Bone-in pork chops

[Shalmanese]

I totally don't get the love for bone in pork chops, whenever I've cooked them before, the part nearest the bone would always be undercooked and inedibly tough. I've resorted to deboning the chops before I cook them and then using the bones later in soups and stocks but I never cook them bone in anymore. Does anybody cook them bone in and get a decent result? How?

[weinoo]

Yes - I like the rib end chops (nearest the blade) bone-in - at least an inch thick. I like to brine them before cooking - then, start them off in a hot pan for a couple of minutes a side, and finish them off in the oven - they cook through and stay nice and moist that way. If you use blade chops, they're a nice candidate for slower cooking with moist heat - that'll cook them all the way through by the bone as well.

[ghostrider]

I find the flavor of the meat & fat around the bone, when properly browned, to be the best part of the chop.

I go for a thick chop too. Pan-fry. Pop the lid on the frying pan after initial browning, with heat reduced to low/med, to have a better shot at even cooking. (Leave the lid tilted so that air circulates & the chops don't steam.) It's still tricky, sometimes I blow it & get overcooked chops, but it keeps life interesting.

[BarbaraY]

Most of the bone-in chops sold here are paper thin and, IMHO, turn out dry and tasteless. When I find nice, thick bone-in chops I grab them.

I bread and brown, then pop into a hot oven for a few minutes. They are so delicious and I think they taste so much better than boneless.

[annecros]

I buy the "stuffers" and grill them low. I am partial to a little gristle, though. Guilty pleasure.

[weinoo]

Most of the bone-in chops sold here are paper thin and, IMHO, turn out dry and tasteless. When I find nice, thick bone-in chops I grab them.

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Yeah, I guess that's the pleasure of having a decent butcher who will actually cut chops off the loin to my specs!

[slo_ted]

I couldn't agree more with Barbara. Thickness is vital to these things. The first time I tasted a good thick chop properly cooked it made me forget those thin, dry, tastless, way overdone (trichinosis fears) pieces of shoe leather from my childhood.

[tim]

I totally don't get the love for bone in pork chops, whenever I've cooked them before, the part nearest the bone would always be undercooked and inedibly tough. I've resorted to deboning the chops before I cook them and then using the bones later in soups and stocks but I never cook them bone in anymore. Does anybody cook them bone in and get a decent result? How?

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Shal,

All of these answers are spot on.... Cook thick RIB chops like a thick steak. Sear and roast to an internal temp of 135 to 150.

There are a few options: You may sear and then braise for a few minutes, again to an internal temp of 135 to 150. You can also sear on the hottest part of your grill and roast on a cooler section with a pan (or foil) loosely covering the chops to retain moisture.

The basic rules are:

1. Never buy enhanced chops - Saline solutions are better in breasts.

2. Never buy previously frozen chops. If they are, brine.

3. Buy chops at least one inch thick.

4. Rib chops have more fat than loin chops - better flavor.

5. A rib chop with an extra long rib is the ultimate.

6. Season, Sear and roast/braise to 135 to 150.

7. Let rest for 10 minutes so the internal temp and liquid can equalize.

8. Make a pan sauce.

Good luck,

Tim

[Shalmanese]

Inch thick loin chop from whole foods, High heat sear, cook in the oven, let rest, still inedible around the bone. I still don't get it, I know how to cook the damn things, there's nothing wrong with my technique, it's simply a matter of chemistry. Bone conducts heat slower than meat and areas near the bone will be higher in connective tissue which results in a tough, raw, inedible finished product.

[dockhl]

Lovely, but I am with you. I cannot get it either. I love boneless thick chops cooked until barely done---even the "Boneless country ribs" are great that way, esp out on the grill. No need to overcook the pork. I remember those ultrachewy chops from my childhood also

[weinoo]

Hmmmm, don't know what the problem is, but why not try some nice blade-end chops and braise them? A little fattier, but even tastier than the rib chops.

BTW, shalmanese, that chop looks good in the picture!

[Qwerty]

Try a high heat sear, then finishing in a lower oven to promote even, slower heating of the meat. This might allow the meat around the bone to come up to temp without over cooking. Try like a high heat sear, a 300 degree oven, and a nice 10 minute rest.

[Torrilin]

We do stuffed bone in pork chops like a roast chicken. The oven temperature varies, but the method is basically the same. Season the outside of the meat with salt, and perhaps other things depending on our mood and what's on hand. Find a suitable size baking dish, stand the chops up in it as best as we can, possibly with veggies acting as a support and future side dish. We roast the chops standing bone up, and keep going until they're done.

The fat on the bone ends up rendered nicely and very crispy. Any fat near the edges renders nicely as well. The meat ends up on the edge of rare near the bone, but otherwise is cooked through. The stuffing is browned and crispy where it shows, and soft and squishy inside. Yum!

Our butcher (well, one of 'em) makes the stuffing and sells prestuffed chops. We keep buying them because the guys at our butcher shop are all excellent cooks, and it's a better stuffing than either my parter or I can make. This method should work with unstuffed chops as well, but the meat may be cooked through faster. The stuffed chops are 2 bones worth of meat, so very thick indeed.

[russ parsons]

my guess is that you're doing the roast at too high a temperature. i know you're a guy, but take it down a notch. the sear will give you the browning you need, let the roasting be gentle to cook the meat through. And i heartily agree with tim upstream, use rib chops, not loin chops. loin chops are mainly useful for pounding into schnitzel.

[paul o' vendange]

I roast bone in everything. For the pork, like many others, I aim for the blade end - excising the blade and meat above it for a different treatment, roasting off the remaining loin; for one, stuffing herbs, salt, pepper, garlic between the ribs and meat, and dive in, or a light brine over several days (unless the pork is already extraordinarily flavorful).

I do try to find some great pork - I prefer Berkshire - but bone in? Definitely my preference.

[rockdoggydog]

Shalmanese,

I get rib chops all the time and do the sear and pan roast in oven thing, they usually turn out great. I sear the outside and into the oven for ten minutes at 325F uncovered and rest for about ten minutes. I tend to get two to three inch thick chops from the U-Village QFC, where they have Kurobota pork which I think is far superior to whatever they're selling at WF.

Rocky

[Shalmanese]

Shalmanese,

I get rib chops all the time and do the sear and pan roast in oven thing, they usually turn out great.  I sear the outside and into the oven for ten minutes at 325F uncovered and rest for about ten minutes.  I tend to get two to three inch thick chops from the U-Village QFC, where they have Kurobota pork which I think is far superior to whatever they're selling at WF.

Rocky

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Huh, so I guess there really is a reason to go to the soulless suburban wasteland that is the U Village.

[Toliver]

Let the fat dribble down your chin as you hold the pork chop by the bone, gnawing every last tasty shred of pork goodness off of it.

That's why pork chops need bones.

[SeaGal]

Shalmanese,

I get rib chops all the time and do the sear and pan roast in oven thing, they usually turn out great.  I sear the outside and into the oven for ten minutes at 325F uncovered and rest for about ten minutes.  I tend to get two to three inch thick chops from the U-Village QFC, where they have Kurobota pork which I think is far superior to whatever they're selling at WF.

Rocky

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Huh, so I guess there really is a reason to go to the soulless suburban wasteland that is the U Village.

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Oddly enough, the U Village QFC's butcher counter is pretty darn good. I also buy the kurobota pork chops from QFC...in fact, that's the only pork chops I buy any more. Sometimes I brine them, sometimes not, but I cook them like Rocky does. They're expensive, but totally worth it. They do turn out a little less done near the bone, but I don't mind that. I do believe that if you buy bone in pork chops, picking up the bone and gnawing on it is a requirement....

[petite tête de chou]

I definitely prefer thick, bone-in chops. Juicy, flavorful and a bone to gnaw on, thereby prolonging my enjoyment. I brine and grill them almost 100% of the time.

The beer-brined chops are super tasty. The fresh sage, molasses, hoppy beer and char are heavenly.

[007bond-jb]

How bout fried, smotherd in their own gravy with mashed tators cajun cornbread & a collard N mustard green combo

[weinoo]

That looks like a nice blade-end chop to me - I'll bet it's quite tasty!