Cooking Lesson #749: Ed’s Best Pork Chops

… from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? These simple pork chops are cooked to perfection in a cast iron or heavy bottom pan. Make sure you get the best quality pork chops. You will only need a handful of simple ingredients to create restaurant-quality pork chops.
 
With the skyrocketing cost of beef, seafood and chicken, I still find pork to be the best bargain protein.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  10 to 15 minutes
Stand Time:  3-5 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients 
4 bone-in pork chops (1-1/2-inch thick / 6 to 8 ounces each)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 thinly cloves garlic, sliced
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon plus chopped fresh rosemary for garnish
 
Directions

1. Gather all the ingredients. Take the chops out of the refrigerator and let them stand at room temperature for 60 minutes before cooking.
2. If there is a fat cap on the sides of the chops, make a few vertical slits through them, so the chops will not curl as they cook and some of the fat will render out.
3. Blot chops dry with paper towels, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
4. Heat a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the oil.
5. Add the chops and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Turn and cook 2 minutes more.
7. Add the butter and garlic to the skillet.
8. Place the rosemary sprigs atop each chop. Tilt the skillet to allow the melted butter and oil to pool on one side.
9. Spoon the butter and garlic mixture over chops occasionally while cooking for 2 minutes. Remove rosemary, turn the chops, replace rosemary and cook, basting chops occasionally, cooking 2 to 3 minutes more or until chops are 140⁰ F in the center when tested with an instant-read thermometer.
10. Remove the chops from skillet and place on a cutting board or serving platter.
11. Tent the chops with foil and let them stand 5 minutes before serving. Temperature will rise to 145 F while standing.
12. Garnish with chopped rosemary.
13. Drizzle the pan juices over each of the chops.

​ChefSecret:  For most pork chop preparations, look for bone-in pork chops about 1.5-inches thick. The bone actually slows the cooking time and adds flavor. We're not talking long, just a few minutes. But even a few minutes can spell the difference between moist, tender pork chops with tasty sear marks and dry, tight-textured chops. Look for center-cut loin chops with a T-shaped bone; the loin is on one side of the bone, the tenderloin on the other.

Quip of the Day:  As a butcher is shooing away a dog from his shop, he sees a $25 bill and a note in his mouth, reading: “10 pork chops, please.” Amazed, he takes the money, puts a bag of pork chops in the dog’s mouth, and quickly closes the shop. He follows the dog and watches him wait for a green light, look both ways, and trot across the road to a bus stop. The dog checks the timetable and sits on the bench. When a bus arrives, he walks around to the front and looks at the number, then boards the bus.
The butcher follows, dumbstruck. As the bus travels out into the suburbs, the dog takes in the scenery. After a while he stands on his back paws to push the “stop” bell, then the butcher follows him off.
The dog runs up to a house and drops his bag on the step. He goes back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself -WHAP!- against the door. He does this again and again. No answer. So, he jumps on a wall, walks around the garden, beats his head against a window, jumps off, and waits at the front door.
A big guy opens it and starts cursing and shouting at the dog. The butcher runs up and screams at the guy: “What in hell are you doing? This dog’s a genius!”
The owner responds, “Genius, my ass… It’s the second time this week he’s forgotten his keys!”
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