Fried pork chops are the perfect comfort food to whip up on a weeknight and enjoy with yummy sides like mashed potatoes and green beans. This easy dish is as simple as it is flavorful and succulent. The hardest part is figuring out how to fry the pork chops to the perfect level of crispiness without sacrificing their juiciness. Here's how to fry pork chops to perfection.
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Along with being tasty and comforting, pork chops are a quick meal to whip up when you need an easy dinner. With a prep time of about 10 minutes and a cooking time of about 10 minutes, this stovetop meal is hard to beat when it comes to convenience and deliciousness. Plus, it has plenty of health benefits like vitamin B, vitamin A, potassium and calcium.
Some prefer bone-in pork chops, while others go for boneless pork chops. Either will work well, and it's up to you and your individual preferences to decide. Bone-in pork chops are more juicy and flavorful because they typically have a bit more fat on them. Boneless pork chops, on the other hand, are convenient because you don't have to deal with the bone.
How to Make Delicious Fried Pork Chops
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To fry pork chops, all you need is the pork chops, vegetable oil, flour, the seasonings you prefer, and about a tablespoon butter. For the seasonings, kosher salt and black pepper are important. Some other popular seasonings are garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, steak seasoning, and seasoned salt. For an even crispier exterior, you can make breaded pork chops by using bread crumbs along with the flour and seasonings.
Although pan fried pork chops are the classic way to make this tasty dish, you can also make them in the air fryer or deep fry them if you prefer. If you're watching cholesterol levels, air frying is a good way to go since it reduces how much oil you'll use. Here's a recipe for air fried pork chops from Recipe Teacher.
To make fried pork chops, start by rinsing them and thoroughly patting them dry with paper towels. Combine your flour and seasonings in a shallow bowl, and then dip each side of the pork chops into the seasonings and flour mixture.
How to Fry Pork Chops Perfectly
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Once your pork chops are seasoned, it's time to fry them. Heat some canola oil on a pan or cast iron skillet at medium-high heat. Once it's nice and hot, add butter to the pan. When the butter is melted, put the pork chops on. Cook pork chops for 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, and for another 1 to 2 minutes on the other side.
This amount of time is for pork chops that are about 1 inch thick, so if yours are thinner, they'll need less time for cooking. If they're thicker, they'll need a bit longer. Make sure to check the pork chops as they fry so as not to overcook them.
When the pork chops are golden brown and have no pink juices, they're done cooking. To make sure, you can use a meat thermometer and check the internal temperature of the thickest part of the pork chop. Once the temperature is 145 degrees F, the pork chops are ready.
To make the dish even more flavorful, you can make a sauce to go with them. Lemony, garlic-y sauces are popular choices, and you can't go wrong with a horseradish sauce either. Here are some tasty sauce options to add flavor to the meal at Sauce For.
Here's a fried pork chops recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff to try for yourself!
