How to pan fry pork chops

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becksnana

Assistant Cook
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
5
How do I pan fry 1" thick boneless loin pork chops without drying them out? I want to make traditional gravy so all I want to do is fry them, not put them in sauces or anything. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Hi becksnana, welcome to DC. You will need to pan fry AND finish in the oven. This is a recipe I have used for years. You can use it as a guide to cooking them. The marinating might help retain some moisture too and it gives a wonderful flavor. I rarely find 1 1/2" pork chops - I usually buy 1".

START MARINATING TWO DAYS AHEAD!!!!! a VACUUM SEAL BAG REALLY HELPS.


4 1 1/2-inch-thick pork center loin chops
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
Horseradish Crust (recipe below)

In a large self-sealing bag, mix together the garlic, herbs and 2 tablespoons olive oil; add chops and seal bag; refrigerate overnight. Remove chops from bag; season with salt and pepper. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops and cook for 5 minute, turn and brown for 5 minutes more. Remove chops to shallow baking dish; top each chop with 1-2 tablespoons Horseradish Crust and place in oven for 6-8 minutes, until crust is golden brown. The pork chops are ok if they are a bit pink in the middle.

Horseradish Crust:

In large mixing bowl, beat together well, 1 stick softened butter, 6 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper and 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use; refrigerate any leftovers.

NEXT TIME I WILL USE HOT HORSERADISH


Serves 4
 
I place little olive oil and butter in the pan and then add the pork chops salt and pepper. I add then add water 1/2 way up pan cover. The water steams the chops and then evaporates leaving the oil and butter to brown the chops. they come out great every time, you can alomost cut them with a fork.
Sometimes I add slices of onion for a different flavor. I have also added carrots, potatoes and onions at the start and and then when browning add saurkraut.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I'm still in big trouble though. These are for my son-in-law, fried pk chops with pan gravy is his favorite meal. He is leaving tomorrow to be deployed to Iraq. They don't eat much pork there, so I promised him dinner. He brought these to me this morning. He leaves in the morning, so no time to marinate. Any other suggestions? Thanks again for your help.
 
For fast acting marinades, always use something high in acid like Soy Sauce or Lemon.

If you don't have time to marinate, I definitely suggest Letscook's method, but using Pork or Beef stock instead of water -- More flavor never hurts!. 2 Hours will do you better than no time at all. I would use Lemon, Rosemary, S&P. Maybe some garlic (but I hardly cook anything without garlic)

After the porkchops are out, turn the heat on high and let everything reduce and start your gravy from there :)

Good luck, I will your son in law well and a safe return!
 
try brining instead of marinating. 2 hours in a brine would be plenty for chops. Do a search on pork brine and you will come up with a lot of recipes that would work for you.
 
this may sound odd,But when I have thick pork chops I freeze them half way so that they are not dry, let them cook for a bit then put butter in the pan to brown,My son loves chops his favorite and this is the only way he will eat.nothing fancy.

have a great aday
 
becksnana said:
Thanks for the quick reply. I'm still in big trouble though. These are for my son-in-law, fried pk chops with pan gravy is his favorite meal. He is leaving tomorrow to be deployed to Iraq. They don't eat much pork there, so I promised him dinner. He brought these to me this morning. He leaves in the morning, so no time to marinate. Any other suggestions? Thanks again for your help.

You will do fine - if they aren't quite done when you cut into them have the oven hot and ready (450 degrees or so) to slip them in there for a few minutes to finish cooking, return to pan and eat away!!!!!!

You'll have plenty of time for a quick brine though.
 
chilichip said:
this may sound odd,But when I have thick pork chops I freeze them half way so that they are not dry, let them cook for a bit then put butter in the pan to brown,My son loves chops his favorite and this is the only way he will eat.nothing fancy.

have a great aday

that is Very similar to the way I do mine too :)
I find the problem occurs with drying when the middle gets too hot for too long, so from the fridge directly to an already heated pan with a little lard in it, keep the lid on, then half way in turn them over and wait some more, add a little butter with the lid off to coat nicely, and then take off the heat.
give them a good 5 mins time to rest/relax.

meat needs that time to relax else even if not dry, it will seem tough.
 
For what you want for him, I would perhaps brine as was suggested--for an hour or so. They are not that thick. And if you don't have time for that, it will be OK too.
Then I would bread them. Dip in beaten egg, then seasoned flour, back in beaten egg and then fine crumbs. Fry in some oil. Take out (don't overcook!), keep warm, add some of the seasoned flour to the grease and "criblings", to make a roux. cook a bit and add some milk, salt and a good bit of black pepper to make a nice gravy. Serve with mashed potatoes.
That will be a home made dinner to carry him on his way--and wish him well and good safety for all of us. With MANY thanks also.
 
You guys are awesome!!! I had hoped for at least 1 reply before I had to start cooking, and I'm getting many instead. Okay...with the risk of sounding like I have never cooked before, and I have been for 40 years, I'm still confused on the length of time it will take for these babies to cook. In all those years I've never had 1-1 1/2" chops before, and con't want to mess them up. Thanks again.
 
I cook them quite often because they are quick and easy. I heat up 1/2" of peanut oil in a skillet. Bring the chops up to room temperature and dry any moisture off. Coat them in flour, then whisked eggs and finally into breadcrumbs. Sometimes I season the breadcrumbs with Cayanne pepper or Emerils Essence. I usually can fit 3-4 chops in the pan, after a minute or so you can lower the heat to medium high. Only turn the chops once, when the first side LOOKS like its done with just a little browning you can flip them. It should only take about 4-5 min per side. When they are all done let them rest under some foil on top of papertowel for about 5-7 minutes. Yoiu should be able to cut them with a fork.

You may just be nervous about under cooking rather than over cooking. You should remove any pork from the heat when there is still pink in the middle.
 
if they`re in the fridge Now (and have been for some time) I`de give them roughly 6 to 7 mins per side (with the lid on), then add the butter take the lid off and give a good 5 mins relax time in the pan.

all of this is variable around those figures though as it depends on Gas or elec, the weight/thickness of the pan base etc...

if you get a fork and prick the thickest part of the meat the juices should be clear. the stand time will cook it the rest of the way :)
 
My husband makes delicious fried porkchops, the old southern way. He seasons them with S&P, then dredges in seasoned flour, dips in beaten egg with a little milk or water, back into the flour, and into the hot grease in the skillet...3/4" deep is enough. He uses canola oil with a tablespoon or two of bacon grease added for flavor. When the chops are brown on one side, he turns them over, lowers the heat a little, and covers the skillet to let them steam.
This method makes the best gravy! If you caramalize some onions to go in it, all the better.
Of course, ya gotta have mashed potatoes to go with.
 
Candocook....I think you have hit the nail on the head for what I was looking for. I shall research brine methods....I have never done that before. I have 5 hours before the meal has to hit the table, so I do have time to do that.
Thank you all for the good wishes sent his way on his deployment. He is a fine man, and good officer and we hope and pray that we will see him again in 2008.
 
If you have time to brine...then brine....
Then ditto what Constance said....maybe with your own twist!!

Also ...Thanks to him and your family for their service to our country!!!
 
Boneless Rib Chops are one of my favorite cuts.

Dry meat means that it was overcooked. The trick to juicy meat is simply to not overcook it!

For one chop I use an 8" pan. Set the oven to 350ºF. Dry both sides of the chop with paper-towels and season both sides with Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper. Heat the pan over med-hi heat. Add 1-t of butter to the pan and swirl it around. When the foam subsides (indicating that the water in the butter has evaporated leaving fat and solids), add the chop to the pan and wait until it releases itself. Flip the chop (swirling the butter over the bottom of the pan again before setting it back in and cook another 30-60sec. Place the pan in the oven and check every the temperature of the meat every couple minutes by inserting a thermometer into it's side to penetrate the center. When that chop hits 144-145ºF, remove the pan from the oven and set the chop on a small wire rack tented with tinfoil to rest (preserves the crust on both sides of the meat as well). They key here is not cooking past 145ºF!

And...

That will leave you with a fond covered pan that is ripe for a pan sauce. Turn the oven off and the burner up to medium. I like to toss in another teaspoon of butter and a tablespoon of shallots. Lightly caramelize the shallots and then deglaze with a splash of white wine. Add in 1/4-C of demiglace (or reduce 1.5-C of stock to this amount in a separate pan beforehand - not the salty carton/canned stuff) along with 1/2-t of Dijon Mustard, a pinch of sugar, and some chopped herbs like parsley, chives, or even a bit of tarragon. Finish it by swirling in a teaspoon of butter (yes, we used butter three times, but only 1-t a pop which is 1-T total, or 90 Calories). It's kind of a sauce Robert meets Fines Herbes. I'll usually start some potatoes roasting in the oven at 400ºF beforehand, and then turn the oven down a bit before I start the pork. Of course a good stock/demiglace is critical for this sauce.
 
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My recipe for pork chops is very simple and everybody seems to love them. I spray the pan with Pam or other cooking spray, sprinkle one side with McCormick Broiled Steak Seasoning, put the UNSEASONED side down in the pan over medium-high heat and quickly brown that one side. Then I flip them over and on the unseasoned side I sprinkle a little dried Lipton's Onion Soup Mix (just enough to cover the chop well) on it. Then I add some water (just a little, enough to cover the bottom of the pan about 1/8 "), reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pan, and cook about 10 or 15 minutes until done through. (Depends on the size of the chops; don't overcook.) Check after a few minutes to be sure there is still some water in the pan; if there isn't, add just a little more.) The steam mixes with the soup mix and moistens it. My son and his friends can't get enough of these, and they say they MUST be served with applesauce and macaroni and cheese!
 
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