Cooking Pork Chops In Cast Iron Skillet

How to pan-sear pork chops in cast iron skillet. Tips on how to handle thick cut pork chops for juicy results.

Pan seared pork chops in cast iron skillet. Stove top only recipe.

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This is truly one of the easiest recipes ever. The cast iron skillet stove top method works for a variety of pork chops – boneless or bone in, loin or shoulder, rib or sirloin. You can serve them straight out of the skillet with their own tasty herb infused melted butter and olive oil goodness or whip up a quick pan sauce to drizzle over them.

What You Will Need to Prepare Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops

Thick pork chops and simple brine ingredients

Pork chops. We used thick cut Frenched pork chops to demonstrate the stove top cast iron skillet cooking method, mostly because they benefit from brining and we wanted to show the process. Frenched is really just a fancy way to describe a technique in which the pork chop's rib bone is exposed after the meat is removed from around it. (You might find this Guide to Pork Chops useful).
Salt and pepper. To season the pork chops before you cook them.
Cooking oil and butter. Butter for flavor and oil so that the butter doesn't burn.
Herbs and garlic cloves. To flavor the butter and cooking oil we like the combination of thyme and rosemary with a few garlic cloves. Sage or oregano work great too. At the end you can garnish with more fresh herbs.
By way of equipment all you need is a good, heavy cast iron skillet and your stove.

Moist Pork Chops Every Time

To avoid preparing cast iron skillet pork chops that are tough and dry you can perform this one step that will help you get juicy pork chops every time – brine them!

This is not needed for thinner or fattier chops such as pork neck or pork shoulder steaks , but if you are cooking leaner cuts or thick cut pork chops brining helps immensely.

Step by step how to brine thick pork chops

QUICK BRINE:

Dissolve 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart hot water.
Let cool down completely (a trick you can use is bring only half the water to boil, dissolve the sugar and salt, then add the other half of the needed water by way of ice cubes).
Place the pork chops in the brine solution. Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 hours and up to 6-8.
When ready to cook first pat dry the pork chops with a paper towel.

How to Cook Pork Chops in a Cast Iron Skillet

How to make pork chops in a cast iron skillet 0 step by step images.

To cook pork chops on the stove all you need to do is:

brine as shown above, for thicker cuts
season with salt and pepper on each side
heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter, olive oil, garlic and herbs, stir around and let get fragrant
sear the pork chops (you can use a spoon to gently baste with the butter and oil mixture). Do not futz with the stove temperature – keep it at medium-high:)
cover loosely with foil and let rest for about 5 minutes

If you are cooking more chops than can fit in your skillet do two batches and add more butter, olive oil etc for the second batch

How Long to Cook Thick Pork Chops on Stove

You need to cook the pork chops until they brown nicely on each side, flipping only once, until their internal temperature reaches 155 F for medium. We feel this is a good temperature for brined chops. If you prefer to cook them slightly underdone, 145 F is the medium-rare yet food safe temperature for pork chops.
Use a food thermometer (affiliate link) to take the temperature and measure in the center of each chop.
The exact cooking time will depend on the thickness of the pork chops, how many you have in the skillet at the same time, the size of your skillet and your stove top's burner type (gas or electric, size etc).
Generally, if you have thinner chops (around 1/2 inch) cook each side for 3 minutes. Cook thick pork chops (around 3/4 to 1 inch or slightly thicker) for 5-7 minutes per side.

Thick cut pork chops in cast iron skillet with fresh herbs

Homemade Sauce for Pork Chops

Obviously you have many options for sauces to serve with the pork chops, including to not use a sauce at all and simply drizzle a bit of the garlic and thyme (or other herb) infused butter and oil mixture you cooked them in.

We love to make a simple mustard cream sauce (with beer mustard when we have some in the fridge). All you have to do is mix heavy cream and mustard in a sauce pan, bring it to simmer and let it reduce.

You can also serve your cast iron skillet pork chops with roasted onions or baked apple slices, mushroom gravy or this beer onion gravy .

Homemade mustard cream sauce for pork chops.

Other Recipes You Might Like

Marinades for Pork
When to Brine and When to Marinate
Pork Tenderloin with Apples & Onions
Braised Pork Chops
Pork Spare Ribs (Oven)
Pork Shoulder Roast

Ingredients

BRINE (Use with Thick Cut or Very Lean Chops)*

1 quart hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar

SKILLET PORK CHOPS

2 pork chops
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil (or other cooking oil)
1 tbsp butter
3-4 sprigs thyme (+ more for garnish if desired)
2 sprigs rosemary (+ more for garnish if desired)
3 cloves garlic, peeled

Mustard Cream Sauce (Optional)

1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp beer mustard or regular whole grain mustard, (optional)

Instructions

BRINE (FOR THICK CUT OR VERY LEAN CHOPS, OPTIONAL)

To make a brine dissolve the salt and sugar in the hot water and let the solution cool down completely. Alternatively dissolve the salt and sugar in 2 cups of hot water, then add just over 2 cups of ice cubes - the brine will cool down much faster.
Submerge the pork chops and soak refrigerated for at least 1-2 hours and up to 6-8. When done, remove from the solution and pat dry, then proceed with the steps below.

PORK CHOPS

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper on each side. (If you brined them keep in mind that they are already infused with salt so go easy on the salt).
Heat the cast iron skillet on the stove over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the oil and butter, the peeled whole garlic cloves, thyme, rosemary and give them a stir until fragrant.
Place the pork chops in the skillet and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, possibly a tad longer, depending on how thick they are. Flip only once, when the first side has turned golden brown.
As the pork chops are cooking, you can baste with the butter/olive in the skillet.
Use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the pork chops. Measure in the center of each one. When it reaches 155 F they are at the top rand of medium doneness.**
Move to a warm plate and cover with foil, rest the chops for 5 minutes before serving.

CREAMY MUSTARD SAUCE (OPTIONAL)

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the heavy cream and the beer mustard (or regular whole grain mustard).
Bring bring to simmer and let reduce for a couple of minutes until it reaches your desired thickness.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 2
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 789 Total Fat: 80g Saturated Fat: 39g Trans Fat: 2g Unsaturated Fat: 35g Cholesterol: 282mg Sodium: 1548mg Carbohydrates: 12g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 16g Protein: 44g