For a very long time I had not idea how to cook pork chops. When I was a child my mother would make a roast pork dinner and she always wanted to make sure it was cooked thoroughly so of course her roasts were always dried out. (sorry Mom…) That’s the way I grew up thinking how pork should be cooked. Needless to say, I was not a big fan of pork at the time – too dry and tasteless.

It’s only been within the last couple of years that I’ve learned how to cook pork. Most people think the meat has to be opaque white which is a fallacy. Once it gets to that point it is overdone and will most likely be dry and tasteless. When pork is done perfectly it should look like the picture below…

Look at how juicy this piece of pork is. Pork that is done correctly will have a little bit of pink marbling in the meat as you can see in the picture. Most people, including myself, used to think that pork was not cooked thoroughly when it had a little pink in it. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I tested these chops in their thickest part with a meat thermometer and it read 140 degrees which is ideal. Let me tell you this pork chop was melt in your mouth delicious. And preparing it this way was not all that difficult. I want to share this recipe because it is so easy and I guarantee perfect results every time. But there are a couple of little secrets you need to be aware of and I’ll share them in my lessons learned.

So let’s talk juicy oven baked pork chops…

Lesson Learned 1 – Take my advice and buy a cast iron skillet: Recently I’ve been doing a lot of cooking in my cast iron skillet and I’ve learned to  love it! Cast iron is your best method for cooking. It may take a little longer to heat up (and really not all that much longer) but once it does it provides even heat that will not dissipate quickly. Plus it moves seamlessly from stove top to oven. And if that isn’t enough it is also one of the cheapest skillets you can buy. Depending on what size skillet you get you’ll pay somewhere between  $15 – $30. Now that’s a bargain! The main downside to a cast iron skillet is that it’s heavy to lift. But in my mind that does not outweigh the benefits. Just look at it as building up your upper body strength while preparing an absolutely delicious meal!

I have a 10 inch skillet and that is big enough for two pork chops the size required for this recipe so I’m writing this recipe for two. If you get a larger skillet you can easily do four chops. Nothing else in the recipe has to be adjusted significantly. Just make sure you know how many chops will fit in your skillet without crowding them.

You need to use center cut bone-in chops for this recipe. They should be about 1 inch thick. Chops of that size take up quite a bit of room in the skillet. So if you want to do more than two chops in one skillet get a skillet larger than 10 inches.

Handy Trick: One other trick I learned was to put the skillet in the oven and leave it there while the oven is preheating. Once the oven has reached 400 degrees you take the skillet out of the oven (make sure you use mitts because the pan will be hot) put it on the stove over medium high heat and then sear the chops one one side before turning the chops over and putting the skillet back in the oven. It’s a pretty nifty trick.

Lesson Learned 2 – Try brining your chops: If you’ve never tried brining you really should. Brining basically is marinating meat in a salt based liquid that has optional ingredients you can add to enhance the flavor of the meat. The purpose of brining is to break down the fibers in the meat ergo making it more tender. I recommend brining your chops for at least 4 hours, but even if you can only do it for 30 minutes it will make a difference in the meat.

Depending on the type of dish you use to brine the chops you may need more water than I suggest to make sure they’re covered. The chops need to be completely covered for the brining process to work. If you need to add more liquid than what I specify in the recipe just remember to add a tablespoon of salt for every additional cup of water. Also make sure that the salt is completely dissolved in the water before putting it over the chops.

The rest of the recipe is so simple it’s almost funny. This is quick and easy way for making the most unbelievably moist and tender chops you’ll ever have. Try it and tell me what you think.