When I was younger my mum often cooked shallow fried marinated pork dishes which included rips, pork chops and the lean upper side cuts of meat. Thinking back, I especially loved the ribs dish she made, but I remember avoiding the chops and the upper side pieces. Thinking back I didn’t like to eat meat very much and often avoided big chunks of meat as much as possible.
As I grow up I came to like meat more and find pork chops very delicious. I love pan seared pork chop and sometimes when eating it I feel like I can eat heaps and heaps of them, but my eyes are always bigger than my stomach 😀
What I’ve learn from watching other chefs cook is that sometimes the simplest recipe tastes the best. I’m not quite sure how it works, especially with meat dishes. For example the simple flavour combination of cooked grill or pan seared meat, salt, pepper and herbs. Its just amazing.
Note: fresh thyme and rosemary go very well with pork and lamb, I usually use rosemary for lamb and pork but today I will be using thyme instead. So if you have your own preferred herbs to use in this dish please do so and share it with us.
When cooking a nice piece of meat we don’t want it to dry out and over cooked. What we want is a nice juicy meat that melt in our mouth, so to get this result we always start with a nice and hot pan before adding the oil. If the pan is not hot enough we will end up steaming the meat and instead all the juice from inside that helps to seal the meat will be released as excess liquid.
To get the pork chop to cook evenly, score 4-5 parts on the skin/fat area, if we were sitting the chop up with the skin/fat at the top. This will help to keep the pork chop flat in the pan and cook it evenly.
PORK CHOP
Prep-Time: 5 mins Serve: 2
Cooking Time: 6 mins
Ingredients
2 pork chops, scored around the fat
6 fresh thyme
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
Method
Score the fat and then sprinkle salt and pepper.
Heat a medium sized frying pan over high heat, once the pan is hot but not smoking hot add in the oil.Add in the pork chop facing the seasoned side down, lying it away from you so the oil won’t splash at you. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the other side and then add in the garlic and thyme. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side.
After turning the pork over, tilt the pan to one side and spoon the oil from the pan and pour it on top of the pork chops to keep them warm and to cook them evenly. When both sides are cooked, remove the the pork chops and allow them to rest for 3 minutes. Serve with mash, salad or another side of your choice.
