Today’s recipe, pan fried pork chops change everything you thought you knew about pork chops.
When many of us think of pork chops we think of rubbery, tough, tasteless meat. A lot of us grew up on it because, let’s face it, in the world of meat it is cheap and many of our parents fed it to us because that’s what fit into the grocery budget.
Ever since I moved out, for years I avoided eating pork chops. However, just over a year ago I came across a secret to delicious, amazing pork chops that can rival a steak.
Oh yeah. I said it. Pork chops can rival a steak.
Want to know that secret?
Lean in closer.
Marinate them.
That’s right. It took me 34 years to discover that marinating meat changes EVERYTHING.
Don’t believe me? Ask my three kids, two whom can be pretty picky. Pork chops are the one meal everyone, and I mean everyone in this house loves.
Seriously. When I tell the kids we are having pork chops for dinner (you know, after they’ve asked me at 7:45 in the morning what we are having for dinner that night while they are still chewing their breakfast) they always say, “marinated, right?”
Because even they know. The secret is in the marination.
Now, today I’m talking about pan fried pork chops, but really, you can put these pork chops, or any marinated pork chops on the grill for an absolutely delicious dinner.
But, today we’re talking about cooking them in the stove, not the grill because if I talked about cooking them on the BBQ, well, my husband would have to write this post.
Because, I don’t know how to work the BBQ.
I have this rule. I refuse to learn how to use the BBQ or lawnmower. That way when my husband asks me if I can do those two chores I can shrug my shoulders and say, “I don’t know how.”
I think he may be on to me though. He keeps telling me I can easily learn if I wanted to.
I will admit though, ever since we got the riding lawn mower, the one with a cup holder, I am reconsidering that rule. I watch my husband drive around with headphones underneath his ear protection, and a coke in his cup holder as I keep the kids entertained and the dog out of the way and I wonder if I may be missing out.
Don’t tell him I said that.
Anyways, let’s get on with some cooking, shall we?
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You’ll want to use a pan that is oven safe. We use cast iron. Actually, we just bought our cast iron last year and can I say that I wish I hadn’t waited so long to buy the stuff? Cast iron is AMAZING to cook with and you won’t regret ever owning the stuff. It cooks things so evenly, they are easy to care for (contrary to popular belief) and you don’t have to worry that some weird material is peeling off and leaching into your food. If you don’t already have some, definitely look into investing in some. You can check out one here.
Also, let’s talk about pork chops. Another secret I learned last year is to buy those big pork loins when they are on sale and freeze them for about an hour, being careful to not freeze them too long or you won’t be able to cut through them. Then I slice them into pork chops and freeze!
PAN FRIED PORK CHOPS
The first thing you want to do is marinate these babies for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Mix up the marinade, pour it over the pork chops, and place back in the fridge. You can use a large plastic freezer bag or toss them in a bowl like I did here. For the marinade you will want 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup soy sauce, , 2 tbsp honey, and 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar.
Cover with plastic wrap. I like to put a plate or bowl on top of the plastic to weigh down the pork chops so they are sitting in the marinade.
When you are ready to cook them preheat your oven to 350 F.
Get out a pan you can use on top of the stove AND in your oven. Cast iron is perfect for this.
Melt 1/4 cup of butter in your pan over medium heat.
Once it’s melted add your pork chops. You will cook them for 3 minutes on one side, or until browned a bit, and then flip them over for another 3 minutes.
(I may have flipped over my two pork chops a little too soon here. A couple of them aren’t as brown as I’d like. But the other two look great! They all tasted amazing in the end though. 🙂 )
After that you will put the whole pan in the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
Take them out and enjoy!
Pretty simple, right? Try this recipe. You’ll never look at pork chops the same way again.
Pan Fried Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup butter
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients EXCEPT the butter in a bowl. Pour over your pork chops in a large freezer bag or bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Melt butter over medium heat in an oven-safe frying pan. (Cast iron works great for this.)
- Once it is melted and the pan is nice and hot put the pork chops in and cook for three minutes on one side or until it is browned.
- Flip over and cook the other side for three minutes.
- Take the pan and put it in the oven for ten minutes to cook all the way through.
- Enjoy!
My husband won’t let me near his beloved mower but a neighbor of mine always cuts the grass and she said it is HER job. It is the only time she has totally to herself and no one ever bothers her for anything. I ran the vacuum cleaner over the cord once and have forbidden to touch that, too. No problem! Then there was the time I was using the electric chain saw and cut the extension cord in half. Oh my that scared me so bad I will not touch that again! Can we say SPARKS!
I made a marinade with soy sauce and honey once and it is just not to my taste. I actually threw the meat out and that is so not like me but I oil all my meats and they stay nice and tender. I think too that people are so afraid to eat underdone pork that they overcook it. When it is the correct temperature it does still have a very faint pink look to it.
Oh man – my husband cut through a cord once with a saw and it didn’t phase him at all while I freaked out! 🙂 Like you, I avoid the chainsaw. 🙂
The soy sauce doesn’t have a strong taste. All three of my kids don’t like soy sauce and yet they all love the pork chops! Of course, you could use brown sugar and something else in place of the soy sauce (though I’m not sure what! lol). I agree, I think too many people overcook pork chops because of fear of getting sick. Pork chops can really taste amazing!
Thanks for the inspiration I had completely forgotten about a marinade I once used often. I will try it with the chops thawing for tomorrow’s dinner. Just remember Pork is the other white meat if it looks like cooked chicken it is ready and safe to consume.
Marinades make a world of difference! I hope you enjoy your pork chops for tomorrow’s dinner!
Thank you for taking the time to create this. I found a lot of recipes for grilled pork chops but few that I liked for pan fried. So that’s how I found your recipe. Made it this evening, marinated the chops for a full day, came out great; followed your instructions exactly and it was great.
So happy to hear they turned out! 🙂