Thick Cut Pork Chops Juicy & Flavorful
How to cook thick cut pork chops that are juicy, flavorful and have an appetizing crust. Use the pan juices to make a delicious pan sauce with white wine, butter and mustard while the pork chops are resting.
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Servings: 3
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.
Video
Notes
*If using Morton reduce to 3 tablespoon because this brand kosher salt is denser. This applies to other coarse salt brands that are denser than Diamond.
**Boneless thick cut pork chops will cook faster so after you put them in the oven start checking the internal temperature a couple of minutes earlier than noted. Otherwise everything else in this recipe remains the same.
***Mix a spice rub without salt because brining already introduces salt in the pork meat. We like the combination of: 1 tablespoon dried oregano; 2 teaspoon onion powder: 2 teaspoon garlic powder; 2 teaspoon ground cumin; 2 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon ground pepper.
Brining is essential for thick cut pork chops. Do not skip this step, it makes a noticeable difference.
Removing the thick cut pork chops from the oven at 135 F internal temperature ensures that they do not overcook - the residual heat will easily take them into the 145-150 F range as they rest tented with foil and they will be juicy. If you keep a pork chop in the oven until it is 145 F or higher by the time it rests it will be overcooked.
Thinner pork chops will reach 135 F earlier than thicker ones. Make a note of what your pork chops look like and pay attention to any thinner ones because they will need to be removed from the oven earlier.
