Source: FOSS Cooking (community recipes)
Pat the porkchops dry and season generously with salt and pepper — moisture on the surface prevents proper browning. Heat your pan (cast iron or stainless steel) until it's smoking, then lay the chops down without moving them. Searing creates a crust through the Maillard reaction; shift them only when they release freely from the surface, roughly three to four minutes per side depending on thickness. Once they're golden and the internal temperature hits 63°C (medium), transfer them to a warm plate.
Without washing the pan, brunoise the shallots finely and add them to the residual fat. Sweating the alliums over medium heat releases their sugars and softens their bite — you're after translucency without colour, about three minutes. Pour in the white wine immediately and scrape the fond from the pan with a wooden spoon. This deglazing dissolves the caramelised meat particles back into the liquid. Let the wine reduce aggressively on high heat until you have roughly two teaspoons of syrupy liquid left — the alcohol cooks off and the flavour concentrates.
Pour in the stock and return to a simmer. Cut your gherkins into batons (this gives them better mouthfeel than thin slices) and add them to the sauce. Whisk in the mustard thoroughly — raw mustard can taste harsh, so let the sauce warm gently for two minutes to mellow it. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon lightly; if it's too thin, continue reducing. Mount the sauce with a knob of cold butter, whisking constantly until it emulsifies into a glossy finish.
Return the porkchops to the pan and turn them once or twice to coat them in the sauce. Thirty seconds is enough — you're warming them through, not cooking them further, which would push them past medium and dry them out. Serve immediately with buttered mashed potato or pan-frying|sautéed potatoes. The sharp mustard and vinegary gherkins cut through the richness of the pork and sauce.
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