The best way to cook thick pork chops is a brief pan searing followed by baking to 145°. Use 1 ½ to 2-inch chops seasoned to your taste, and I love to add the easy homemade gravy for a delicious comfort food dinner.
🐖Ingredients
Thick pork chops—1½ to 2 inch thick, boneless or bone-in
Seasoning salt—Lawry's or similar
Black Pepper
For Gravy—broth, flour, water
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐖Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Cook Thick-Cut Pork Chops—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- ⏰How long to cook thick pork chops
- 🌡️Levels of cooked pork doneness
- 🧂Seasoning
- ✔️Get it right every time
- 👨🍳Cooking pork chops 2 ½ inches or thicker
- 🧂Should I brine thick pork chops
- 🔥Grilling thick pork chops
- 🥣Making the optional gravy
- 🍴Serving
- ❄️Storing leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 🐖About Pork Chops
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comment by Debbie:
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"I tried your recipe tonight. I am not a big fan of pork chops, they always end up a bit dry. I followed your recipe, including the brine…THEY WERE THE BEST CHOPS I HAVE EVER EATEN!! I will never cook them any other way."
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.
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Sear both sides of the chops for 2-3 minutes until gettings some nice browning.
4. Transfer to 375° convection or 400° conventional and cook until an internal temperature of 145°-150°—about 20-25 minutes. Bone-in chops will take a few minutes longer. Remove and tent with foil.
Optional Gravy
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:
- Combine 2 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar (brown or white) with 2 cups of water.
- Add the chops and refrigerate for 30 minutes to a few hours. After brining, rinse well to remove extra salt.
- 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.
- Follow the sear and bake instructions for trimming, resting at room temperature, optional brining, and seasoning, but do not sear.
- Preheat the grill to 350° to 400° surface temperature.
- Grill the chops, flipping every 5 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 145°—about 20-25 minutes, but it's variable.
- 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.
🍴Serving
I love to serve pork chops with mashed potatoes, but try Oven Roasted Little Red Potatoes or Baked French Fries. A hot vegetable like oven-roasted asparagus, baked green beans with bacon, or baked cauliflower is a great addition.
End the meal with an easy apple crisp or blueberry cumble pie.
❄️Storing leftovers
Leftover pork chops should be stored in an airtight container, refrigerated for 4 days, or frozen for 4 months. Since gravy is made with flour, it can be stored in the same way as pork chops.
❓FAQs
Yes. There are too many variables to cook by time or color and expect acceptable results.
I buy a pork gravy base from Penzeys Spices and make my broth. You can also use other pork gravy bases or bouillon cubes. Otherwise, you can make gravy using just the pan drippings combined with vegetable or chicken broth.
No, any oven-safe pan can work, but cast iron is perfect for searing any meat. It transfers heat perfectly, leading to even heat across the entire surface without hot spots. It also holds the heat well and is excellent for moving from the stovetop to the oven.
Cast iron is cheap, durable, and will last generations. Every home cook should have a skillet or two.
The USDA minimum safe internal temperature for pork is 145°.
🐖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.
📖 Recipe
How to Cook Thick Pork Chops
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Ingredients
- 2 pork chops - 1 ½ to 2 inches thick or more
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Lawry's Seasoning salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
For Gravy
- 2 teaspoons Broth—pork, chicken or vegetable.
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Allow the pork chops to rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes—preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° conventional.
- Use 1 ½ to 2-inch thick boneless or bone in pork chops. If there is a fat ring, trim it to ½ inch thick and slice it at about 1-inch intervals.
- Pat dry with paper towels and season to taste with seasoning salt and pepper.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. When shimmering, add the seasoned pork chops. Sear both sides of the chops for 2-3 minutes until gettings some nice browning.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and cook until an internal temperature of 145°—about 20-25 minutes. Total cooking time will be variable due to the pork's thickness and the chops' start temperature. Remove from pan and tent lightly with foil while doing the gravy phase.
Gravy Option
- Using pork gravy base, mix 2 cups of pork broth. You can also use chicken or vegetable broth. Whisk 4 tablespoons flour into one cup of broth.
- Add the other one cup of your broth to the pan over medium heat. When boiling, slowly add the broth/flour mixture while continuously whisking.
- Continue to whisk until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- This is a recipe for thick pork chops which are at least 1 ½ inches thick. If less then use Pan Seared Oven Roasted Pork Chops.
- Use an oven-safe pan like cast iron.
- This recipe is for 1 ½ to 2-inch thick pork chops. Use boneless center cut pork chops or bone-in which will need a few more minutes.
- Adjustments for 2 ½ inches thick or more are covered in the post.
- Brine, if you have time. A suggested brine is 2 cups of water with 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons brown sugar for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Be sure to refrigerate. If you brine, do not use any seasoning with salt.
- The most important tip for thick pork chops is to rest to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before starting to cook.
- Sear for almost the final color you want.
- Never cook by time alone. Cook to the final temperature you want. Remember it will increase a few degrees after removed from the oven.
- The gravy is optional but very nice. I like to use pork gravy base but if you don't have that, use chicken or vegetable broth.
- Instructions for grilling thick pork chops are in the recipe post.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally published July 17, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Debbie Requa says
I tried your recipe tonight. I am not a big fan of pork chops, they always end up a bit dry. I followed your recipe, including the brine. Changed up the gravy, used a tsp of better than bouleyon beef and a tsp of better than bouleyon roasted garlic in a little over 2 cups of water instead of broth. THEY WERE THE BEST CHOPS I HAVE EVER EATEN!! I will never cook them any other way. Chops were about 1 1/2 inches thick.
Trisha S. says
Followed the directions to a “t,” including the brining and rest, and they were delicious! I seared mine for about 3 minutes on each side, and at 15 min, they hit the internal temperature.
Tiff C says
Omg YUM! I'm not a fan of pork chops but my daughter loooves them! I checked this recipe and ..well..droooooling lol so I made it! I did a few small variations but couldn't be happier! Thank you for giving clear step by step instructions and how you were repetitive with temperature so I was aware repetitive!
Jim says
I think you may want to reread the last part of the recipe where you mention making the gravy. The sentence that begins : "When boiling... does not follow correctly from the previous. There is nothing to add to the gravy at this point, all ingredients are in.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Jim,
Welcome to the blog and thanks for the note.
The wording is right. We have 2 cups of broth. The first cup has flour whisked in - but not added to the pan. Then the second cup is added and brought to a boil. Then the first cup with the flour is added. Maybe needs some wording updates, I will give it some thought.
Again, thanks for the note.
Dan
Gary says
I’ve been using your recipe for the past 2-years. Thank you for posting, it is the best and perfect! We get the boneless pork chops at Costco and they’re pretty huge, between 12-16 oz each.
Susan Grand says
Fanfreakingtastic! Thank you for the excellent instructions. I followed them exactly from brining to gravy and you would have thought those pork chops were from Outback Steakhouse! They melted in your mouth and were so juicy and tender! It also prompted me to learn a bit more about my stainless steel skillet and how best to use it to my full advantage! Who says you can't teach an old dog a new trick? This old dog just learned one and I will use this recipe each and every time we have pork chops. I also signed up for your email service and am excited to see what other great recipes you have. Thank you again
Rob mitchell says
Great chops. Thank you for explaining everything perfectly.
Catherine says
An easy, simple recipe that results in a moist, well cooked pork chop. Thank you for a concise step by step!
Shqri says
THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!! This turned out perfectly on my first try and tasted EXACTLY like a high-end restaurant version we had. Now that we are in the pandemic, these recipes are appreciated all the more!!! Thank you so much!!!!!
Wendy says
This is a great recipe the chops came out so tender!
Christine Mcfarlane says
Did this recipe with 2 inch chop....followed your instructions and it was excelllent...thanks for your help
Vicki says
Love it. Been cooking pork chops for years and first time I made them this way. Husband loved them. I seasoned different, I'm sodium restricted but the searing, then high heat gave a great flavor for thick chops.
Terri Rumsey says
Cooked 4 chops about 1.5 inches thick tonight and they turned out perfectly! My husband said it was the best pork chop he ever had! Thank you!
Blackfeather says
Hello!
This is a great recipe for thick cut pork chops. This was a different method for making a gravy. Nice. I tend to over salt so this was perfect.
I used the convection oven @ 400 degrees F for 20 min to finish them They turned out tough on top, maybe I pan seared too long. Next time I'll regular bake @425 degrees F. Served w/ Spaetzle and sauerkraut. It was delicious.
I do like your explanations for the hows and whys of preparing a dish and how to save money i.e. buying a whole pork roast. Makes sense.
In time I hope to get past the under/oversalting problem.
Thank you.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Blackfeather,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad it worked well for you. The gravy method is so much easier than a roux so I rarely do a roux any more.
If the top of the chop was tough, ie overcooked, then you want to cook lower next time, not higher. You need more time for the heat to penetrate and not overcook the surface. So as a general rule, the thicker the meat, the lower the temperature. And as you mentioned, don't over sear.
I hope that helps a little and thanks for the note and rating. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Dan
Larry says
I seared 1.5 inch chop on med hi for 2 minutes each side. Transferred to 400 degree oven.
145 internal temp came at 14 minutes. I think folks maybe over cooking at 25 minutes in oven?
Thanks, Larry
Scott says
You lost me at " rest at room temperature for an hour or so ". This is a bad food safety practice, as well as proven silly by science as far as reducing cooking time to ANY appreciable degree. Any extra moisture you find in your meat from laying around for an hour is also a personal observation, rather than quantitative/qualitative data. Basically, it's am wholly exploded myth.
Otherwise, it's a decent enough basic recipe for folks who are new to cooking. Some complain that brining makes meat "mushy", generally more of an issue with poultry. Have you tried dry brining? A much simpler, cleaner method. Salt and rest in the refrigerator, then pull out, season and cook. No messy brine, no rinsing off the flavor you just tried to add, kind of no hassle really.
I appreciated the fact that you pointed out to not use salt in seasoning after brining. I would have probably put it in bold or caps, or repeated it several dozen times(lol) since this is a recipe for beginners who may not catch on that they are double salting the dish that way.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Scott,
Welcome to the blog.
I will make a few points.
1) It is safe for up to 2 hours in the 40-90 degree range per the FDA. Food is safe for up to 2 hours generally unless the environmental temperature is 90 degrees or above then it is one hour.
2) The only "studies" I have seen were mainly done individuals on one or two samples. Cooks Illustrated does have a small article about this topic suggest warming steak to 95 degrees in a low oven before cooking steak on the stovetop. A sort of reverse searing method. I find it helps on thick pieces of meat so I'm keeping it for thick cuts. If I see some real science on it, I might change. Nothing I have seen says it hurts.
3) Dry brining. I haven't tried it but will soon. It has come into its own the last 5 years or so. Most of my cooking is quick so the amount of time to dry brine is a lot more and I admit I'm stuck in my ways and can't organize myself that much. I total agree with the theory.
4) The use of salt after brining. Yep, a big mistake people make and I try to repeat it a few times. On turkey recipes, since most are already injected, I repeat the warning a lot... but they still do it. They take an injected turkey, brine and then salt it. You know the results.
Thanks for the note. I (and the FDA) disagree about the safety comment but everything else is very valid.
Dan
Rhonda King says
Hi Dr Dan, “Pan Seared Oven Roasted Pork Chops” very easy & excellent recipe. Used bone-in, 1 1/2" chop. Thank you!
DrDan says
Hi Rhonda,
Welcome to the blog.
I do love a good grilled chop.
Thanks so much for the note and rating.
DrDan
Ann says
I've had two [2"] chops staring at me when I open the freezer for a few months; scared to cook them. I tried this and followed to the letter complete with the brine. I'm a huge cast iron skillet person and these things came out a #10. They were juicy, tender, beautifully browned and hands down, the best chops I have EVER had! I used a leave-in digital thermometer and took them out at 150 F. I served them after basting with some of the drippings. I couldn't believe they reached 150 F. after only 20 minutes. Perfection.
Thank-you for this recipe. Pork is relatively cheap in spring so I'll be cooking this many, many times.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Ann,
Welcome to the blog.
I do love a good chop. This recipe is just a logical method of cooking. Glad it worked well for you.
Thanks for the note.
Dan