Pan seared pork chops with a golden brown crust will have your mouth watering. Take one bite and you're hooked. Only 3 spices used to season. These are phenomenal.
First things first. You need to buy yourself top quality bone-in pork chops with fat surrounding the meat. I bought these beautiful chops at a fantastic butchery and they were calling my name. You know how in cartoons when the character sees a beautiful creature and their eyes pop out of their head in the shape of hearts? Well that was me staring at these chops.
Yeah, I paid good money for these and they were worth it. For this recipe, I only season the chops with three simple spices - kosher or sea salt, fresh pepper, and sugar. Yes, a touch of sugar. You see it’s that sugar that brings out that beautiful color you see in these pictures.
These take about 10 minutes to cook to a perfect medium with just a touch of pink inside. To do this, you need to do the following:
Put your stove fan on. It will get smokey.
Pat the chops dry before seasoning. To prevent the chops from curling upward during frying, cut through the rind of the pork chop by slicing 2 - 3 even spaced shallow cuts. Don’t cut into the meat, just the rim of the fat.
Sprinkle both sides of the chop then stand the chop up so the rind of fat mops up whatever seasoning fell on the plate or board.
Heat the pan then add the oil. Once it starts to ripple, add the chops by carefully laying them away from you.
Let it cook for 4 minutes. Make sure you have that fan running.
Using tongs, flip over chops. This is when you add the butter. As it melts, tilt the pan and allow that fat to pool. Use a spoon to spoon the fat over the chops to help them cook and keep them moist. My mom taught me to do that. Thanks, Mom.
After another 4 minutes, check the underside. It should be golden brown. Flip the chops over once more and spoon more of the fat over them. Now stand the chops up to cook and color the fat. You can do this by holding them upright using the tongs. Tilt the pan again and let that fat pool, then hold the fat end of the chops right into that pool of flavor. Rotate to cook all around the rind of the chop. It will take about a minute.
Transfer them onto a plate or platter and let them rest for at least 5 minutes.
There go my eyes again.
Treat yourself and try these chops. No flour needed. Serve with potatoes, rice, vegetables, or a combination. You’re gonna love these perfectly pan seared pork chops. Yes, you are.
Like pork? Try these:
- Marinated Greek pork tenderloin
- Adobo slow roasted pork
- Ultimate oven baked BBQ ribs
- Oven baked BBQ pork tenderloin
- Shake and bake pork chops
Life is too short for mediocre food.
This post contains affiliate links for the products I use in my kitchen.
Pan Seared Pork Chops
PRINT PIN SAVEIngredients
- 4 (1-inch) thick bone-in rib pork chops
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Put your stove fan on to get the air flow going.
- Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels.
- Combine the salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl and generously sprinkle it evenly over the pork chops. Press down with your hand to make sure the seasoning sticks. Don’t forget to season the fat rim because we’re going to fry the chops standing up at some point.
- To prevent the chops from curling upward during frying, cut through the rind of the pork chop by slicing 2 - 3 even spaced shallow cuts. Don’t cut into the meat, just the rim of the fat.
- In a frying pan, nonstick or cast iron both work well here, over medium high heat, add oil. Once it starts to ripple, add the chops. Make sure when you add them to the pan you do it gently and lay them away from you. You don’t want the oil splashing you.
- Let the chops cook for about 4 minutes. Turn the chops over, they should be golden brown. The sugar caramelizes and helps add color to the chops.
- Add the butter to the skillet. As it melts, tilt the pan and spoon the melted fat on top of the chops, helping them cook and keeping them moist. Cook for about 4 minutes. Now we have to stand those chops up and fry that rind of fat. To do this, stand up the chops using the tongs and then slightly tilt the pan. Hold the chops upright where the fat pools and let it fry. Rotate back and forth to get it all cooked. This should take about a minute. Transfer to platter and spoon the butter over chops. Let rest for at least 5 minutes. Serve.
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