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Did you ever wonder how high-end restaurants consistently accomplish to serve you an evenly cooked, tender and juicy thick pork chop with a gorgeous outside crust?
How to Cook Thick Pork Chops
The best way to cook thick pork chops, especially when they are thick cut bone-in pork chops, is to first sear them in a hot skillet and then finish them in a moderately hot oven until they enter the ideal temperature range.
This is the way thick pork chops are prepared in top restaurants and there is a good reason for this sear-and-bake combination approach. There are also two other steps that ensure juicy results:
- before cooking the pork chops need to be brined, and
- after coming out of the oven, they need to rest, ideally tented with foil
Thick pork chops are usually 2 to 2.5 inches thick and can be boneless (usually center cut), bone-in, or double cut (two thinner bones in) depending on which part of the animal they are carved from.
In this post we work with bone-in pork ribeye chops which have a generous marbling and a fat band running through. This fat lubricates the meat and permeates it with flavors as they cook.
Leaner thick boneless pork chops cut from the loin, would only have a layer of fat on the periphery. Keep that fat on.
Ingredients
Our pork chop recipe calls for a brine and a simple rub with spices complementary to pork such as black pepper, cumin, paprika, dried oregano, onion and garlic powder.
Why to Cook Thick Cut Pork Chops in the Oven?
Finishing thick pork chops in the oven prevents their outside from burning and overcooking while the middle slowly reaches temperature. The direct heat of a hot skillet alone is too harsh to cook through a thick cut pork chop. The oven heat surrounds the pork with even and more gentle air, cooking them through uniformly.
Therefore the sear-and-bake combination technique where the surface of the pork chops is hard seared first and the inside is then gently cooked in the oven yields best results.
Why to Brine Thick Cut Pork Chops?
Whether they are boneless thick cut pork loin chops, which are lean and drier, or thick cut pork ribeye pork chops with generous marbling such as we use here, brining benefits the meat before they hit the dry heat of the oven.
Brining causes the pork chops to absorb water and flavor - their total weight noticeably increases after the saline soak. When brined pork chops cook they dry out less because most of the lost moisture is from the brine.
This is what happens when you soak pork meat in brine:
- The salt, comprised of sodium and chloride, when dissolved in water breaks down into positive charged sodium ions and negative charged chloride ions.
- Once the chloride enters the meat's protein structure through diffusion the negative ions begin to repel each other. This causes the proteins supporting the muscle filaments to shorten and loosen up, creating space gaps which draw in water molecules and retain them.
- As the water enters the gaps, the dissolved sodium ions along with the sugar molecules in the water penetrate into the meat and improve its flavor.
Workflow
The steps to cook thick cut pork chops are simple. The Recipe Card at the end includes process images and the demonstrational video provides a good, brief overview of the workflow. Heed the following useful tips:
- Overall, start the preparation work the night before or in the early morning of the day you plan on cooking the pork chops so that you have enough time to brine them.
- Once out of the brine be sure to pat them dry very well before you season them, dryer meat surfaces brown much better
- Do not use a spice rub that contains salt - the salt in the brine is enough and has penetrated the pork chops.
- Use a meat thermometer to take the internal temperature of each individual pork chop as they bake in the oven. Remove them from the oven on a case by case basis.
The ideal temperature for thick cut pork chops is 145 F. This is also considered food safe. To make sure you do not exceed that temperature, you need to take the thick pork chops out of the oven a bit earlier because they will continue to cook.
Bake the pork chops until the internal temperature measured in the thickest part and away from the bone enters the range of 135 F - 140 F. Then you can pull them out of the oven and allow them to rest, if desired lightly tented with foil. While resting they will reach 145 F-150 F from the residual heat and will be perfect.
How Long Do Thick Cut Pork Chops Take to Cook at 400 F degrees F?
The exact time depends on the actual thickness of the pork chops as well as if bone-in or boneless. Don't rely on time, rely on the internal temperature of each pork chop and as soon as it registers 135 F or a bit above that, pull it out.
In the demonstrational video for this post we cooked 3 seemingly similar bone-in pork chops but with three different thicknesses. The thinnest hardly spent 5 minutes in the oven before it was done and the other two (a bit thicker and really thick) reached target temperature within 7 and 9 minutes respectively.
Because cooking times can vary, check each pork chops individually.
Compatible Sauce Ideas
Pan Sauce with White Wine and Dijon - as demonstrated in the recipe video. Using the drippings in the pan to build a sauce is quick and effective and the sauce tastes really good. See the Recipe Card below for instructions.
Sage Brown Butter Sauce - this is especially good if your pork chops were lean, cut from the loin. the lean meat welcomes the bronw butter and the sage infusion is is great match for pork.
Apple Chutney - a chunky, salsa type of cooked apples with savory, sweet, and sour notes that complement pork.
Mustard Cream Sauce - see the sauce in the Recipe Card for these Cast Iron Pork Chops.
Onion Gravy - you should make it in advance.
Serving Ideas
Some side dishes we like to serve with thick and juicy pork chops are:
- oven-roasted butternut squash
- pan-fried asparagus
- white asparagus
- roasted yellow squash
- roasted white sweet potatoes
- roasted purple sweet potatoes with Parmesan crust
- sage brown butter gnocci
- garlic green beans
- potato salad
- mashed potatoes
- basmati rice pilaf
- sauteed mushrooms and onions (usually in combination with white rice)
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers of thick pork chops in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
To reheat use a skillet over medium heat stove, with a fitting lid. If you do not have a bit of sauce left from when you first dished our the pork chops, use a bit of olive oil and a splash of water to create a sort of a steam bath for the pork meat to absorb a bit of moisture as it warms through. In this way you will avoid drying it out.
Recipe
Thick Cut Pork Chops Juicy & Flavorful
Ingredients
Pork Chop Brine
- ¼ cup kosher salt, Diamond brand*
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns (optional)
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups ice cubes, heaping
Thick Pork Chops
- 3 thick cut bone-in pork chops (or boneless**)
- ¼ cup pork spice rub (no salt), see below***
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, to sear chops
Pan Sauce
- ⅓ cup white wine
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- At least six hours before you intend to cook the thick pork chops make the brine. In a small sauce pan add the kosher salt, brown sugar, peppercorns and bay leaf and 2 cups of water. Bring to boil, whisk to dissolve.
- Pour the brine over the 2 heaping cups of ice cubes in a suitably large bowl. Allow the brine to cool down completely and submerge the pork chops. Cover and brine refrigerated for at least 6 hours and up to 12.
- Remove the pork chops from the brine and discard it. Pat dry the surface and season with the pork rub (or other seasoning you like) - remember no salt, the pork chops have absorbed enough from brining.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and allow the pork chops to get to room temperature.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold the thick pork chops (12 inch or 14 inch) over medium-high heat. Sear for about 1 minute per side. Also sear the edges of the periphery for about 30 seconds, as needed.
- Place the frying pan in the oven. Cook for about 5-6 minutes and take internal temperature in the center and away from the bone. You are looking for internal temperature of 135 -140 F. You will get an idea of how much longer to leave the pork chops in the oven. Once they reach 135 F, remove them onto a platter and loosely tent with foil to keep them warm (see notes below).
Make the Pan Sauce
- While the pork chops are resting, heat the frying pan with the juices released during cooking over a medium heat stove. Deglaze with the white wine and scrape off all brown bits from the bottom. Add the butter and Dijon mustard and whisk until combined. Turn off the heat and keep the sauce warm.
- After resting covered the pork chops should have reached a temperature above 145 F, almost 150 F.
- Serve and drizzle the pan sauce over them.
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