Garlic Butter Pork Bites with Lemon

White bowl with garlic pork bites and lemon on top.

Garlic Butter Pork Bites with Lemon

Behold our juicy, tender garlic butter pork bites with lemon. Pan-seared to perfection, they’re rich, flavorful, and ready in just 28 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice, or veggies!

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings people

Calories 522.4kcal

Author Marcie & Julie

Equipment

1 large skillet

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless pork chops cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp red pepper chili flakes
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp butter
3 garlic cloves finely chopped or minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp lemon juice or the juice from 1 medium lemon
fresh chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
lemon wedges for garnish (optional)

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine pork bites with salt, pepper, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Add pork bites and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side or until brown. Remove pork bites and set aside.
Reduce heat to low and melt butter in same pan. Add chopped garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, scraping up pork bits as it cooks. Be careful not to burn garlic.
Add chicken broth and lemon juice, along with pork bites and cook together for 2-3 minutes on medium heat or until pork is cooked through. Top with fresh, chopped parsley and serve.

Video

Notes

Trim away fat to avoid chewy or tough bites.
Remember to cut pork into small 1-inch pieces for faster browning/cooking. Sometimes a butcher can do this for you to save time.
Don't overcook garlic- Burnt garlic can have a bitter taste. We recommend cooking garlic for 1-2 minutes on low or medium heat.
Don't pack the pan too full- When it's crowded, the heat doesn't spread out right and some bits might end up undercooked while others get overdone. Use a big enough pan, or if you don't have one, just split it into two batches.
Keep an eye on cooking times. Pork bites cook fast, and if you're not watching them closely, they can go from perfectly crispy and tender to dry and tough in no time. Pork is full cooked at 145°F—just use a trusty meat thermometer to check.
Top with fresh parsley. Fresh parsley adds so much more flavor to these pan-seared pork bites, plus an awesome pop of color.
Add lemon zest for extra flavor. Just be sure to add it as a final step when the heat is turned off, as lemon zest can turn bitter in a hot pan.

Nutrition