Yes, everybody makes basic cooking mistakes. Like, say, something as simple as overcooking mushrooms or toasting grains and spices. Below, senior associate web editor Rochelle Bilow confesses overcooking pork chops to associate food editor Rick Martinez. Here’s Martinez's advice for making sure it never happens again. Welcome to Effed it Up.
__Dear Rick,__I recently bought four, thick-cut, bone-in pork chops for a family dinner. I know that pork shouldn’t be cooked well-done (despite every tough chop I had to suffer through in my youth), so I had big plans to sear them to medium-rare. However, my parents don’t have a great ventilation system and cranking the heat on the flame set off every fire alarm in the house. I reduced the heat so as not to smoke us out, but by the time I got a gorgeous golden-brown crust, they were overcooked.
I know better! I have never been more ashamed! Can you help me atone for this pork chop sin and never eff it up again?
Sincerely,
Chop-Challenged Rochelle
Dear Rochelle,
I can relate to your four alarm smokehouse. Living in New York in small apartments with small kitchens and hoods that vent back into the apartment can create a cooks' nightmare—a smoke-filled apartment with the FDNY pounding on the front door ready to axe their way in.
But I have a few tricks up my sleeve for getting great color on those chops without accidentally suffocating your guests.
The first method: If you have an apartment or house with a lot of windows and a good cross draft, try this. Sear the chop on one side until you get that beautiful brown crust, flip it over and immediately put it on the lowest rack in a 450°F oven. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into the center of the meat registers 130°F, about 5 to 10 minutes more depending on the thickness of the chop. This method will create some smoke when searing the first side but the smoke will be contained in the oven once you put it in to finish the second side. And, by cooking on the lowest rack closest to the heating element, you will achieve a nice sear on the second side as well.
Meet your new favorite pork chops. Photo: Nicole Franzen
The second method will also create some smoke but less than the first. Position a rack in the lowest possible position and heat your oven to 450°F. Place a large heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, on the rack and let heat for about 20 minutes. Add two TBSP. vegetable oil and place the chops in the skillet and return to the oven. Flip the chops when the first side is browned, five to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the chop. Continue cooking until the second side is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into the center of the meat registers 130°F, another 5 to 10 minutes.
The third method will create the least amount of smoke but will not have that satisfying pan-seared crust. Heat your broiler on high and position your rack to its highest position. Place your chops on a wire rack set inside a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Broil until the chops are browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Flip and continue to broil on the other side until browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into the center of the meat registers 130°F, another 5 to 10 minutes.
And that, Rochelle, marks three ways to attain perfectly seared chops without a surprise visit from the fire department. Now get in there and sear some pork.
Love,
Rick
Take a few pointers from this beautiful hunk o' meat.
