Pan-Seared Thick-Cut Boneless Pork Chops
By Andrew JanjigianPublished on November 21, 2016
Time
1¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Look for a pork loin that is 7 to 8 inches long and 3 to 3½ inches in diameter. We strongly prefer using natural pork here. Using pork that is enhanced (injected with a salt solution) will inhibit browning. This recipe works best in a cast-iron skillet, but a 12-inch stainless-steel skillet will work. Serve the chops with Roasted Red Pepper-Vinegar Sauce, if desired.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position, place 12-inch cast-iron skillet on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Meanwhile, cut roast crosswise into 4 chops of equal thickness.
- When oven reaches 500 degrees, pat chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Using potholders, remove skillet from oven and place over high heat. Being careful of hot skillet handle, add oil and heat until just smoking. Add chops and cook, without moving them, until lightly browned on first side, about 2 minutes. Flip chops and cook until lightly browned on second side, about 2 minutes.
- Flip chops and continue to cook, flipping every 2 minutes and adjusting heat as necessary if chops brown too quickly or slowly, until exteriors are well browned and meat registers 125 to 130 degrees, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Transfer chops to platter, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes (temperature will climb to 140 degrees). Serve.
Time
1¼ hoursYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Thick-cut pork chops can be hard to find, so we cut them ourselves from a boneless center-cut pork loin roast. To maximize the crust, we avoided brining or salting and patted the chops dry with paper towels so that the exteriors were as dry as possible before the chops went into the pan. We also used a cast-iron skillet, preheated in a 500-degree oven, and a generous 2 tablespoons of oil to maximize heat transfer to the chops’ exteriors. Finally, to keep the interiors juicy, we flipped the chops every 2 minutes and removed them from the pan once they hit 125 degrees, relying on carryover cooking to bring them to the serving temperature of 140 degrees.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Look for a pork loin that is 7 to 8 inches long and 3 to 3½ inches in diameter. We strongly prefer using natural pork here. Using pork that is enhanced (injected with a salt solution) will inhibit browning. This recipe works best in a cast-iron skillet, but a 12-inch stainless-steel skillet will work. Serve the chops with Roasted Red Pepper-Vinegar Sauce, if desired.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position, place 12-inch cast-iron skillet on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Meanwhile, cut roast crosswise into 4 chops of equal thickness.
- When oven reaches 500 degrees, pat chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Using potholders, remove skillet from oven and place over high heat. Being careful of hot skillet handle, add oil and heat until just smoking. Add chops and cook, without moving them, until lightly browned on first side, about 2 minutes. Flip chops and cook until lightly browned on second side, about 2 minutes.
- Flip chops and continue to cook, flipping every 2 minutes and adjusting heat as necessary if chops brown too quickly or slowly, until exteriors are well browned and meat registers 125 to 130 degrees, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Transfer chops to platter, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes (temperature will climb to 140 degrees). Serve.
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