Thick Cut Bone-In Pork Chop Recipe
This thick cut bone-in pork chop recipe used simple ingredients and simple instructions on how to deliver a moist and juicy pork chop every time.
Why This Recipe
Ever wonder how to prepare those big pork chops with the bone in without drying it out or using your oven?
So did we.
I think everybody struggles now and again when preparing pork chops. The struggle is not drying that wonderful pork out.
The struggle is not seeing the juice flow when you first cut into that piece of meat.
The struggle is forcing yourself to eat that dried-out piece of jerky because you can’t bring yourself to toss it.
So I will just quickly tell you the secrets.
Get a good crust on the meat with high heat. Baste the pork chop while cooking. Allow it to rest for almost as long as it was cooked. That’s it.
You do these four things and you will be serving up the juiciest, more flavorful pork chops you have ever tasted.
Need a side to go with these amazing pork chops? Try our Roasted Green Beans and Mushroom dish. Or, if you’re following the Keto path, pair this up with an incredible Loaded Cauliflower Mash!
Let’s break it down into some easy steps.
Cooking A Pan Fried Thick Cut Pork Chop
First things first. Have you ever pan-fried a pork chop, and it curls up on you? When that happens, it will cause the pork chops to cook unevenly.
Here’s an easy tip to keep that from happening.
Lay them out on a cutting board and take a sharp knife, cut through the fat straight down every 2 inches or so.
As the pork chop cooks, the cuts will expand and allow the chop to stay flat, giving you an even cook.
Once you have that complete, season the pork chops liberally with salt and cracked black pepper.
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Go ahead and push that salt and pepper into the meat, ensuring it will adhere when it’s time to go into the hot pan.
Don’t be afraid of your salt. If you’re not using it, we recommend using Maldon salt for all your meats. It has been a game changer when we prepare our meat dishes.
Set the pork chops to the side and begin to prepare the other ingredients.
Grab 4-5 cloves of garlic and give them a smash with the flat of a knife. We only want to crush them a little, allowing the garlic to infuse with the oil when we toss them in.
Prepare the onion by giving them a rough chop. You want big pieces of onion, not diced.
Put a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Allow that oil to get nice and hot.
When ready, add the pork chops to the pan, laying away from you to avoid any pesky hot oil popping up on you.
note
For this recipe, we used bone-in pork chops close to 1 inch thick and weighed about 12 ounces each. Our pork chops were cooked for 8 minutes on each side. Depending on the size of the pork chops, you will cook them from 4 to 8 minutes on each side.
Before turning, check the cooked side for doneness. You should see a wonderfully caramelized cook. Then turn over to the other side.
When you have turned it, turn the heat down to medium and add the butter, garlic, onion, and sage leaves.
Move the garlic, onion, and sage around in the butter and olive oil, pressing them here and there to release those wonderful oils.
Tip the pan and, using a spoon, take the butter and olive oil and begin to baste the cooked top of the pork chop.
This will infuse those flavors as well as keep them moist. Baste often as it cooks the additional time.
The butter and oil will begin to change to a beautiful nut-brown color, and the smells in your kitchen will be amazing!
Using some tongs, sear the edges of the pork chop by holding it vertically and cook each side of the pork chop until the fat has rendered sufficiently.
A minute or so should be sufficient.
Check the other side for doneness. If you want to ensure the pork chops are done, use an instant-read thermometer. Insert the thermometer close to the bone but not touching it.
note
I will pull the pork chops at 140 degrees, and while they rest, they will continue to rise in temperature to 145 degrees or so, ensuring a juicy pork chop.
This is a particularly useful tool in the kitchen, and if you don’t have one, I highly recommend you get one.
Cook the pork chops to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
When cooking is complete, remove the pan from heat and place the pork chops to rest on a cutting board. Allow them to rest the same time you cooked them.
This will give all that super-heated moisture in the meat the time to calm down and redistribute. This will ensure a juicy, tender pork chop versus the Sahara Desert pork chop.
After 5-10 minutes of resting, plate the pork chops, drizzle the butter and olive oil with garlic, onions, and sage over the meat, and serve.
We have cooked this many times, and it always comes out amazing.
You can play around with the herbs and aromatics as well.
Instead of onion and sage, perhaps some thyme instead? Any aromatics with a brown butter sauce will make the bone-in pork chops sing!
We do love that sage and butter sauce, though!
Remember, the big secrets of juicy, moist pork chops are to get that sear, baste them, and allow them to rest.
Everything else is entirely up to you. Give it a try, and let us know how it turned out!
Or, if you want to take it up a level, check out our double bone-in smoked pork chops. These are crazy good, introducing some smoke to the cast of players.
I don’t think I need to say anything about the wow factor … see for yourself! 🙂
Tips And Tricks
- Allowing the pork chops to sit out at room temperature an hour before cooking will speed up the cooking process and allow the salt to brine the pork chop. Highly recommended.
- Use an instant-read thermometer to ensure the pork chop is cooked to a perfect temperature. Pull the pork chop off the heat at around 140 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Use whole clove garlic when cooking this dish. If you want to use diced garlic, don’t add it until the last few minutes. This will ensure that the garlic does not burn.
- If using boneless pork chops, the cooking times will be less.
- If you have thin pork chops, increase the heat a bit to get the sear. Cooking times will be much shorter, but you still want a good sear. Keep that instant-read thermometer handy.
Variations
- Use different herbs to produce different flavors. Rosemary and thyme make great substitutions.
- Using cumin, chili powder, and paprika and leaving out the sage will give you a more robust, spicier version of this dish.
FAQ
Sear each side, cook until the internal temperature reaches 140-145 degrees Fahrenheit, then remove. Allow the pork chop to rest for about as much time as it took to cook. This will allow the heated juices to redistribute, ensuring a juicy pork chop.
Sage, rosemary, and thyme give you a particular flavor profile. Garlic, cumin, chili powder, and paprika are also fun and go well with pork, giving you an entirely different and delicious experience.
Cut through the edge of the pork chops every two inches or so. As the pork chop cooks, it will use that cut to spread instead of causing the center to bow up, causing uneven cook and searing.
Other Outstanding Pork Recipes
Thick Cut Bone-In Pork Chop Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Pork Chops 8oz – 12oz
- 5 Cloves Garlic
- 1/2 Onion Medium sized
- 5 Leaves Sage
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 tbsp Butter
Instructions
Prep
- Lay the pork chops out on a cutting board and taking a sharp knife, cut through the fat straight down every 2 inches to prevent the chop from curling.
- Season chop liberally with salt and black pepper.
- Crack garlic with the flat side of a knife and remove the papery skin. Set aside.
- Chop roughly 1/2 onion into large chunks. Set aside.
Cook
- Put a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil.4 tbsp Olive Oil
- When oil just starts to smoke, add the pork chops, laying away from you to avoid hot oil spatter.2 Pork Chops
- Cook from 4 to 8 minutes on the first side, depending on the size. Flip to the other side.
- Turn heat to medium and add the onion, garlic, sage, and butter.5 Cloves Garlic, 1/2 Onion, 5 Leaves Sage, 4 tbsp Butter
- Move ingredients around, mixing well with the butter and olive oil.
- Baste the pork chops often with the butter and olive oil.
- Cook the other side for 4-8 minutes, depending on the size.
- When almost done, using tongs, sear sides of the pork chops by holding the pork chop perpendicular. Do all sides of both and finish cooking this side.
- Remove from heat and allow to rest for the length of time it took to cook, 8 to 16 minutes.
- Drizzle the garlic, onions, sage and butter sauce over chops and serve.
This recipe is perfection… both easy to follow and delicious! I have never found a recipe as amazing as this one. I have always found pork chops to be challenging but not any longer. I will be doing this on a regular basis. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks, Deb! So glad to hear about your success! 🙂
Best recipe EVER!!Love Love Love!! YUMMMM
These were the absolute best pork chops I have ever made and ever tasted! This recipe is a keeper, a family heirloom!
Our pork chops were huge and this was the perfect recipe for them. Highly recommend.
Your recipe sounds delicious and I’m pulling out all ingredients to make them. I’m curious if it matters what kind of skillet to use (cast iron, stainless steel, non- stick etc.) to get that yummy crust.
Thank you,
Michele Elliott
Hey Michele, we did indeed use a nonstick skillet. Any skillet will work. I’d just let it be and let it sit there until it gets that beautiful char. It won’t get that opportunity if it gets played with too much.
How do you serve warm meat after letting it rest?
It will still be plenty warm.
The recipe is so simple and my pork chop came out so tender & delicious! I’ll make my chops this way going forward. Yummy!
Thanks, Elaine! We’re happy to hear you enjoy the recipe!
Looks amazing—I’ve got some thin pork chops. Would these methods work for thinner pork chops as well? Just shorten the cooking time?
You are correct. Cook with a decent medium high heat to get that sear but yes, shorten the cooking time. If you have a thermopen, that would help tons so you can watch the temp.
I always read the comments before making something new or trying a new technique..the comments on this thread were all so positive. I see why. This recipe is FIRE! I’ve been trying so hard to get this texture and moistness. My husband said it was delicious! It’s a hit and I’m excited to make this again and again!!
Hi, Janelle. We’re so happy to hear you loved the recipe! We too fought for years with pork chops and this recipe is the key!
I meant to add, even tho I removed them at 135°, after resting, the temperature was a perfect 145°, give or take.
This is the first recipe I have ever found that delivered juicy pork chops. They were the most juicy, delicious and tender pork chops I have ever made. My husband said that, and that’s a big deal!!
I did bring them to room temperature for about 30 minutes before starting, then prepped with salt and pepper, no brining. Substituted ground sage for the leaves. I removed the chops from the pan at 135°, on an instant read thermometer, which coincided perfectly with the times given in the recipe. I believe the resting time must be crucial as I’ve never done that before. This is an excellent recipe! Finally!! It will be the only way I will ever cook pork chops again! Thank you so much!
Coincidentally, when I saw the picture of the basting, I remembered my mom doing that. She made the best pork chops and mine were just as good today!
Making these tomorrow! I don’t see what the internal temperature should be anywhere in the post or on the recipe card. Can anyone tell me, please? I do have a meat thermometer but, alas, it is not an instant read.
Hey Liesa, the rule is 145 degrees F. I will update the post to indicate that. Thanks!
Made this exactly written except I omitted sage because I didn’t have any. Easy, delicious and not at all dry!
These were restaurant worthy. cooked perfectly. Moist and flavorful. Cooked quickly. Make sure every thing else is prepared and ready to go.
Delicious
I am not a good cook but this recipe was so simple and quite fast – I even had to skip the fancier garlic/herb part and these still came out delicious! A big hit with the family – thank you!
I’m about to try this recipe. Wish me luck! I’ve always struggled with chops for they’ve turned out dry… I’m gonna follow this recipe precisely… “fingers crossed”
Followed the recipe to a T and my thick chops turned out PERFECTLY. I substituted sage leaves with sage seasoning and it was still delicious. I wish my cast iron skillet was a little bigger, but the chops cooked all the way through and my husbands mouth was absolutely watering!!!
My husband always complains when I buy thick pork chops. Not this time!! This goes into my regular rotation!
The chops were juicy and flavorful. I used fresh thyme.
greetings struction looking forward to Preparing them🙂
This is an amazing method— thank you! I was really scared to screw up my expensive heirloom chops from the farmers market, but now I want to marry them! Juicy and tender AF.
Best, easiest recipe EVER! Followed instructions precisely and they came out beautifully golden on each side, perfectly seasoned and super juicy, not even the slightest bit dried out. Thank you for this gem:)
Awesome!! My husband even said they were the best pork chops he’s ever had definitely will be the only way I cook thick chops again now the grocery store was out of stage so I use fresh thyme I will try to Sage the next time none the less they were delicious juicy in full flavor
I used dried sage & it was fine . Also used minced garlic. Best pork chops ever! Made gravy from drippings, served with mashed potatoes & broccoli . Soo good.
Love to hear it, Janette! We just did this last week ourselves and used sage as well! 🙂 it’s fun to play around with this one!
When resting can I cover them with foil to help hold in juices?
Of course! 🙂
Followed the recipe exact using brined chops.Simply awesome.