Pork Chop Mess-Up! Help?

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dylansgirl

Assistant Cook
Joined
Dec 10, 2012
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1
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Michigan
Okay, I made 4 smaller sized pork chops with cream of chicken soup with green beans. I put it in the oven at 350 for an hour and a half. Pulled it out and the meat was tough and rubbery. So I pulled all the meat off and shredded it. Then I put it in a pan with bbq sauce. Now it's on low. Does anyone think the pork will get more tender if I let it sit on low for awhile? I really had no idea what to do so that's what I resorted to. Any feedback will be appreciated!
 
It's been my experience that meat cooked slow and low in a sugary sauce (such as bbq sauce) dries out as the sugar absorbs moisture from the meat. You may be able to add water and thin the sauce, then let it simmer. It may turn into something like a sauced, pulled pork.

Next time, try this: Slice your chops into thin strips. Dust in seasoned flour (salt, pepper, Chinese 5-spice, garlic, onion, flour, maybe a little red pepper, or chili powder in place of the 5-spice), then dip in egg wash. Heat oil to 345'F. Place strips into the pan, but without crowding. Cook until the coating just starts to brown. Remove from the oil and drain. When all of the meat is finished cooking, serve with rice, potatoes, noodles, or whatever you like. Add bbq sauce at the plate, or fold into the pork just before serving. Guaranteed tender. melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
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Okay, I made 4 smaller sized pork chops with cream of chicken soup with green beans. I put it in the oven at 350 for an hour and a half. Pulled it out and the meat was tough and rubbery. So I pulled all the meat off and shredded it. Then I put it in a pan with bbq sauce. Now it's on low. Does anyone think the pork will get more tender if I let it sit on low for awhile? I really had no idea what to do so that's what I resorted to. Any feedback will be appreciated!

I can't offer you any help on salvaging your pork chops, but I have made a similar dish on the stovetop and the pork was fall off the bone tender.
Some simple things, but ones you didn't mention:
Was the dish covered?
Did you add liquid besides the concentrated soup?

I think I'll have to make this again. I also add rice, which also means adding more liquid for the rice to absorb. I use milk :yum:
 
I'm thinking dice up some onions, get out some sour cream and shredded cheese, and make tacos out of them. Throw on some salsa, maybe some jalapeno slices and black olives. Might be a bit chewy, but they should taste fine. Tostitos or other corn chips would work too, for nachos.
 
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Now that's a good idea! Turn them into tacos or fajitas. Shredded meat is pretty much shredded meat.
 
Thanks Pac! Some of our favorite places in Mexico serve chewy pork. Finely minced fried pork chop with a schmeer of refried beans in a tortilla. :yum:
 
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Well for smaller-sized pork chops, you cooked them way too long. I wouldn't even cook 1 to 1-1/4 inch thick, bone-in chops that long.

We sometimes cook thin pork chops in scalloped potatos but I pre-cook the potatos so that the chops aren't in for more than 30-40 minutes at most. Even then, they are in between layers of sliced potatos and covered until all but the last 10 minutes or so just to brown the top of the potatos.

Tried a receipe for the first time from Paul Prudhomme for cajun stuffed pork chops recently. They were 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inch thick, stuffed, and cooked for an hour (per recipe) and were too done, not horribly but still overdone. I was leery of the cooking time but generally will follow a recipe the first time I make it. Definitely a make again but cooking time will be cut down, starting checks with thermometer at 35-40 minutes.
 
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For good or ill, I hope I never have to buy thin pork chops again. IMHO, they are a waste of money. They dry out very quckly, can't stuff 'em like they oughta be, and sometimes there is more bone than meat. YMMV.
 
As others have said, your chops were cooked way too long.Lately I've been buying 10-lb or so pork loin roasts and cutting my own chops and smaller roasts. That way, I get just what I want.
 
For good or ill, I hope I never have to buy thin pork chops again. IMHO, they are a waste of money. They dry out very quckly, can't stuff 'em like they ought to be, and sometimes there is more bone than meat. YMMV.

Hoot, the technique I outlined above turns thin pork into a super tender, and delectable product. Check out Velvetized meat, either from previous threads in DC, or google it. There is a place for thin pork, and it can be delicious. But I agree with you that thick pork, be it chops, loin, tenderloin, or roast, is much better when it never leaves the (just a little pink) stage. It is much more tender, and juicy.

Velvetizing meat does the same thing for thin meat. By poaching in 320' oil, the meat and coatings are cooked, but just until done. All the flavors, and juices are still in the meat, and it is very tender.

Seeeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
There are many 'low and slow' master BBQ champions who set the temp at about 200 F-225 F for a reason. The pork/chicken/s roasts for hours. Learn from them when it comes to roasting/sauteing/braising any meat. When a protein strand reaches 212 F it contracts squeezing any moisture out and it basically turns into a rubber band. Pork is a very delicate meat and the only way to prepare it, in any form is having about a 200 F temp setting. Aim for about 145 F internal temp and with a little carry over a final internal temp of about 150 F. Personally I aim for about 145 F finished temp after resting. I like to taste the meat. IMO any piece of pork that looks white instead of just a little pink is over cooked.
 
There are many 'low and slow' master BBQ champions who set the temp at about 200 F-225 F for a reason. The pork/chicken/s roasts for hours. Learn from them when it comes to roasting/sauteing/braising any meat. When a protein strand reaches 212 F it contracts squeezing any moisture out and it basically turns into a rubber band. Pork is a very delicate meat and the only way to prepare it, in any form is having about a 200 F temp setting. Aim for about 145 F internal temp and with a little carry over a final internal temp of about 150 F. Personally I aim for about 145 F finished temp after resting. I like to taste the meat. IMO any piece of pork that looks white instead of just a little pink is over cooked.

You will pull pork chops out of a casserole or sauerkraut to check the internal temps? Low and slow is to get smoke into the meat (which only happens for a couple hours) and break down tougher cuts like brisket, pork shoulders etc. Not all circuit champions go 200 to 225F, Miron Mixon has been known to do brisket at 325F for a shorter cook.;)
 
You will pull pork chops out of a casserole or sauerkraut to check the internal temps? Low and slow is to get smoke into the meat (which only happens for a couple hours) and break down tougher cuts like brisket, pork shoulders etc. Not all circuit champions go 200 to 225F, Miron Mixon has been known to do brisket at 325F for a shorter cook.;)
I never said "all" circuit champions do 'low and slow'. I said "many". I agree with you that the 'low and slow' method is used to "break down tougher cuts...."
That being the case I guess using the method on better cuts would result in even more tender offerings. Thanks for your endorsement for the 'low and slow' method. We wouldn't want people to be eating rubber bands would we? LOL
If these BBQ experts are only using the 'low and slow' method for a couple of hours to "get smoke into the meat" why are they then leaving the meat in the BBQ for another eight hours or whatever? Just to keep it warm?
When I cook pork chops they are 'doubles'. I never 'stew' pork chops in any sauce. I gently brown them in clarified butter then roast them 'low and slow' in the oven until the internal temp is about 140 F I then rest them and the carry over adds about 5 more degrees. When I serve them I ladle out the sauce onto a hot dinner plate and position the slices cut from the chop fanned out on top of the sauce. I also present any veg in top of the sauce beside the chop slices. That's the way I serve pork chops with a sauce.
 
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I never said "all" circuit champions do 'low and slow'. I said "many". I agree with you that the 'low and slow' method is used to "break down tougher cuts...."
That being the case I guess using the method on better cuts would result in even more tender offerings. Thanks for your endorsement for the 'low and slow' method. We wouldn't want people to be eating rubber bands would we? LOL
If these BBQ experts are only using the 'low and slow' method for a couple of hours to "get smoke into the meat" why are they then leaving the meat in the BBQ for another eight hours or whatever? Just to keep it warm?

It is a fact that the meat will only take on so much smoke and a couple hours at 225F is about it. The rest of the time, as I mentioned is to break down the stuff that makes tough cuts tough. The reason a 18 lb packer brisket takes 16 hours or so at 225F to reach an internal of 195 to 198F. You might want to bone up on your "Q" knowledge.;)
 
Okay, I made 4 smaller sized pork chops with cream of chicken soup with green beans. I put it in the oven at 350 for an hour and a half. Pulled it out and the meat was tough and rubbery. So I pulled all the meat off and shredded it. Then I put it in a pan with bbq sauce. Now it's on low. Does anyone think the pork will get more tender if I let it sit on low for awhile? I really had no idea what to do so that's what I resorted to. Any feedback will be appreciated!

Next time buy thicker chops.

Season them and sear on one side in a med-hot skillet with a little oil.

Turn and then put in a 425-450 oven until they reach a temp of 140.

Take them out and let them rest for 5 min.

Also, brining them before cooking will ensure a juicy and flavorful chop.
 
I never said "all" circuit champions do 'low and slow'. I said "many". I agree with you that the 'low and slow' method is used to "break down tougher cuts...."
That being the case I guess using the method on better cuts would result in even more tender offerings. Thanks for your endorsement for the 'low and slow' method. We wouldn't want people to be eating rubber bands would we? LOL
...
From what I understand, it only works with the tougher cuts that have more grisly bits that melt with low and slow. Better cuts don't have the bits that melt away with low and slow.
 
I'm thinking dice up some onions, get out some sour cream and shredded cheese, and make tacos out of them. Throw on some salsa, maybe some jalapeno slices and black olives. Might be a bit chewy, but they should taste fine. Tostitos or other corn chips would work too, for nachos.
Or make pork hash. Chop up the pork, add sliced or diced, cooked potato, and chopped onion. Then fry up the whole mess and optionally serve it with a fried egg on top.
 
It is a fact that the meat will only take on so much smoke and a couple hours at 225F is about it. The rest of the time, as I mentioned is to break down the stuff that makes tough cuts tough. The reason a 18 lb packer brisket takes 16 hours or so at 225F to reach an internal of 195 to 198F. You might want to bone up on your "Q" knowledge.;)
It was a 'rhetorical' question. I'm 65 and have BBQed for most of that time. BTW what "stuff" is it you are referring to? I assume you mean the fat. Fat's tricky. It absorbs heat faster than tissue. I like my briskets to be finished at more like 180-185 F. Just saying.
 
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