Why Do You Put Sugar In A Brine
Brining promotes a change in the structure of the proteins in the muscle. The salt causes protein strands to become denatured, or unwound. In most cases, we add sugar to the brine. Sugar has little if any effect on the texture of the meat, but it does add flavor and promotes better browning of the skin.
Perfect Thick Cut Pork Chops
Juicy thick cut pork chops are simple to prepare and the result can rival any traditional beef steak. Learn how to make the perfect thick cut pork chops with this simple method.
Juicy thick cut pork chops are simple to prepare and the result can rival any traditional beef steak. Learn how to make the perfect thick cut pork chops with this simple method.
Juicy thick cut pork chops are simple to prepare and the result can rival any traditional beef steak. Im not even kidding! And they are way cheaper to buy too. I call them my secret weapon when it comes to feeding a crowd on a special occasion.
Making a perfect pork chop is completely easy. If you havent had a thick cut pork chop before, well, prepare to fall in love with pork chops. Those thin, flimsy chops you see all over the grocery store dry out easily and lack the complete flavor pork chops have to offer.
You can buy a thick cut chop at almost any grocery, but youll probably have to ask for it. Just head on over to the meat counter and ask for a 1 1/2 to 2 inch thick cut pork chop. If youve got a good butcher, they will probably smile at your request. Keeping the bone-in helps retain both flavor and moisture, and cutting it thick practically ensures a juicy result.
Have a smoker? I also have a post detailing How to Smoke A Thick Cut Pork Chop that you should check out. Smokers are an amazing way to cook almost any meat. If you dont already have a smoker, you should seriously consider getting one.
Why I Love Pork Chops:
- Within about 20 minutes, I can sit down with my family and have a healthy delicious meal that everyone will love.
- Easy spices that I always have in my pantry and they turn out so good on these boneless pork chops.
- Pork Chops are budget friendly. Pork Chops are really easy to make and turn out so juicy and flavorful if you cook them just right.
- The sauce that the pork chops make is so good. I love to serve this as a side so we can either dip or pour over our veggies. This is a must that my family always look forward to.
- Pork Chops are perfect for any diet that you are on. Porks Chops are a lean meat that is low in calorie but high in protein.
- Pork Chops are perfect on the grill. Instead of making steak or chicken, I love to mix things up and grill some pork chops.
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Pork Chop Marinade No Marinating Needed
Melt butter in the same pan as the porks were seared in to keep those flavours going into the sauce, then add the rest of your ingredients.Cook until the sauce reduces down and thickens slightly . Dont cook for too long or the honey will reduce down completely, leaving you with a dry pan. Baste pork generously with the sauce, then broil/grill for 1-2 minutes, or until edges are slightly charred.
Our Best Baked Pork Chop Tip
The tips above are all important, but heres our best advice for baking pork in the oven: Sear the chops briefly in a hot skillet before baking in the oven.
Wed love to tell you that lining raw pork chops on a baking sheet and sliding them into the oven to bake will make for a tasty chop, but after years of cooking proteins like pork and steak in our kitchen, we just havent had success with that method.
Instead, by taking an extra five minutes to preheat a skillet and sear one side of the pork before baking, the chops take on a beautiful golden-brown color, have a better texture , and are more interesting to eat.
Since we hate unnecessary dirty pans/dishes around here, we love to use our cast iron skillet to sear and bake the chops in.
However, if you dont have an oven-safe skillet, you can sear the pork chops in a regular skillet and then transfer the seared chops to a baking dish or sheet pan to finish them in the oven.
Another option is to continue to cook them on the stove. Heres our recipe for stovetop pork chops.
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Ingredients In This Garlic Butter Pork Chops Recipe
To make this recipe youll need the following simple ingredients:
- Pork chops I cooked four thick-cut rib chops. You can technically use any cut that you prefer, however, I recommend becoming familiar with their differences and adjusting the recipe as needed to avoid overcooking.
- Olive oil While the sauce is primarily made from butter, a tablespoon or so of olive oil helps prevent the butter from burning.
- Butter Butter is just as important as the pork in this recipe. I love to use salted butter, but feel free to use unsalted and add additional salt to taste at the end of cooking.
- Garlic Because what is better than fresh garlic cooking in butter? nothing.
- Fresh Thyme I love thyme. Its one of my favorite fresh herbs to use- especially when making sauces. If youre not a fan, feel free to substitute for something different like fresh sage or parsley.
- Salt and Pepper The seasoning in this recipe is basically salt and pepper. Dont be afraid to use them
For The Juiciest Tastiest Chops Make A Pan Sauce
While the chops rest off of the heat, add chicken stock, a little bit of apple cider vinegar and some honey to the skillet.
Bring everything to a simmer, and then reduce by about half. When it has reduced, slide the pan away from the heat and swirl in some butter.
Grab your chops and place them back into the skillet. You can add them whole or sliced. We love adding them sliced since the pan sauce gets all over the meat.
And thats it, our no-fail method for cooking juicy and tender pork chops.
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Boneless Pork Ribeye Chops Recipes
Grilled Cuban Pork Chops This is a dish that is packed with flavor, yet easy and light. Perfect for that dinner guest, or bbq. Pair it with black bean salad in my recipe book, and you have a super dish.
bone-in ribeye pork chops, sea salt, ice cold water, ginger beer and 5 more White Balsamic & Peach Glazed Boneless Pork Ribeye Chop Pork cold water, clover honey, ketchup, garlic powder, white balsamic vinegar and 8 more
flour, boneless ribeye pork chops, onions, butter, apple juice Country Pork Skillet Pork frozen mixed vegetables, ketchup, pork gravy, small red potatoes and 1 more
Tonkatsu – Asian-Style Pork Chop. Rating: 4.41 stars. 163. This is using Panko, which is Japanese bread crumbs , and thinly sliced boneless pork chops. By SHIN98. Family style platter of World’s Best Honey Garlic Pork Chops garnished with extra sauce and fresh herbs.
Baked Soy Lemon Chops. Rating: 4.28 stars. 719. These pork chops are light but very tasty! The longer you marinate your pork, the better it tastes. And it’s baked, so a lot of the pork fat is baked right off! Serve with a fresh garden salad and mashed potatoes for a terrific meal. By Sherlock.
Simple Seasoning Rub For Grilled Pork Chops
Well make a simple BBQ dry rub for our pork chops, which is made from ingredients you likely already have in the pantry:
- Brown sugar
- Ground mustard
- Salt & pepper
These ingredients all work together to create a sweet and savory flavor. The brown sugar will caramelize to form the most amazing char/crust on the pork chops. One bite and youll be smiling from ear to ear.
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Brine Or Marinate The Chops
The pork loin runs from behind the shoulders of the pig to the back end, where ham is cut. The closer the loin is cut near to shoulders, the fatter the meat will be. The closer the loin is cut to the ham end, the leaner the meat will be. The Mayo Clinic notes both brining and marinating meat as a way to add flavor without adding lots of fat or other unhealthy ingredients.
Leaner meat, like pork loin center-chops, tend to be a bit tougher and drier than beef, because of the high protein to fat ratio. To help prevent your chops from becoming too tough, you could try following baked boneless pork chop recipes that have you brine and marinade the chops before cooking.
A brine will not alter the fat content of the center-cut pork loin chops. According to the USDA, a bone-in, 4-ounce portion of loin chop will add 144 calories to your diet. Loin chops are also high in protein, and will provide nearly 25 grams in that serving size. If you are watching your fat intake, there are less than 5 grams of total fat in a pork loin center-cut.
If you are new to cooking, you may not know the difference between a brine and a marinade. A brine is a salty solution, often made with water and salt, but other liquids could also be used. You place your pork loin center chops in the brine for several hours, or overnight. The salty solution helps draw additional moisture into the meat. In addition to retaining more moisture, brined meat will also be more tender.
Ready In Just 15 Minutes
I am a big fan of pork chops.
I cant say I always felt this way, but thats because most of my life I had no idea how to cook them. Flavorless, dry, chewyyou know, just a few of the many ways to describe a sad, overcooked pork chop dinner.
Fortunately, with some practice over the years, I can finally say that I now know how to cook these finicky chops so that they are actually juicy and really really yummy!
This recipe makes the best pork chops and is my absolute favorite! Ready in just 15 minutes, its super simple, easy, and tastes fantastic with all your favorite sides including mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, or crispy herb and butter roasted potatoes. Keep scrolling to learn how you can make them, too!
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How Long To Bake Pork Chops At 400 Degrees
The biggest trick’ to making oven baked pork chops is to not overcook them. Since pork chops are lean meat, they will dry out if you leave them in the oven for too long. But don’t worry, here’s an easy way to know exactly how long you should cook your chops.
In a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven, boneless pork chops need to cook for 7 minutes per ½ inch of thickness. If you are using bone-in pork chops, add an extra minute for each ½ inch.
If you’re new to making roasted pork chops, the best way to tell if they are fully cooked is to use an instant read meat thermometer. Pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. We use our meat thermometer to make sure the meat doesn’t overcook.
How Long Should I Cook Pork Chops In The Oven
The cook time for baked pork chops will vary depending on how thick your chops are. That said, they wont need very long in the oven.
For example, boneless pork chops about 1-inch thick will need a 2 to 3 minute sear in the skillet and then 8 to 15 minutes of bake time in the oven.
Thinner chops will cook much quicker, and thicker chops may take a few minutes longer a temperature thermometer is your best bet for checking doneness.
Pork is done when the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you do not have a thermometer, you will know they are done if the juices run clear when cutting into the chops.
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Recommended Internal Temperature For Pork
Wondering when your pork is done and safe to be eaten? I highly recommend investing in a meat thermometer. I check pretty much everything I cook and bake with mine to make sure Im at the accurate temperature.
The US governments food safety website recommends cooking all pork to an internal temperature of at least 145°F followed by a 3 minute rest for safe consumption.
How To Tell When Pork Chops Are Done
Pork is done when an internal thermometer reads 145° F. Depending on how thick the chops are, you might need to subtract or add a few minutes from the suggested cook times in our recipe below.
If you look closely, the pork chop in the back of the pan is thicker than the one in the front.
When we were cooking them, we removed the thinner chop first since it reached 145° F a few minutes before the thicker chop.
So if your chops arent all the same thickness or size, its best to check the temperature of each chop and remove them as they finish cooking.
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Best Pork Loin Rib Chops Recipes
A brine will not alter the fat content of the center-cut pork loin chops. According to the USDA, a bone-in, 4-ounce portion of loin chop will add 144 calories to your diet. Loin chops are also high in protein, and will provide nearly 25 grams in that serving size.
Preheat grill over medium high heat and brush with olive oil. Season chops with generous amount of salt and pepper on both sides. Place pork on grill for 89 minutes, turning once halfway through, until cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Remove pork from grill, tent with foil let rest for 3 minutes.
10 Best Pork Rib Eye Chops Recipes. Pork Rib Eye Chops are a boneless pork chop, very similar to pork loin chops. They are cut from the rib area of the loin, next to the blade chops area. Sometimes butchers may refer to them as Pork Rib Eye Steaks..
With sous vide cooking, because you are cooking at the exact temperature at which you are planning on serving your meat, timing is much more forgiving. Temperature is by far the overriding factor. By adjusting the temperature of your Precision Cooker, you can cook your pork chops anywhere from a pink, juicy rare to a firm but still moist well-done .
How To Serve Grilled Pork Chops
Your delicious grilled pork chops are excellent with just about any side-dish you have on hand. But, theres one thing that stands out above the rest potatoes. Our recipe for Irresistible Air Fryer Garlic Herb Potatoes is the perfect compliment for our pork chops. Theyre super easy to make and really live up to their name of being irresistible.
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How To Tell If The Pork Chop Is Done
Not sure how to tell how done a chop is? The pros do it and a steak or chop cooked medium should have a slight resistance when you press on it with your finger but not feel hard and solid.
The easiest way to check if the pork chop is done is to use meat thermometer. When they reach an internal temperature of 135 F degrees they are done. Remove them from the skillet and let them rest on a plate for 10 minutes, during which time they will continue cooking with the residual heat and will eventually reach 145 F degrees. Do remember that cooking time can vary based on the thickness of the pork chops.
Best Pork Chop Recipes
Youre going to love my Pork Chops recipes! Especially my Smothered Pork Chops! They are lightly breaded, tender pork chops simmered in a rich and creamy onion gravy that make a family meal everyone at the table will love. Pork chop recipes just dont get any better than this!
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Easy Ingredients To Make This Baked Pork Chops Recipe:
What I love most about this recipe is that it requires simple ingredients, yet its so flavourful. You need:
- Good quality butter if possible organic or grass-fed or ghee
- Garlic fresh is always best! You can use garlic powder, but I prefer and recommend fresh garlic.
- Fresh thyme again, I highly suggest fresh thyme
- Salt and ground black pepper You can rub the pork chops with salt and pepper, but you also can use other spices like paprika and onion powder if you prefer. I prefer just salt and pepper because the garlic butter sauce is already very flavorful.
- Pork chops I recommend purchasing pork that has no antibiotics or added hormones. ButcherBox has some great pork options as they source their pork from cage-free farms. If you are picking pork chops up at the stores, try to pick an evenly thick cut so you dont end up with overcooked tips. I like to buy at least 1-inch thick pork chops. Also, you make this recipe with boneless pork chops or bone-in pork chops and even with thick cut pork chops. This recipe also works well with chicken breasts
- Brown sugar : I know many of you like to add a little bit of brown sugar in your seasoning mixture. I dont add it, because I want to reduce the amount of sugar a consume. However, you can totally do it if you prefer.