in roux in small amounts until roughly the thickness of gravy (I've found it usually doesn't require all the roux). Stir in cider vinegar.
4. De-bone the pork chops and shred the meat (it should be very tender). Stir shredded pork into the sauce.
5. Serve over egg noodles, or maybe fettucine or linguine.