Two Easy Pork Chop Recipes Simple And Delicious

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Is there any comfort food more comforting than a pan fried pork chop? My dad used to say, "If there's anything better tasting than pork, the Good Lord kept it for himself." I think he hit it on the head. There isn't much better than a perfectly fried pork chop. So moist, tender and juicy, there's a whole lot of delicious going on there.

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To brine or not to brine? That is the question. Brining pork will give you a pork chop that is moist, tender, and delicious. But, the trade-off is that you can't just whip up a brined and ready to sear chop in 20 minutes, it takes planning. These are really easy pork chop recipes, and apart from brining in the first recipe, they come together in minutes.

When I brine I start a day in advance. I brine the chops overnight. The day of, I remove them from the brine and give them a rinse. Then I pat them dry and rest them on a rack in the refrigerator. An hour before I start cooking I remove the chops and let them come to room temperature.

I usually do this with all the pork that I cook using dry heat cooking methods. This consistently produces  juicy tender pork.

Even brining for as short as an hour helps to retain moisture. While the brine doesn't penetrate very far into the chop, in that time, it does penetrate into the surface of the meat. Since this is the part of the meat that is exposed to direct, high heat, there will be less moisture loss than if you don't brine at all. 

If you don't want to brine your chops You can still make a nice chop. While I usually brine my chops there have been times when we wanted prok chops and it was way too late to brine them. In those instances the two critical factors are making certain you let the chops come to room temperature before you cook them and not overcooking the chops. You shouldn't overcook whether or not you brine, but overcooking becomes even more obvious if you don't brine.

Since moisture loss is proportional to temperature and cooking times. The higher the temperature you cook at, and the longer you cook them, the drier they are going to become. By allowing them to come to room temperature before you put them on the heat, they will reach a safe internal temperature faster, and will spend less time over the heat.

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The chops have been brined and rested at room temperature for 30 minutes.

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Easy Pork Chop Recipes Seared Chops And Fried Chops

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Seared Brined Pork Chops

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• Yield: 2 servings
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 6 minutes

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Equipment

• Probe thermometer
  
• Large saute pan
• Pan whisk

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Ingredients

• 4 pork chops, thick cut, brined (See Recipe)
  
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• Peanut oil to coat the pan
• 1/2 cup light bodied red wine, pinot noir works nicely
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp butter, cut into 4 equal sized pieces
• kosher salt, to taste

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Method

For The Seared Pork Chops

Preheat oven to 400° F

1. An hour before you plan to cook the chops remove them from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
2. Season chops with pepper. Insert the probe into the chop, through the side. You want the probe to be centered between the top and bottom surfaces of the meat and connect the probe if you haven't already done so. Set the probe to 145° F. Season the chops with cracked pepper, to taste.
3. Get the pan hot over high heat, add just enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.
4. Place the chops into the pan. Cook until nicely caramelized, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the chops over and place the pan into the oven. Allow the pork chops to finish in the oven. The chops are done when the thermometer registers 145° F. Remove from oven and allow chops to rest on a wire rack, loosely tented with foil.

For The Pan Reduction Sauce

1. Drain any excess oil from the pan and place it back on the burner, over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the wine and stock to the pan. scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Season with a pinch of salt.
3. Allow to come to a full boil and let it reduce by about half. Add the butter. Off the heat, toss gently to slowly emulsify the butter into the sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste.
4. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.
5. To serve, spoon some sauce on the plate and place the chops on the the sauce. Spoon a little sauce over the top of the chops.

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Notes

1. Pan searing is a dry, high heat, cooking method. When you are pan searing proteins usually you will neeed to finish them in an oven. 
2. When you put the chops, or any protein, into the pan the side that is down is only going to be in contact with the pan surface for a few minutes. Once you turn it over, that other side is going to be in contact with the pan for a much longer time, depending on what you are cooking and the temperature you want it at.
3. If you are cooking thin cut pork chops they are only going to take about 2 to 3 minutes per side. On the other hand if you're making thick cut pork chops, they are going to sear on the presentation side for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are beautifully caramelized. When you turn them over you need to put the pan in the oven to let them finish. 
4. The residual heat from the pan will sear the second side, while radiated heat from the oven will finish cooking the chop.

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Fried Pork Chops 

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There are two critical factors when you are frying pork chops. Make certain you let the chops come to room temperature before you cook them and don't overcook the chops. Moisture loss is proportional to temperature and cooking times. The higher the temperature you cook at, and the longer you cook them, the drier they are going to become. By allowing them to come to room temperature before you put them on the heat, they will reach a safe internal temperature faster, and will spend less time over the heat.

Apart from those two point this is an extremely easy pork chop recipe, that shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to pull together.

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• Yield: 2 servings
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 6 minutes

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Equipment

• Large saute pan
  
• Pan whisk

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Ingredients

• 4 pork chops, thin cut
  
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• Peanut oil to coat the pan
• 1 cup chicken stock
  
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• kosher salt, to taste
• Green onion tops, sliced thin - optional

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Method

For The Fried Pork Chops

1. Preheat oven to low.
2. 30 minutes before you plan to cook the chops remove them from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
3. Season the chops with salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Heat the pan over medium heat, add the oil, and lay the chops in the pan. Cook until nicely caramelized, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the chops over and fry until done, about 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Rest in a cool oven.

For The Pan Sauce

1. Drain any excess oil from the pan and place it back on the burner, over medium heat. 
2. Add the butter. Let it melt completely. Give it a swirl and sprinkle in the flour. Using a pan whisk, combine the flour and butter into a smooth paste, while scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan.
3. Cook about 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat. This cooks the pasty taste out of the flour.
4. Add the stock in a steady stream while whisking. Allow the sauce to come to a boil while whisking and cook for one minute. It takes about a minute, at a boil for starch thickened sauces to reach their full thickness.
5. Strain the sauce through a medium mesh strainer.
6. To serve, spoon some sauce on the plate and place the chops on top of the sauce. Spoon a little sauce over the top of the chops. Optionally, garnish with some sliced green onion tops or chives.

Tags: easy pork chop recipes, fried pork chops

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