Remove pork from fridge for 10 - 30 minutes prior to cooking. Sprinkle both sides of pork lightly with salt.
4 Pork Chops, ¼ teaspoon Salt
Preheat a heavy pan over medium high heat. Add olive oil. Pat both sides of pork chops dry with a paper towel. When olive oil is shimmering, add pork.Do not overcrowd pan or let pork chops touch each other. Once in pan, don't touch or move for at least 3 minutes!
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Check pork after 3 minutes. If nicely seared, flip all pork chops and cook other side for 3 minutes. If needed you can cook for one additional minute to achieve a golden sear.
Turn heat off and add garlic and shallots and ¼ cup tequila and ¼ cup chicken broth. Place cover on pan and turn burner back on to medium low heat. Cook for 2 minutes.
2 cloves Garlic, 2 tablespoons shallots, ¼ cup tequila, ¼ cup chicken broth
Remove pork chops from pan and cover loosely with foil.
Sauce
Return heat to medium high. Add remaining tequila and chicken broth. Add cumin seeds. Allow sauce to reduce by half (about 2 - 3 minutes)
¼ cup tequila, ¼ cup chicken broth, ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
Reduce to medium low. Add butter and whisk while melting. Add jalapeno slices and freshly squeezed lime juice.
¼ cup butter, salted, ½ jalapeno, ½ lime
Continue cooking over medium low heat until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened.
Serve immediately over pork chops.
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and lime wedges.
1 teaspoon parsley, ½ lime
Video
Notes
Tips:
Pull pork chops out of fridge and place on a plate for up to 30 minutes before cooking. Letting the pork chops warm up a bit helps with the cooking process and ensures more even cooking. If you don't have 30 minutes, allow as much time as you have. Even 10 minutes is better than straight from the fridge.
Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt as soon as you remove from the fridge.
Just before cooking, be certain to remove all excess moisture from the pork chops with a paper towel. This ensures a good sear.
Once pork is in the pan, don't touch them until you're ready to flip them.
Allow pork to rest for 5 - 10 minutes after cooking. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
As soon as the sauce is done, serve right away.
Taste sauce before serving. If too salty, add more fresh squeezed lime juice to help balance the flavors.
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and lime wedges.
What if my sauce breaks?This sauce is rich and glossy, but if heated for too long or on too high of heat, it can break or become separated and look oily. No worries though, you can still rescue it!Splash a small amount of water into the hot pan and whisk until the sauce comes back together.