I’m always suckered into buying beautiful, inexpensive ($2.49lb.) center cut, bone-in pork chops. They always come out tough. Yesterday, I brined two beauties for “smothered pork chops”, I made the sauce beforehand, then sautéed the chops then braised them briefly in the sauce. They were juicy but like a cheap steak, tough as leather. This has happened countless times to me. I’ve pretty much given up on loin chops and now mostly buy pork tenderloins. My question; if I go to a craft butcher shop and buy a better grade of pork so -called "heritage’ breeds will the loins be more tender?
Probably.
I never buy pork that isnt organic or, at least, free range. They are not necessarily heritage beeds but often are. I buy online from a butcher in the next county and pigs are currently a cross of Landrace x Duroc x Large White. The chops come with a nice thick rim of fat which, of course, helps to keep them succulent and the butcher hangs the carcasses for several days to enhance flavour and texture.
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Yes.
The last time I ate similarly inexpensive pork chops was during the pandemic when we couldn’t source anything else for a long time, and they were hockey pucks despite marinating, brining, dry brining, cooking sous vide, and every other method known. Two giant packages later, never again.
(I have stopped buying pork unless it’s organic or heritage or not crated or a combination of those, and aside from the sourcing being to my preference, the meat is much more tender and flavorful.)
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Have you tried fattier chops, like shoulder? I rarely ever buy center cut or any loin chops because they are so lean, save for that tiny strip of fat on the outside.
Strangely, shoulder chops can only be found in one supermarket near me, but they cook up nice and tender (I prefer grilling them).
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Lately, I am finding I much prefer very thin pork chops that I fry very hot, very quickly, or slow roasted pork shoulder.
I am always disappointed by my own thick pork chops.
Brining can help, but I’m watching our salt, so it’s better for me to allow more time for shoulder or cook thin pork chops when I want something fast.
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We have a dilemma in this house. Mrs H prefers very thin chops, such as you see in Spain, whereas I prefer a much thicker one. She’s taken to batting her’s out thinner.
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Do you tend to fry, grill or roast the thick ones?
Grill.
Which is where I usually cook chops, steaks, etc. On the other hand, Mrs H prefers a ridged griddle pan.
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I don’t grill, or have a grill, so I was curious! I think a grill does chops better than the oven. I usually bake or roast thick chops.
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Buy thick pork chops (like at least 1 inch thick, if not more)
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Bone-in (yes, obviously, given that we are talking pork chops but one should never assume)
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Brine for 30 minutes
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Sear on stovetop using an oven safe pan (cast iron preferrably); get your pan smoking hot, sear on one side for 2-3 minutes (depending on thickness), flip then immediately go to step 5
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Put the pork chops in a preheated 400F oven for about 5-10 minutes depending on thickness (aim for 140F internal temp)
Tender pork chops guaranteed and you don’t have to splurge for that heritage stuff, you can, but you don’t have to.
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Please ask @Desert-Dan for the rolling pin.
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I buy heritage pork chops, usually from Heritage Farms when they are on sale. I am on their email list.
and use this method.
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Have you tried using Baking Soda? It can be used in either wet or dry brining. Not only does the higher pH keep the Proteines from coiling too tightly but it also makes browning happen more quickly. Also be careful not to cook your Chops over 128F
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D’artagnan is having a sale . I have tried theirs as well.
Hmm. I love the center-cut bone in chops, both the ones with the bone down one side and the one with the bone in the middle that I think of as the pork version of Porterhouse steak.
I tend to wet brine pork chops in a ~ 6% solution for 12 hours, then either pan sear or, if on the grill, indirect heat up to about 140°F with some smoke, and then put on the hot grill surface for a bit of crust. Sometimes lately I dry brine at 1.3% by weight but more often wet, just out of habit I guess.
These are mass-market (think Kroger of the like) chops and they always turn out very juicy and tender with the above methods. I also buy the thickest I can find, or ask for some cut thicker and pick them up later once they’ve had time to get to it. That may make a difference?
If I introduce any liquid in the cooking method, though, I end up with tough. Even if I carefully control the cook temp and internal temp and pull them a bit early. Some of my wife’s favorites were baking with pineapple coconut rice (chops cook while rice cooks) or doing similar with rice and a homemade mushroom soup. I always seem to end up somewhat more dry, and much more tough.
I’ve gotten free range chops from time to time and didn’t notice much difference as it relates to tenderness, although my wife claims they are more gamey.
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BAck in the 70’s & 80’s the pork industry tried to be more competitive by branding pork as ‘the other white meat’. They bred pigs to have less fat. This resulted in a much leaner and hence drier (tougher), less flavorful pork. If you compare the typical supermarket pork to a heritage pork you will see that there is much more fat (,marbling) in the heritage pork. Hence a more tender, flavorful cut of meat.
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I got those, and this is what I did with them this weekend:
- Cured them in a mix of of shio koji and microplaned garlic.
- Wiped off the cure, then sprinkled with coarse salt and heavily with coarsely ground black pepper, then let sit uncovered out of fridge for 45 minutes.
- Put in 250F oven till internal temp was 140F-ish.
- Rested, loosely covered with foil, while I heated a cast iron pan.
- Added a ghee film to pan, threw in the chops, two minutes per side, and the edges.
- Removed chops and put apples and parboiled carrots into pan while chops rested.
First time with this reverse-sear method with pork chops (done it several times with steak), and it worked out well.
ETA: Don’t need a screamingly hot pan in step 4 because the slight sugar in the shio koji aids crust caramelization – although the taste, I admit, is a bit different from “normal”.
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I’m astounded by all these steps.
I literally salt and pepper mine and put them on a hot grill, flip and finish. If I can’t grill, I fry them in a cast iron pan,
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It’s similar to the Serious Eats method. Aside from planning ahead, it doesn’t seem like a lot of steps, but I must have done it dozens of times by now. It allows me to keep one pink for me, and more done for husband.
From a SE sous vide article.
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The more marbling of fat the pork chop has, the easier it is to cook. That is, there is more time before the chop becomes tough. Price should not be a differentiator, as I indeed like shoulder chops which are usually the cheapest. It does pay to source good quality meat.
Cooking - I’m with mig, as simple as possible. No brining. Just a hot pan, some olive oil, and then sear the chops. If they are really thick, you can put them in an oven for the last 5 minutes or so.
I always make a nice pan sauce. Take the chops out after they are done, throw away the oil in the pan, put pan back on the heat, add some liquids (water, wine, I use dry marsala), let evaporate to half, add some butter, and done.
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