I volunteered for years at an emergency food centre. We would get food to distribue from various sources : donated, purchased and given by the city food bank. I’ve seen the weirdest shaped fruit and vegetables, especially potatoes - the kind that would never go to a grocery store. There were potatoes with big nobs all over the place, huge carrots, strawberries the size of my hand. Food is food and every bit was appreciated.
I love the "what's on sale at the grocery store" series! And the "it's not a recipe, it's a method" series. Both are much more useful skills to learn than just learning another recipe - they're life skills. It's the kind of cooking I grew up with.
My mom used to make a version of this recipe while we were growing up, using the Campbell's mushroom soup as the gravy base. Over the years, my sister and I have adapted her recipe to what we make now for our family - we buy the big pork loin roasts that go on sale every so often (we divide them into meal sized portions before freezing them), cut the pork into chops then into bite sized cubes, give them a quick brown in the pan then set aside, fry up some garlic, onions and mushrooms. Add a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup, a package of pork gravy mix, put the pork back in and then let it simmer for about 30 minutes or so. We then serve that over rice. This has become a family staple as a meal at least once a month.
My guess as to how "smothered" became known as a southern cooking technique would be- as you say it is originally French- that French immigrants moving to the south brought it with them when they emigrated and settles in Louisiana and other areas of the South as this seems to be a very common technique used in Cajun & Creole cooking. Plus, down here we like anything covered in anything resembling a gravy and smothering is a great way to make cheap, tough cuts of meat tender so it's also cost effective.
I always like to add a little mustard to the gravy or sauce when I'm cooking pork. Even if it's just a little, it adds something that seems to go really well with that meat.
I'm from Minnesota, and I still bake pork chops covered in a gravy made with Campbell's cream of (probably ugly) mushroom soup. It's one of the first things I learned to cook as a kid growing up in the late 70s - early 80s. I'd get home from school, find the package of chops my mom had left in the sink to defrost (yes, we ate meat that thawed to room temperature outside the fridge and lived to tell the tale!), then call her at work for cooking directions. Over the years I tweaked Mom's reliable but dull recipe to suit my own taste. I hate onions but love mushrooms, so I added fresh mushrooms to the baking dish, and I experimented with seasoning the pork with something more than salt and pepper. I found that a good dollop of basil pesto and a generous pour of any available dry white wine enhances the flavor of the gravy very nicely. Sharing this in case your friends want to play with those additions when they make their own version of your smothered pork chops, which look superb, even with those lousy onions! I found your channel about six months ago and have been thoroughly enjoying your stories, seeing all those fascinating cookbooks from decades and centuries past, and watching you turn out some beautiful dishes with old and new recipes. I also can't believe I lived without knowing about Beurre Manié until I saw one of your videos! You and Julie are the best things to come out of Toronto since Margaret Atwood!
My Mom put sliced potatoes in the bottom of the dish, browned the pork, usually pork steak as it's cheaper , then poured on the soup. Covered and baked for an hour. This was in the 70's.
Late 70s, early 80s here too... my mom also made the campbell's version of smothered pork chops. Now I make all my own 'cream of' sauces and mostly don't smother anything so it's lower calorie. But, learning a home made smother recipe is the way I'd go! This style is fantastic...Thank you Glen! And Glen taught me the meaning of 'fricasee' which I also thought was fancy and never made it. :)
As a teenage student I worked once a week in London at the Marmite Factory, a huge refuge for people living on the street. We got to make soup from the soup powder that companies hadn’t used. We also got veggies that the supermarkets would not put on their shelves. Today in France I see the same thing. We live next to a pick your own fruit and vegetables. People dig fields for carrots. If they are slightly out of shape, they leave them...amazing.
I love your "method" recipes. That's what everyday cooking is about! I taught my son that way so no matter what you have available, something yummy will be the result. Thanks for one of the best cooking channels out there.
Gotta love Julie’s “putting it my mouth and chewing comment”! We are so spoiled, when did we let good food become about the way a vegetable looks rather than how it tastes and how to use it? We have engineered the goodness out of our food in favor of looks. Great recipe, look forward to trying it.
What you should also really try, is exactly the same recipe but substitute the stock for Hard Apple Cider, and instead of the Marmite a good dollop of mustard, truly delicious
I LOVE the philosophy behind this 'method': pork chops - These were on sale. Mushrooms - cheap because they're not beautiful ; "I don't care.". Stock - whichever kind you have of feel like. Spice mix - you can make it like me or change it how you want. Marmite - yeah, it's salty, so taste it before adding salt. Just follow the basic rules of cooking and food safety, understand the difference between quality and packaging/appearance, use what you have when you can, make it how YOU like it, and, just use some sense!
I really like your approach with food. Especially with the cost of groceries & other inflated products today. Jules comment about food waste is on point. Enjoy your program.
I'm most familiar with the southern version of this recipe, specifically, one that my dad got from working on oil platforms in the 90s. That version adds smoked sausage and potatoes, but skips out on the mushrooms. Probably just because mushrooms are more perishable than onions and potatoes. Usually made with thin cut pork chops and served over rice. One nice thing about it is you can just let it simmer in the gravy all day if you want, the pork chops will be almost fall apart tender by the time you're ready to eat.
I love the "manager specials". Just bought a brisket at 50% off. Absolutely delicious. "If it's not Grey, it's ok". Another wonderful video Glen. Thanks so much. Have a great day.
I really appreciate your cooking method videos. I have a lot of food allergies that necessitate substitutions in a lot of recipes, and having a well demonstrated method gives me the information that lets me slot in ingredients I can actually eat.
Just watching the video and loved seeing the odds and ends huge container of mushrooms. That's all I buy at this point since mushrooms doubled in price in Canada and am glad it exists.
I’m always disappointed in my pork chops but I think this recipe might be the solution. And I love how you’re teaching us to use a Beurre Manie to thicken the gravy. Thanks Glen!
True Southern smothered chicken, pork chops, steak, etc. is actually a way to use leftovers. Any leftover fried food could get a second trip across the table if it is braised, covered, in water, stock, or broth that will slightly thicken from the breading on the meat. Adding onions and mushrooms or even potatoes to the braise just raises the bar. It was even popular in my restaurants here in the deep South on the day following a special featuring a fried meat, so I cooked with the goal of having plenty left over!
Thanks for the inspiration - we used our homemade za’atar (local sumac and homegrown aromatic herbs) as part of the rub on the chops. And of course, Marmite, because I’m an (approximately) 6th generation Canadian married to a Brit. It’s finishing in the oven, which is part of my “method.”
Can of Mushroom Soup & Yellow Mustard. My mom made them like that growing up, and I still love them that way. Some times the simple things are still really good. I wish I knew where the recipe/idea came from. Probably the back of a can somewhere.
I suddenly had to learn to cook when I was 11. I smothered everything. I had never heard of smothered, but I opened cans of cream of something or another soup and made a gravy. That way the meat was cooked through and I had dinner on the table before 6:30pm. Life is much easier now. Also, I have learned to use onions and herbs. We don't get the super thick chops, but several with different thicknesses is typical as are crazy sized mushrooms.
Years ago a lady I worked with made peppercorn rabbit. She was from Quebec so I would expect the recipe was from there also. It had the richest gravy I have ever tasted. Wondering if you may be interested in trying something like this on your show.
Rabbit is a ridiculously tasty meat. They are so cute though. Being from the UK I usually only eat it on holiday in Europe as it's not commonly eaten here, these days
This reminds me of my mom's braised pork chops. But she just cooked down the braising liquid rather than thickening it like you did. She also adds caraway seeds.
I must put Marmite on the grocery list, next time! The beurre manié is a really good idea, very convenient. My Mum was from Alberta’s Peace River District, and her smothered pork chops were delicious!
I love cooking by using a method. A recipe is a good starting point, but mixing and matching and cooking to taste is just a wonderful way to explore more flavours and use up what you can find on sale.
Very good meal! We have been making this for years with pork chops or pork cutlets and cream of mushroom soup! It's a great meal with mashed potatoes to put the gravy on and a couple of slices of italian bread. Now I'm Hungry!!!!!
You should begin filming methods of cooking. Braising, frying. Stewing, BBQ. The list would be endless. That's how my home economics cooking class was taught. So true foods from the garden is not always pretty. Love your show.
Sad that home economics isn’t taught anymore! I think it should be a required class with consumer math for freshmen in high schools for both men and women. Throw in a carpentry and machine class as well. Perhaps throw in a combination conflict resolution/ psychological/ coping skills/drug abuse class for good measure.
@@deborahshallin5843 Back when I was in 7th grade, it was a requirement at my school for everybody in grades 7 and 8 to take a course that was a combination of home economics and woodworking ("shop"). It was half the school year doing each. So, everybody learned to sew, cook, and do basic woodworking. Although, I was truly terrible at sewing. But, that was back in the 1980s, so I don't even know if that school does that still.
I am definitely trying this one. I suspect that I will add it to my arsenal of ways to prepare pork chops. I have done my pork chops in the past by browning the chops and slow cooking them in either orange juice or a tomato and basil sauce. For the orange juice version, let the juice cook down to a thick glaze at the end.
Jacques Pépin used to say when you want the best tasting mushroom, take the opened ones, older and usually on their last usable date. ( and usually on reduced price) .
My mom used to do this with the Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, but I didn't like it and I would scrape it off. I thought it was because I didn't like Mushrooms but it was just that particular soup. Later on I tried homemade Cream of Mushroom soup and loved it so I think I might try that. Thanks for the ideas Glenn
I'm a method cook myself. I find the best mushrooms in Asian food stores and they're super cheap. Anything using onions, mushrooms and bacon grease has my vote. I have access to marmite but I don't think I would use it in anything else. I'll try coconut aminos for a little bit of salt. Love your videos.
We have frozen 'ugly berries' and fresh 'ugly vegetables and fruit' stalls. What difference is that from the stuff we harvest in our own gardens? Of course I believe in good eating not good optics. As for pork chops I always bread them first and then cover them in fresh mushroom gravy. It was my Dad's favourite.
I know you're saying "rib & chicken rub", but my brain INSISTS you must be saying "ribbon". Took me longer than I'm proud of to realize that it wasn't from a fictional "ribbon chicken" dish.
As noted, this is a method. I generally do the fried pork chops in breading, onion & Mushrooms. For the "gravy" I just add a cup of beef broth, and a small container of sour cream- and let cook in a low crockpot. Hard to beat IMO
Glenn is not just a cook. He's not just a chef. Glen is a food scientist. Method over recipe. Just following a recipe is like confirming some other scientist's hypothesis. Seeing that hypothesis as a proved theorem, you can then experiment with the variables and even challenge what the constants are. That's the difference between an experimental physicist and a theoretical physicist. What tests other people's theories while the other looks at what's come before and goes "what if we did X instead of Y?" The culinary arts are also a branch of science.
Southerners think they invented lots of foods. I've had southerners claim deviled eggs are a southern food. Any dessert made with jello is southern too apparently. Basically, if a southern person makes a dish more than twice, suddenly it's a southern specialty.
Pork and mushrooms are an archetypical recipe probably as old as our hunter gatherer days. Hazelnuts, port wine and sweet potatoes also seem a part of the same basket.
"This is a method." I can see this being done with pork sirloin and boneless chops (basically slices of the pork tenderloin.) Both cuts are reasonably inexpensive, and should do nicely with a slow braise in gravy. This could also be a good start for a stew, plus an onion and mushroom gravy would be awesome on its own.
Yum yum yum !!! I've been craving pork chop & a mushrooms sauce lately, must be the season 😊 I have ground pork so will be making meatball & mushroom sauce over rice with some veggies on the side 😋 it's gonna be so good and comforting too! Thanks again for a great method Glen! 100% agree with Jules 'why waste food' 'it all tastes the same'. Love your channel and all your content ♥
Hiya Glen, I liked the way you used Marmite, and giving it something positive to say about it, can I asked you if Julie is waiting in the back ground waiting to come on, or is it when Julie has arrived from Work when your usually making something to eat? I find it quite fascinating, anyways keep up the good work and keep up the lovely recipes, my nickname is Porkchop but its been shortened to Choppy, so it was a priviledge to watch a vlog with Porkchop, this is Choppy in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England
Your pepper mill reminds me of the one that my parents had. Is that make and model still manufactured? I would like to purchase one. Thank you. and Happy New Year.
Until the cream and egg added to the gravy this recipe was reminiscent of pork chops with onion gravy from southern soul food cooking. My favorite pork chops and onion gravy recipe is from New Orleans, so the similarity to a French recipe is no surprise. The cream and egg in the gravy must just take this over the top.
Glen, at least you were able to get bone in chops, a rarity in my area. I prefer bone in, much better flavour. Thanks for this video, awesome as usual.
My wife and I jokingly call it the rotten rack when it has a discount sticker on it. I've got a bunch of ground beef/pork tubes in the freezer. I pull out a pound as I need it. At the farmers market in the summer, they often have the ugly stuff under the counter at a steep discount.
If you want to frown at people not 'accepting' perfect vegetables and mushrooms, you can firmly point that at Japan and the adjoining French Nouvelle Cuisine movement. I remember most vegetables not being 'perfect' in the 70s and well into the 80s and then there was a huge wave of Japanese cuisine becoming popular and all of the magazines featured these 'food stylist' Japanese dishes. Then the wave of travel magazines that featured Tokyo restaurants where a serving was made up of three strands of noodles, a single button mushroom (but given the fancy name shitake) and three drips of 'sauce.' All the while the whole Nouvelle cuisine bit which was all about presentation and nothing about taste made everyone think that only the 'perfect' this or that could be used in a dish.
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking Yes I can see that. However, once you copy it into a document to save or print it pastes as one paragraph of the ingredients and method jumbled all together. It then has to be separated back into the original format. Not a big deal. A great many of the cooking channels have a link to a printable recipe that formats the document with ease. Thanks for your response and I have subscribed to your channel. looking forward to future videos.
What a profound this to saw about food waste, "Putting it in my mouth and chewing it doesn't matter what it looks like." We waste SOOOO much food because it isn't pretty. Unless you are a French chef, who cares what it looks like.