How To Cook Pork Chops in the Oven

What if I told you that I could guarantee perfectly cooked, perfectly tender pork chops, every time? Would you believe me? Or have too many dinners of overcooked shoe-leather pork chops turned you off from this easy weeknight meal? While grilled pork chops are certainly delicious, I’m hooked on a far easier method right now: The oven.

Out of all the ways to cook pork chops, the oven method yields the juiciest, most tender meat. Brine bone-in pork chops then sear them first before finishing them off in the oven. To learn more, here’s our recipe for perfectly cooked, perfectly juicy pork chops.

I encourage you to look for bone-on pork chops. They take a little longer to cook than boneless chops, but in my experience, they are another way of ensuring tender cooked pork chops. And by “a littler longer to cook,” I’m really only talking about a few minutes. It won’t make a huge difference to your meal prep.

After you bring your pork chops home, time to brine! Brining pork chops is one of the best ways way to guarantee a juicy cooked pork chop. Even a quick 30-minute brine (or up to four hours) makes a big difference.

It’s not strictly necessary — you can still use this method to make great pork chops even without brining — but if you have some extra time, I recommend it. Brining actually changes the cell structure within the meat, resulting in a noticeably juicier chop.

The salt brine also seasons the interior of the meat. It won’t taste “salty” — just well-seasoned. You can even add other seasonings, like garlic, peppercorns, fresh herbs, and lemon, to the brine for more flavor. If you fear bland pork chops, definitely give brining a try.

• Buy bone-in pork chops. Though these will take a little longer to cook, the bone-in cuts are fattier and make the meat juicier and more tender.
• Use a brine. This is an optional step in the cooking process, but this will guarantee a juicy and well-seasoned piece of meat.
• A stovetop-to-oven method helps overcooking. If you’ve never been a fan of pork chops, it’s likely because you’ve eaten overcooked meat. Start with pan-searing them to get a crisp exterior and finish them off in the oven to guarantee a non-rubbery chop.

Pork chops are a tender, quick-cooking cut of meat — so quick-cooking, in fact, that they’re very easy to overcook. This is why I like to start the pork chops on the stovetop, where they get a good sear, and then transfer them to the oven to finish cooking. Here are some benefits of using this method:

• The gentle heat of the oven helps us control the rate of cooking a little better.
• It also prevents the outside from getting tough and dry before the middle has finished cooking.
• You can use just one pan. Heat up the skillet in the oven while you get the rest of the meal prepped, then transfer it — carefully! — to a stovetop burner to sear the pork chops.

Once the chops are golden on the underside, you flip them and transfer the skillet back to the oven. The residual heat from the skillet will sear the other side of the pork chops while the heat of the oven cooks them through.

The result is a perfectly cooked pork chop — one that’s golden and crusted on the outside, and perfectly tender and juicy in the middle. Every time. Serve it with a simple salad, roasted vegetables, or rice pilaf for an easy and quick weeknight meal.