I think there is a fear in many when it comes to cooking pork chops. The dilemma comes from wanting a juicy and tender piece of pork chop without over cooking it, yet we are always told to cook the crap out of pork chops because we need to make sure that the meat is fully cooked. It is not like a piece of steak where you can have it medium rare. So if you want to make sure that a piece of pork chop is fully cooked, of course you would cook it longer and that would give you a tough and dry piece of meat at the end.

There are a few things that you could do to ensure you get a perfectly cooked, perfectly tender piece of pork chop every time.

1) Use the oven

I find the best way to give you juicy pork chops is to first sear the chop in a very hot pan on both sides, about 1 minute per side, and then finish the cooking in a hot oven, preheated to 200°C. Pork chops are a tender and quick-cooking cut of meat. Therefore it is very easy to overcook it. By finishing the cooking in the oven, you are allowing even and gentle heat to cook the pork chops, which will be easier to control and also prevents the outside of the chops from getting burnt, tough and dry out before the middle has finished cooking. If you don’t have a frying pan that is oven proofed, you can transfer the porkchops, after searing on the stovetop, to a hot baking tray and roast in the oven.

2) Buy thicker cuts of pork chops

Because pork chops can have little fat in them they tend to dry out very easily. Try to buy cuts that are at least 1 – 1.5 inches thick (2.5cm – 4cm).

3) Check the internal temperature

For the pork chops to be cooked through and safe to eat, the internal temperature should be between 62°C – 72°C (145°F – 160°F). Check the temperature with a meat thermometer if you have one. It is worth getting a meat thermometer if you like to experiment with roast meat or barbeque meats.

4) Let the meat rest

After cooking the pork chop, let it rest for at least 5 minutes, loosely covering it with tin foil, before cutting into the meat. This will allow the juices of the meat to settle down and not run out when you cut it.

If you don’t have an oven or even a small toaster oven at home that will fit your pork chops, the best thing to do is to start off with a very hot frying pan to get that nice sear on both sides. Then lower the heat to medium low to slowly cook the chop for 6 – 8 minutes. At the end, you can splash a bit of water or broth in and cover the pan to steam the pork chop for an extra minute.

Click here to see my video on Pork Chops with Rosemary and Seedless Red Grapes.