How to Cook Thick Pork Chops

Cooking thick-cut pork chops can be intimidating to home cooks, but this easy sear-and-bake recipe will yield incredibly juicy and tender chops. You can also step it up with a marinade or optional brine.

Today's pork is not yesterday's pork. It is now lean, healthy meat and can be delicious protein for a healthy, balanced diet.

Do you need a recipe for 1-inch-thick pork chops? For inside cooking, check out Fried Pork Chops with Gravy, Breaded Pork Chops, or Pan Seared Oven Roasted Pork Chops. For the grill see How to Grill Pork Chops on a Gas Grill.

👨‍🍳How to Cook Thick-Cut Pork Chops—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

1. I prefer boneless, 2-inch center-cut pork chops. Trim the fat ring and slice relief cuts. Rest at room temperature.

2. Pat dry with paper towels and season to taste with seasoning salt and pepper.

5. Whisk flour into half of the broth. Bring the remaining broth to a boil. Slowly add the broth/flour mixture while continuously whisking.

6. Continue to whisk until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.

For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.

⏰How long to cook thick pork chops

The total cooking time for a 2-inch thick boneless pork chop will be about 30 minutes. This includes 4 to 5 minutes of searing time plus about 20-25 minutes in a 375° convection or 400° conventional oven to reach 145° internal temperature. A bone-in chop will take a few minutes more.

Several variables will affect the cooking time of thick-cut pork chops: the thickness, the duration of searing, the temperature of both the meat and oven and the searing time.

The pan-searing is needed to create a Maillard reaction which is the browning that adds lots of taste. Skipping searing will add a few minutes to the total cooking time and decrease the quality of the results without the Maillard reaction.

🌡️Levels of cooked pork doneness

The USDA recommends a 145° minimum internal temperature with a 3-minute rest for safety. Remember, the final temperature may rise a few degrees after removal from the oven.

Rare—less than 145° is not recommended due to USDA safety recommendations.

Medium-Rare is 145°-150° with a touch of pink.

Medium is 150°-155° with the pink disappearing and a little dryer.

Medium-Well is 155°-160° is starting to dry significantly.

Well Done is 160°+ not recommended due to dryness.

🧂Seasoning

I recommend keeping it simple with your favorite seasoning, salt, and pepper, but you can use any seasoning you wish. You should not add salt if you brine, so I recommend some paprika with black pepper.

A marinade will add a lot of flavor. My steak marinade recipe also works well on pork chops.

✔️Get it right every time

Choose the pork chops you want. I like to use boneless 2-inch thick center-cut pork chops. But chops may be between 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches thick, with or without bones. 2 ½ inches or above needs some adjustment to the technique discussed below.

Resting at room temperature is the first secret to all thick-cut pork chop recipes. An old trick but a goodie, let room temperature get you a 30° jump on getting to chops fully cooked. Your cooking will be much faster and easier. So rest for at least 30 minutes but an hour is better.

Start looking at the temperature of the meat after about 12-15 minutes in the oven since it will cook faster. Remember you are cooking to a final temperature and not by time.

👨‍🍳Cooking pork chops 2 ½ inches or thicker

Many people will assume with thicker meat; you should use a higher temperature. The truth is the opposite. There must be time to cook the center of thick meat while not overcooking and drying the surface.

Decrease the oven temperature by 25° to 350° convection or 375° conventional. Be careful not to over-sear and cook to a final internal temperature. It will take 5 to 10 minutes more.

Another option would be to use a reverse searing method: bake to 140° in the oven, then sear on the stovetop as the last step to bring the temperature to a minimum of 145°.

🧂Should I brine thick pork chops

I recommend brining it if you have the time, but I have excellent results without brining.

To brine pork chops:

1. Combine 2 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar (brown or white) with 2 cups of water.
2. Add the chops and refrigerate for 30 minutes to a few hours. After brining, rinse well to remove extra salt.
3. You have already salted the chops, so do not use seasoning salt. Just some pepper and a sprinkle of paprika would be good.

🔥Grilling thick pork chops

While I prefer to cook thick chops by the sear and oven-bake method, grilling does add some unique flavor.

1. Follow the sear and bake instructions for trimming, resting at room temperature, optional brining, and seasoning, but do not sear.
2. Preheat the grill to 350° to 400° surface temperature.
3. Grill the chops, flipping every 5 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 145°—about 20-25 minutes, but it's variable.
4. Remove and tent for 5 minutes before serving.

🥣Making the optional gravy

Everybody loves gravy, so let's make some great quick, and easy gravy.

I like to use a pork gravy base from Penzeys to make "pork broth." You can use chicken or vegetable broth if you don't have the gravy base.

There are two basic ways to make gravy. You can make a roux by mixing flour with the grease in the pan and cooking for a few minutes. Or our simple way of mixing flour in some liquid and adding that to boiling fluid.

Please visit How To Make Gravy at Home for more information on gravy.

❓FAQs

🐖About Pork Chops

The pork chops we are talking about in this recipe will be one of the middle three in the above diagram. Usually, the "extra thick pork chops" will be a boneless slice of a whole pork loin at least 1 ½ to 2 inches thick or more.

If you enjoy these thicker chops, pick up a whole pork loin when it is on sale and cut it yourself. It's half the price, and they will freeze great for 3-4 months.

Some thick chops will come with bone-in. This is fine but will take a few more minutes to cook since the bone will absorb more heat.