Description
Start with a dry brine, learn how to reverse sear and then dig into the most juicy pork chops of your life served with a shallot herb sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
For the dry-brined pork chops
- 6 bone-in pork rib chops cut 1 1/2 inches thick (see note)
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
For the pan sauce
- Click the link above.
Instructions
- The night before serving, place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and lay pork chops on top. In a small bowl, combine salt and sugar and rub evenly over chops. Place, uncovered, in refrigerator. Remove from fridge an hour before cooking.
- Preheat oven to 250°F with a rack in the center. Place pan in oven as-is and bake chops until an instant meat thermometer reads 110°F, which should take about 30 minutes. Start checking after 25 minutes. (I need you to trust this process — don’t raise the oven temperature, and don’t be tempted to cook the chops past 110° at this stage. It will all work out in the end.)
- Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over high heat. Turn on an exhaust fan — things could get exciting.) When the oil begins to smoke, add two pork chops to the pan. Sear for about one minute on the first side without tinkering — chop should be deep golden-brown. Then flip and sear a minute or so on the other side until beautifully golden. Finally, stack the chops and pick them up with tongs, holding the “fat cap” (the fatty side of the chop) against the bottom of the pan to sear. Remove chops to a plate and cook remaining chops in the same way (or use multiple skillets).
- To make the sauce, Click the link above.
Notes
Ask your butcher to cut the chops for you. They’re thicker than most pre-cut chops, and that really helps to keep them perfectly cooked on the inside.
Recipe and technique adapted from Serious Eats.
- Prep Time: 24 hours 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main