AirFryday: Pork loin chops with mustard béchamel sauce

A pork chop should not be over- or undercooked. Over, and it’s tough and unpleasantly chewy. Under, and it’s either bloody, or bloody dangerous. A clever chef knows how to make it just that little bit “under” — just slightly pink at the centre — that is both safe and tender. That’s the ideal. But at home, there’s no guarantee we can achieve that.

I experimented with pork chops in an air fryer, and came up with this solution: air fry them for 5 to 6 minutes per side at 200°C. But please have a look at the chop in the photo. It is large in area — that is, on its flat side. And it has a standard thickness as pork chops go.

But, don’t just cook it for the full cooking time and hope for the best. Pause the cooking along the way, and press the meat with a finger to test whether it’s tender. It must not be hard to the touch. Depending on the size of the chop, it may be cooked as soon as 4 minutes per side. These, however, were tender and cooked perfectly after 6 a side.

Pork and mustard are natural bedfellows. I made a béchamel and turned it into a mustard sauce.

I serve them with baby potato wedges and red and orange coleslaw made with red cabbage and carrot.

Tony’s pork loin chops with mustard béchamel sauce

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 large pork loin chops

1 tsp crushed garlic powder

Salt and black pepper

For the sauce:

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 cup full cream milk

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp hot English mustard 

1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard

Salt and black pepper to taste

For the red and orange coleslaw:

1 baby red cabbage, shredded

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

2 Tbsp mayonnaise

Salt and black pepper to taste

For the baby potatoes:

8 baby potatoes, unpeeled, cut into quarters

2 Tbsp cooking oil

Salt and black pepper

A little garlic powder

Method

Bring the milk almost to a boil, taking it off the heat when it is just beginning to bubble at the edges of the pan. Keep to one side.

Melt the butter, take it off the heat, and vigorously stir in the flour.

Slowly add the milk while stirring continuously, on a low heat, and keep stirring on that low heat for about 15 minutes. This allows the “floury” taste to cook out.

Stir in the garlic and two mustards, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave aside to warm up when you serve the chops.

Make the coleslaw: shred a small red cabbage and grate 1 medium carrot. Combine in a bowl with 2 Tbsp mayonnaise and salt and black pepper to taste.

Quarter some baby potatoes and douse them in a bowl with a little cooking oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Air fry at 200°C until crisp and soft inside, about 20 to 25 minutes, shaking the basket often for even cooking.

Season the chops with salt, black pepper and garlic powder.

Air fry at 200°C for 6 minutes per side. Serve with the potatoes and coleslaw, and the sauce in a ramekin alongside. DM

Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the year award, in 2021 and 2023.

Order Tony’s book, foodSTUFF, here.

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

This dish is photographed on a platter by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.