Learn to cook the best baked pork chops that are tender and moist. With a little searing and minimal time, they are juicy and favorable. It doesn’t get better or easier than this.
Introduction
Simple, moist, and tasty are all good words. In cooking, I love these words, and here they are all in one place with these great baked pork chops.
We all love a good pork chop, and they make an excellent weeknight dinner. So let's make them as good and as easy as possible.
My Rating
A solid high 4. And a low five if you brine.
🐖Pork Chops
What is a pork chop?
Let's talk about pork and pork chops. First, pork is not graded like beef. There is no prime, choice, etc. unless made up as a marketing gimmick. There are multiple names for the same cut only for marketing.
A pork chop is from the loin of the hog. If there is a bone, it is usually the same bone, as you will find in baby back ribs.
I have listed five chops in the diagram, but only the middle three should be considered "real" chops and will all cook the same. The other two "chops" do not cook the same, and, to me, should be avoided.
Boneless or bone-in?
It doesn't matter to me. Some people feel bone-in will be more flavorful, but if that is true, it is minimal. The bone can slow cooking a small amount.
Our favorite chop is a center cut boneless, which I usually cut myself from a whole pork loin. I buy a whole pork loin and cut it as thick as I want easily, freezes great and great for other things like my Mexican shredded pork. I like to cut mine about 1 inch thick to cook well but still be moist.
♨️How to Cooking Pork Chops
The Pan
Cast iron work great. I generally use a 10- inch cast iron skillet if I am cooking two or the 12-inch for 4.
The preferred pan is safe on the stovetop and can go directly to the oven. Most skillets can do this, but not all. If you are unsure if you pan is safe used this way, then preheat an oven-safe pan in the oven. Then sear in a stovetop pan and transfer to the oven pan after searing.
Pick Your Chop
This is good for ¾ to 1 ½ inch pork chops. I generally use a center cut 1-inch boneless chop I cut myself.
🥣Should I Brine?
Yes, if you have time. But fresh pork chops cooked quickly will generally be moist and tender anyway. I feel that a pork chop that has been frozen is a bit drier, and I like to brine those chops.
Skip the brine if you want, and I think you will only have a little effect if you are careful not to overcook but do it if you have time.
The Searing
The searing creates a Maillard reaction, which is the scientific name for the browning you will see. It adds lots of flavors to enhance the final results. It is this searing that will get you the outstanding flavor you want.
The first thing is wet meat does not sear well. Pat dry the chops before searing.
Generally, sear for about 3-4 minutes per side. It will vary a bit you the temperature of the pan and the meat. Get the meat to almost the final color you want.
Also, I like to flip the meat one final time just as the meat goes into the oven. This puts the coldest side of the meat on the hot pan for the final cooking.
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Gravy Option
You can easily make gravy in the pan after done cooking. See Fried Pork Chops with Gravy and How To Make Gravy at Home.
🌡️⏰Temperature and Time for Cooking Pork Chops
I like to sear over medium-high heat. I prefer a higher oven temperature, and the recipe calls for 400° convection or 425° conventional. You can use lower temperatures, but it will take a bit longer and may dry some.
The searing time is generally about 3-4 minutes per side. The time in the oven varies by the thickness, the amount of searing, and the exact oven temperature. Also, a bone-in chop may take a few minutes longer.
The 1-inch thick chops I suggest will take 8-10 minutes to get to 145°-150° internal temperature.
If you do ¾ inch thick, it will be in the 5-7 minute range. And if you don't sear, it will take a few minutes before reaching your final internal temperature.
And the usual reminder- never cook by time alone. You are cooking to a final internal temperature and not by the clock. The time estimates are provided for your planning.
Final Internal Temperature for Pork
Taste, moisture, and safety-wise, 145° with a three-minute rest is correct. There will be a little pink left in the pork at 145°, and if you are like my wife, who wants no pink, you will be more comfortable at 150° or even 155°. Please do not go over 155° for this cut, or it will begin to dry.
For many years, due to the fear of trichinosis, which was a parasite found in undercooked pork, pork was cooked to 170° by common wisdom. However, with modern farming methods, that has not been a risk in the USA for decades.
The FDA went to a recommendation of 160° for a number of years. Then in 2012 went to the current recommendation of 145° with a 3-minute rest.
📖Pork Chop Recipes
How to Grill Pork Chops on a Gas Grill
Pan Seared Oven Roasted Thick Cut Pork Chops
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Use the pork chop of your choice. If there is a fat rim over ½ inch thick, then trim it down. Then notch the fat through to prevent cupping.
If brining, mix brine in 1-gallon freezer bag, place bag in a bowl, submerge chops and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Then lightly rinse and pat dry.
Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional oven. Pat dry the chops with a paper towel. Salt (only if not brined) and pepper to taste.
Heat oil in an oven-safe pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Brown both sides of the chops to the point you might call done—about 3 minutes per side. Flip one final time and place in the oven until the internal temp of your choice. I did 150° degrees, and it took 10 minutes.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Pan Seared Oven Roasted Pork Chops
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 2 pork chops
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- salt
- pepper
Optional Brine
- 3 cups water - cold
- 3 tablespoons table salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Use the pork chop of your choice. If there is a fat rim over ½ inch then trim it down. Then notch the fat through to prevent cupping.
- If brining, mix brine in 1 gallon freezer bag (the water, salt and brown sugar) place bag in bowl, submerge chops and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Then lightly rinse and pat dry.
- Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional oven. Pat dry the chops with a paper towel. Salt (only if not brined) and pepper to taste.
- Heat oil in over safe pan over medium high heat until shimmering.
- Brown both sides of the chops to the point you might call done. About 3-4 minutes per side.
- Flip one final time and place in the oven until internal temp of your choice. I did 150, and it took 10 minutes.
- Rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- This is for ¾ to 1 ½ inch thick pork chops. Bone-in or boneless either will be good. Bone-in will take a few more minutes in the oven.
- Brining is an option, but it will still be good without it. If you brine, rinse it off and do not add more salt.
- Searing goes a lot better if you pat dry the chops before searing.
- When you sear, get to about the final browning you want. Also, do a final flip just be putting in the oven.
- Use a stovetop to oven-safe pan. If you don’t have that, you can preheat an oven-safe pan and transfer the seared chops to it.
- Remember, you are cooking to a final internal temperature and NEVER by time only. There are too many variables and time estimates are provided to help your meal planning.
- 145° is the minimum temperature and should have a 5-minute rest after cooking.
- For gravy, see Fried Pork Chops with Gravy and How To Make Gravy at Home.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's note: Originally published April 6, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos and a table of contents to help navigation.
Adrienne says
Thanks for this recipe. It would be helpful to have a suggested range of cooking times for the varying thicknesses you mention. My pork chop was 3/4" (the thinnest that your recipe supposedly works for) so I only seared for 3 minutes each side, then I baked it for 10 minutes (mine had a bone and this recipe says to cook for a few more minutes if bone-in) and my pork turned out so dry and hard I could hardly get the meat thermometer in to check the temp (it was 180º). If the recipe had recommended checking the internal temp at, say, 6 minutes, this might have worked. I'm not a big meat cooker/eater (which is why I rely on recipes that appear in the number one spot on Google) and was looking forward to a juicy pork chop as a special treat :( I realize now that there's a big difference between a 3/4" thick chop and a 1-1/2" thick one, but I feel some updated notes on cooking time are warranted for us non-intuitive cooks. Thanks for hearing my feedback.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Just a FYI, the recipe post does say 5-7 minutes for ¾ inch. Sorry, you missed that and had a problem.
Dan
Mary M says
These turned out great! My chops were pre-seasoned, so I didn't use the spice blend, and I wanted to make gravy while they finished, so I just transferred them to a casserole I had preheated with the oven as suggested. They were cooked PERFECTLY. My husband doesn't like pork chops bc they're always too dry for him, but he finished his whole plate!
Linda Roach says
Is bush beans out of can ok to bake with pork chops without adding anything else? Temp to cook and cover or not cover
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Linda,
Welcome to the blog.
You can defiantly have other things in the oven. Out of the can baked beans can be reheated in the oven, stovetop, or microwave. If you are doing the oven, generally I would cover with foil for about 30 minutes at 350° or so. Nothing written in stone with those suggestions, since they are precooked, you can reheat at higher ore lower temperature and adjust the time.
While I have never done it, I suspect if you place the covered beans in the oven before searing and check after after the oven phase, they may be hot.
Dan