Luscious Pan-Seared Thick-Cut Pork Chops - The salting procedure secret!

JD

October 03, 2019

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tasty-food-recipe, tasty-pork-recipe

Thick-cut chops are decadent, restaurant-style fare, but come with the challenge of cooking the inside without overcooking the exterior. For perfect chops, we flip-flopped conventional logic and started them in a low oven, letting the meat gently tenderize before finishing by searing them in a hot pan to create a beautifully caramelized exterior. Buy chops of similar thickness so that they cook at the same rate. We prefer the flavor of natural chops over that of enhanced chops (which have been injected with a salt solution and sodium phosphate to increase moistness and flavor), but if processed pork is all you can find, skip the salting step in step 1. Serve the chops with Salsa Verde or your favorite applesauce.

Serves: 4
Total Time: 1 hour (plus 45 minutes for salting)

Ingredients

• 4 (12-ounce) bone-in pork rib chops, 1½ inches thick, trimmed
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1–2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Procedure

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat chops dry with paper towels. Using sharp knife, cut 2 slits, about 2 inches apart, through outer layer of fat and silverskin around edge of each chop. (This membrane contracts faster than rest of meat and can cause buckling if left intact.) Sprinkle entire surface of each chop with 1 teaspoon salt. Place chops on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes.
2. Season chops liberally with pepper; transfer baking sheet to oven. Cook until thermometer inserted into centers of chops and away from bones registers 120 to 125 degrees, 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until just smoking. Place 2 chops in skillet and sear until well browned and crusty, 1½ to 3 minutes, lifting once halfway through to redistribute fat underneath each chop. (Reduce heat if browned bits in pan bottom start to burn.) Using tongs, turn chops and cook until well browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer chops to plate and repeat with remaining 2 chops, adding extra tablespoon oil if pan is dry.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Use tongs to stand 2 pork chops on their sides. Holding chops together with tongs, sear sides of chops (with exception of bone side) until browned and chops register 140 to 145 degrees, about 1½ minutes. Repeat with remaining 2 chops. Let chops rest, tented with aluminum foil, for 10 minutes.

A REVERSE SEAR

It’s difficult to cook thicker steaks (1½ to 1¾ inches thick) such as filets mignons and pork chops entirely on the stovetop; you often end up with a burnt exterior and a raw center. Even if you can manage to avoid burning the exterior, the meat around the perimeter is usually overcooked by the time the center comes to temperature. The secret to getting a great crust on extra-thick chops and steaks without making them tough is to cook them in a very low oven, then quickly sear them. This is called reverse searing. The gentle oven heat minimizes moisture loss and promotes a natural enzymatic reaction that breaks down connective tissue in the meat and makes it especially tender. We also roast the meat on a wire rack, which allows the hot air to circulate and dry the surface of the mat. The drier surface helps the meat brown even better in the skillet. After their time in the oven, the chops brown in record time, and since the meat is in the pan for just a few minutes, there isn’t time for it to lose much moisture or become overcooked.