When you’ve had enough beef and chicken, remember that you can eat pork as well. No need to wait for family lunch to make a pork roast when you can cook pork chops, pork loin or tenderloin for two. In this post I will show you how to cook pork chops so they turn out juicy and tender in less than 30 minutes.
How to prepare pork chops for grilling or frying
The secret of tender, mouth watering pork chops is letting them rest in salted water. One or two hours is enough to make pork chops soft. Trust me on this one, because the meat will be falling from the bone. If you don’t have time to prepare pork chops the same day, you can make the brine and put them to rest in it overnight.
If you don’t know how to make brine – just mix half cup of sea salt with 700 ml tap water.
After you pull the pork chops out of the brine, wash the pork chops otherwise they may be too salty.
How to grill pork chops in a pan
If you wonder how to cook pork chops so they taste really good and you don’t lose much time on cooking, the answer is on the stove top. Here’s what you need to do after you washed the pork chops that were soaked in the brine:
Make the garlic mixture. Press two cloves of garlic with half tsp of whole grain black pepper. Add a tsp of honey, half tsp ground black pepper and a quater tsp cumin.
Sear the pork chops 4 minutes on each side. Remove them from the pan.
Add butter with rosemary and garlic mixture to the pan. Add the pork back to the pan and baste the chops with the melted butter.
Pan fry it 15 minutes at medium heat basting all the time.
How to serve pork chops
A fresh salad and mashed celery root was my choice to eat with pork chops.
I plated them on a long white serving plate, and simply poured the mashed celery root in a Moroccan-styled bowl. I don’t like adding too much unnecessary stuff to the plate, such as sprinkling balsamico and powdered paprika. But hey, if you’re into that – by all means go for it!
These pan fried pork chops basted with rosemary butter and rubbed with honey and garlic blend can be served with similar appetizers:
- Peas
- Stir fried carrots
- Mashed potatoes
- Couscous with mushrooms
- Greek salad
- Coleslaw salad
- Sweet potato fries
How to cook pork chops for fried rice
As fried rice is spicy, you don’t need to cook pork chops with all the mentioned seasons. Leave them to rest in the brine for one hour, then wash them and sear. After you sear the pork chops, add some butter and cook the pork chops at medium heat, for about 15 minutes. Don’t add rosemary to butter, if you are cooking pork chops for fried rice. Cut the meat after it is cooked, never prior to cooking.
How to cook pork chops for tacos
When preparing pork chops for tacos you should have in mind the choice of spices. Butter with rosemary doesn’t go well with tacos but the garlic mixture does.
So, after you take out the meat from the brine, wash it, sear it and pan fry it with butter and garlic mixture. Cut the meat in small chunks and use it for tacos.
Pan fried pork chops with rosemary and garlic
Ingredients
- 3 pc pork chops
- ½ cup butter melted with 2 tsp of rosemary
- 2 cloves garlic pressed with half tsp of whole grain black pepper
- ½ tsp powdered black pepper
- 1 tsp honey
- ¼ tsp cumin
- 700 ml water
- ½ cup salt
Instructions
- Mix half cup of sea salt with 700 ml tap water
- Let them rest for 2 hours
- After pulling them from the brine, wash thorougly
- Press two cloves of garlic with half tsp of whole grain black pepper. Add a tsp of honey, half tsp ground black pepper and ⅓ tsp cumin.
- Sear pork chops for 4 min on each side
- Remove chops from pan, add rosemary butter, and garlic mix
- Add the chops back to the pan and baste them with the melted butter on medium heat for 15 min.
