What makes Perfect Bone-In Pork Chops? They’re juicy, flavorful, evenly cooked throughout, with a nice crispy seared surface. But how?? For juiciness, the chops are seared, then baked. For flavor, the chops are seasoned with salt 5 hours** ahead of cooking to permeate the meat. For even cooking, the delicious but problematic band of fat on the outside of the chops is sliced to prevent curling. And for a lovely seared surface, a sprinkle of baking soda speeds up the browning process. It all comes together to form a dependable pork chop cooking process! Enjoy!
**Don’t panic– if you don’t have 5 hours to spare, I get it! See the recipe for an alternative to salting ahead of time!
Perfect Bone-In Pork Chops Recipe
Perfect Pan-Seared Pork Chops
Ingredients
- bone-in pork chops about 1" thick
- salt
- baking soda
- high smoke point oil
Instructions
- With a sharp paring knife, slice 3-4 slits into the band of fat on the outer side of the pork chop about an inch apart, being careful not to slice into the meat. This will prevent the pork chops from curling when they are seared, allowing the meat to cook evenly (The fat contracts more quickly than the meat when the pork chop is exposed to high heat, often causing curling) . Pat the pork chops dry all over, and season each chop with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp baking soda per side. Arrange the pork chops on a wire rack and refrigerate uncovered for at least 5 hours or up to over night. Salting ahead of time seasons the meat throughout, and helps keep the surface of the meat from sweating while it cooks, giving it a better shot at browning up nicely. If you don’t have time to do this, don’t worry! Just pat the chops dry as well as you can, and don’t add the salt and baking powder until just before searing to cut down on the possibility of sweating.
- Heat the oven to 425F. Heat a large cast iron pan in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer to a stove top burner over high heat. Add 2 tsp high smoke point oil to the pan. Add the pork chops and allow to sear undisturbed for 2 minutes per side. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook 3 minutes more. Transfer the chops to a plate or cutting board and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.
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