McCloud’s Baked Smothered Pork Chops (Made Easy With Cream Of Celery)

Baked smothered pork chops are the perfect savory dinner, with juicy, tender chops that melt in your mouth. Oven-baked and seasoned to perfection, these pork chops are smothered in a rich, flavorful gravy that’s perfect for cozy Sunday nights.

Yall, these pork chops fire! I had been craving these for some time now, and I finally decided to make them while Aunt Lorretta was over and spending time with me. So I said ok, let me just make a recipe out of it.

So she helped me make a recipe out of this and it came out so good. This is the perfect mid-week main dish. I don’t eat pork or make pork chops often because let’s just say when I have too much, I dont feel good.

But I grew up eating smothered pork chops… and we often ate them fried and baked them with gravy. So in this article I’ll explain how to make some soul food style smothered pork chops.

McCloud’s smothered pork chops

I can’t explain how much I love meat smothered in gravy! I think my grandma Viola Taylor and her husband Carlton McCloud are greatly responsible for that. I lived with them on and off as a teenager from 13 to 18 years old. 

And when I tell you Mr. McCloud, who did most of the cooking, made something smothered in gravy at least 2 times a week for dinner, THAT IS NO EXAGERRATION!!! He would cook everything from smothered turkey wings and smothered steak to smothered pork chops.

And sometimes he would fry the meat first then smother it in a gravy. Very much like these delicious smothered fried pork chops I made years ago that were inspired by him. I have a video on my YouTube channel for my famous SMOTHERED FRIED PORK CHOPS BELOW.  

Smothered Fried Pork Chops 2014 Video

I didn’t create a recipe for these smothered fried pork chops but I will very soon and when I do I’ll definitely post it. But yea smothered food was definitely his thing and even though it felt like he made them every other day, I never got tired of them because they were so good! Lol!

What are the best cut of pork chops to use for this recipe?

I like to use Center cut-lion pork chops also known as Porterhouse or T-Bone chops because of their tenderness and flavor. These are your typical most commonly pork chops in the U.S!

They come from the center portion of the pig’s lion which is the leanest, most tender part of the animal and located between the shoulder and back legs.

I like to bake rib chops as well. They are known for their high fat content and flavor. They are tender as well and from the rib section of the lion located at the back of the pig.

Thick bone-in vs thin pork chops

Now personally, whenever I’m baking pork chops, I go for thick bone-in pork chops because they need to cook for a longer period of time to get tender and because they’re thick they wont dry out.

Thin pork chops are best for frying where the cooking time is short. So go for thick meaty bone in pork chops and save the thin pork chops for when you want some fried pork chops.

Gravy methods

Ok so about the slurry. McCloud’s the one that’s responsible for teaching me how to make a slurry which is another method for creating gravy. We always made homemade gravy, never instant gravy in a package.

• Slurry: You make a slurry by combining and stirring a thickener like flour or cornstarch into a liquid like water or broth until it is dissolved and thickens into a gravy or sauce as it cooks.
• Slurry Pros: All you have to do is get a bowl, combine your thickening agent (flour or cornstarch) with water or broth and you’re all done, BAM BAM!!! This the best option for newbies new to cooking because it’s hard to mess up as long as you use the right flour-to-liquid ratio.

McCloud loved adding Vinegar

The reason I named this recipe after McCloud is because of the unique flavor of this dish. I have many smothered Porkchop recipes and I’ve eaten it a lot growing up but I knew when Mr McCloud made it because it always had a hint of vinegar in it.

He put Apple Cider vinegar in A LOT, by the way lol, but it really added a nice little tanginess to the pork chops and took them up a notch. So yea, that’s one of my adolescent memories of McCloud’s Baked Smothered Porkchops, that good ole vinegar flavor. 

Ingredients you’ll need:

Here are the ingredients for these tender, flavorful, smothered oven-baked pork chops.

• Meat: Medium-Thick Pork Chops
• Seasonings: Seasoning Salt, Chicken Bouillon Cube, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Italian seasoning, Thyme, Black Pepper, and Parsley Flakes
• Vegetables Add-ins: Onions and Minced Garlic
• Gravy: Chicken broth, All-Purpose Flour, Cream of Celery, Apple Cider Vinegar 
• Fat: Butter

How to make smothered pork chops

1. Place pork chops in a medium-sized bowl and season with all the seasonings, and minced garlic, and massage well. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and marinate for 4 to 8 hrs or overnight if you like
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Chop the onions into thin pieces, then add the chops and onions to a baking dish.
4. Add in the butter and chicken bouillon cube.
5. Create a slurry by adding broth, flour, cream of celery, and vinegar to the same bowl you seasoned the pork chops in and stir well.
6. Add the slurry to the baking dish with the pork chops.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven.
8. Cook for an hour, then remove the aluminum foil.
9. Stir the gravy well with a big spoon.
10. Place the chops back into the oven and continue cooking uncovered for another hour, then remove.

Tips for best results:

• Marinate your pork chops: If you have enough time and are able to, marinate the pork chops for 4-8 hours first or overnight! Meat always tastes better when you give the seasonings time to penetrate it. 
• Stir the gravy: When you remove the aluminum foil, give the gravy a little stir just to remove any potential lumps in the gravy and to prevent the chops from sticking which can happen sometimes..

Vegetable add-ins & variations

• Mushrooms: So if you’re looking to spice things up or just don’t like onions and looking for something to replace them with feel free to add mushrooms to the pork chops, they make a great couple. Lol!
• Green Peppers: I add green peppers to my pork chops sometimes. While you may not find many pork chop recipes using green peppers, it tastes great with them, give it a try.
• Hot peppers: And if you’re a lover of spicy food, you can definitely add hot peppers like, jalapenos, scotch bonnet, or something to spice up the pork chops if you like.

Serving Suggestions:

• Egg Noodles: Gravy tastes amazingly delicious over egg noodles and make sure to butter and season them with a little minced garlic and seasoning salt.
• Mashed Potatoes: We all know gravy and mashed potatoes are married. Probably the best food couple in the world! Lol So I don’t need to explain why that’s a good combo.
• White Rice: White rice is probably the second-best combo with gravy after mashed potatoes. I like white rice the best and I like the 10 minute rice by ‘Success’. You can use brown, Spanish, or whatever rice you want.
• Sweet Buttery Corn: Something about the combo is sweet & buttery and savory makes dinner great. Make you some sweet corn with your smothered chops and you’ll love me for it. 
• Green Beans: Green beans go with everything. Easily one of my favorite vegetables but this combo may be a bit too acidic if you do like most folk do and add vinegar and garlic to ya green beans which are also both in this pork chop recipe. 
• Spinach: Spinach goes well with pork chops as well. I don’t know what it is, but spinach and pork chops are a perfect pairing. Probably the green veggies after green beans I eat with my pork chops the most.

Can these be made ahead of time?

Definitely! Making them ahead of time will result in a better outcome because the seasoning will have had time to seep into the pores of the chops. You can even season them and place them in a Ziploc bag.

Tightly seal them and set them in the freezer for however long you want before making them. I do this often myself when I season my meats and something comes up (maybe an invite to dinner or something) and I’ll store them in the freezer for later.

I might not be in the mood for whatever I seasoned and prepared the next night and let them sit for weeks before having a taste for it again but when I do, all I have to do is thaw it out and then cook it because it’s already seasoned. 

Storage and reheating

• How to store them? In a Tupperware bowl, tightly sealed in the refrigerator. Just make sure as I always say, to place them in a cold area of your refrigerator so they stay fresh longer.
• How to freeze them? You can seal them in a ziploc bag and freeze them if you want to save them for longer periods of time. Just make sure it’s sealed tightly to prevent freezer burn.
• How to reheat them? In a microwave, but a skillet will be better. You can also reheat them by wrapping them in aluminum foil and baking them.
• How to reheat the gravy? The gravy tends to turn into a lumpy gel, and microwaving it won’t loosen it up. So, to achieve the nice consistency the gravy had before storing it, stir in some broth and let it simmer over low heat in a skillet.

Frequently asked questions

• How long do they last? I would try to eat them by 3 days anything after that and they lose their swag! Lol! You can, however, if you don’t feel you’ll eat the leftovers immediately, store them in the freezer to ensure they stay fresh.
• Do you have to use the cream of celery? No, not at all… you can simply omit it and just use the ingredients listed for the gravy.

Alright that is it for now. I hope you all enjoy this recipe. Again, I will be posting more pork chop recipes soon so make sure you subscribe to stay updated on everything phillyjaycooking and follow me on social media to stay connected 

Enjoy, later!
Pbj~

McCloud’s Baked Smothered Pork Chops (Made Easy With Cream Of Celery)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Philly Boy Jay
• Prep Time: 20 Mins
• Cook Time: 2 Hrs
• Total Time: 2 Hr 20 Mins
• Yield: 4
• Category: Pork
• Method: Soul Food
• Cuisine: Soul Food

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Ingredients

• 2 Lbs Pork Chops
• 1 Cup Onions, finely chopped
• 3 Cups Chicken Broth
• 5 Tbs All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Tbs Butter
• 1/2 Cup Cream Of Celery (optional)
• 1/8 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tsps Minced Garlic
• 1 Chicken Flavor Bouillon Cubes
• 1 Tbs Seasoning Salt
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tsp Paprika
• 1 Tsp Parsley Flakes
• 1/2 Tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 Tsp Thyme
• 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

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Instructions

1. Place pork chops in a medium-sized bowl and season with all the seasonings, and minced garlic, and massage well. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and marinate for 4 to 8 hrs or overnight if you like
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Chop the onions into thin pieces, then add the chops and onions to a baking dish.
4. Add in the butter and chicken bouillon cube.
5. Create a slurry by adding broth, flour, cream of celery, and vinegar to the same bowl you seasoned the pork chops in and stir well.
6. Add the slurry to the baking dish with the pork chops.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven.
8. Cook for an hour, then remove the aluminum foil.
9. Stir the gravy well with a big spoon.
10. Place the chops back into the oven and continue cooking uncovered for another hour, then remove.

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