Dry aged pork chops are becoming increasingly popular due to their incredibly rich complex flavor and melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. However cooking them properly can seem intimidating for home cooks who are used to traditional store-bought pork chops. Have no fear – with a few expert tips and techniques, you can cook restaurant-quality dry aged pork chops right in your own kitchen.
In this complete guide, we will walk through everything you need to know to cook dry aged pork chops like a pro, from choosing the right cut to executing different cooking methods flawlessly. By the end, you’ll be able to achieve the perfect balance of a flavorful, caramelized crust and a juicy, tender interior every time. So let’s get started!
Choosing the Right Cut
The first step to cooking incredible dry aged pork chops is choosing the right cut. Look for thick, bone-in rib or loin chops that are at least 1 inch thick. Thinner chops will overcook too quickly. A nice marbling of fat throughout the chop is ideal, as this bastes the meat during cooking and ensures a juicy finished product. The bone also helps prevent the meat from drying out. Spruce Street Provisions and other high-end butchers and online meat delivery services offer top-quality dry aged pork chop options.
Dry Brining
Once you have your chops, dry brining is highly recommended to boost flavor and tenderness. Simply sprinkle the chops all over with a generous amount of kosher salt and let them rest uncovered in the fridge for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. The salt will draw moisture out of the meat, then dissolve into the released juices and get reabsorbed as a highly concentrated brine, breaking down tough muscle fibers in the pork. Blot off excess moisture with paper towels before cooking.
Reverse Sear Method
For cooking, the reverse sear method is ideal for dry aged pork chops. This involves gently cooking the meat first to your desired internal temperature, then searing the exterior at the end for a flavorful, caramelized crust.
First, preheat your oven to 250°F. Place a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and arrange the chops on the rack Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chop reads 10-15°F below your target doneness – usually 100°F for medium-rare and 110°F for medium This low gentle heat cooks the chops evenly without drying them out.
Next, heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking hot. Add just enough neutral oil to coat the bottom. Sear the chops for 1-2 minutes per side until nicely browned. Baste the tops of the chops with butter during the last minute of searing. Remove the chops from the pan and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Grilling
Grilling is another excellent cooking method that imparts delicious charred flavor. Prepare a hot two-zone direct/indirect grill fire, with high heat on one side and low heat on the other. Generously rub the chops all over with olive oil and your favorite spices or herb rub.
Sear the chops over direct high heat for 2-3 minutes per side until nicely marked. Then, move them to indirect low heat, close the grill lid, and continue cooking, flipping once halfway through, until chops register 5-10°F below target temperature. Remove from grill, tent loosely with foil, and rest 5 minutes before serving.
Pan Searing
For a quick and easy stovetop method, pan searing also works wonderfully. Get your heaviest skillet screaming hot over high heat. Coat the pork chops lightly in oil then lay them gently in the pan. Resist the urge to move them for at least 3 minutes, allowing the crust to develop.
Once nicely browned, flip and cook 2-3 minutes on the other side. Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan and use a spoon to baste the chops as they finish cooking. Remove chops at 5°F below desired temperature, rest 5 minutes, then serve. Crispy browned bits in the pan make a delicious sauce drizzled over the plated chops.
Sous Vide
For the most precise control, sous vide cooking excels at delivering perfect medium-rare pork chops every time. Season chops liberally with salt and pepper then seal in resealable bags. Submerge bags in a water bath held at 140°F and cook for 1-2 hours until chops reach 135°F internally.
Shock briefly in an ice bath to stop cooking. Remove chops from bags, pat extremely dry, then proceed with searing as above until nicely browned on the outside. The combination of prolonged low temperature cooking followed by searing gives incredible results!
Doneness Temperatures
With all cooking methods, use an instant-read thermometer to accurately gauge internal temperature and doneness:
- 120-125°F – rare
- 130-135°F – medium rare
- 135-145°F – medium
- 145°F and above – well done
Dry aged pork benefits from being cooked to no more than medium doneness to retain moisture and flavor. Shoot for medium rare or a spot on the lower end of medium for the very best results!
Resting
Always let dry aged pork chops rest at least 5 minutes and up to 10 minutes after cooking. This allows juices to redistribute evenly throughout the meat for a more moist, tender mouthfeel. Tent loosely with foil to keep warm. Resist cutting into the chops right away or you’ll lose those precious juices!
Serving Suggestions
These ultra-flavorful chops deserve accompaniments that can stand up to their intense taste. Try pairing with slightly charred Brussels sprouts, creamy parsnip puree, or roasted sweet potatoes. For sauce, opt for fruit-based options like cherry or apricot chutney to complement the pork’s richness.
Key Takeaways
Cooking dry aged pork chops to perfection is easy when you follow these pro tips:
- Select thick, bone-in rib or loin chops aged for at least 4 weeks
- Dry brine overnight in the refrigerator
- Cook gently using reverse sear, grilling, pan searing, or sous vide
- Target an internal temperature of 135°F for medium rare
- Let rest at least 5 minutes before cutting to serve
- Pair with bold flavors like charred veggies and fruit chutneys
Master these techniques for extraordinary dry aged pork chops that will be the star of your dinner table. This exclusive cut offers an incredible culinary experience with its concentration of flavor and velvety texture. Now get cooking and amaze your guests with your chop mastery!
Characteristics of Perfect Pork Chops
There are a few important elements I look for in the perfect pork chops:
- Internal juiciness is the most important to me. My whole childhood was spent eating dry, well-done pork chops, and I never want anyone else to have to go through that kind of torture again.
- Evenness of internal cooking. I want the chops to be juicy all the way through and not have any dry, stringy edges. As little as possible should be done to reduce the temperature difference within the chop.
- A deep, dark, and crisp crust—because a juicy inside doesn’t do much without a crisp outside to contrast it? Browning also brings out the flavors, making the chops taste meatier and the sweetness of the pork stand out more.
So, here’s the thing: the final temperature at which you cook your meat has almost everything to do with how juicy it is inside. The hotter it gets, the dryer it becomes. Heres a rough outline of what happens in that chop as you cook it:
- If the temperature drops below 110°F, your pork chop is still very close to being raw. Like raw meat, it will be see-through and have a soft, unpleasant texture.
- Between 110 and 120°F youre in rare territory. The meat is getting a little firmer, but it’s still see-through and a deep pink or red color. Some people like their chops to be rare in the middle.
- Between 120 and 130°F youre at medium-rare. The meat is firmer and no longer see-through. It is now a nice rosy pink color and has a lot of moisture. This is how I like my chops.
- Between 130 and 140°F youre in medium territory. The meat will be mostly white with a light pink tint. It will be quite firm but still very juicy. This is how I usually cook pork chops for guests, unless they ask for them to be less done. For people who are afraid of pink or undercooked pork, this is a good range. The pork is still very juicy.
- Above 140°F things start to go south pretty fast. Muscle fibers tense up very tight, releasing large amounts of moisture from the inside. Chopped meat can lose up to 30% of its moisture when cooked to a temperature of 2015%C2%B0F or higher. Here be dragons. You want to stay away.
The goal when cooking a pork chop should be to keep as much of it between 120°F and 140°F as possible.
For searing, on the other hand, you need very high heat to get those beautiful browned colors and flavors. The so-called Maillard browning reactions, named after the French chemist who first wrote about them in the 20th century, only happen in large amounts at high temperatures, around 350°F.
Alternative Techniques for a Juicy Pork Chop
I really like dry-brining, which is when you salt a piece of meat a lot and let it rest before cooking it. A lot of folks get annoyed at the term “dry-brining,” because, well, its technically an inaccurate term. Still, it gets the point across nicely, so I’ll stick with it for now. Those who find it annoying can take their nonsense somewhere else.
When you salt a piece of meat, initially moisture is drawn out of it through the process of osmosis, creating a brine of meat juices and dissolved salt on the surface of the meat. This brine then works in the traditional way: it dissolves muscle proteins, whereupon it gets reabsorbed and slowly but surely works its way into the meat. You end up with a chop that retains moisture just as well as a regularly-brined chop,* but is much more concentrated in flavor, and easier to sear, to boot.
Additionally, a dry-brined chop cooked to a temperature of 205°F will lose about 15% of its initial weight in water, just like a regular-brined chop.
It will brown even better if you dry-brine it and let it rest in the fridge overnight, uncovered, to get rid of any extra moisture on the surface.
Heavy salt was put on this chop, which was then left on a rack in the fridge overnight without being covered. The next day, it was seared.
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Look at that beautiful crust! Since there is less water on the surface to evaporate, the food can brown well in less time in the pan. This means less overcooked meat inside the chop, making it more juicy and giving it a richer crust than when you brine or sear it normally. The only bad thing about it is that you need to buy the chops and salt them the day before you want to eat them. In my book, its a small price to pay for porky perfection.
I wanted to brown my chops even faster, so I tried putting both salt and sugar in my dry brine. I knew that the sugar would speed up the Maillard reactions, so I thought this might work. I wouldn’t do that with a steak, but pork is naturally sweet, so it won’t hurt here.
Long story short, it works: I dry-brine pork chops with a mixture of salt and sugar.
So far so good, but can we do even better? My gut (and my brain) tells me yes.
I Dry Aged Pork Chops for 30 Days – Glen And Friends Cooking
FAQ
Is dry aged pork good?
What temperature is dry aging pork?
Can I dry age pork in my fridge?
What temperature should a Pork Chop be cooked to?
It’s now considered safe to cook pork to just 145 degrees before you take it off the heat. At this temperature, the pork is considered medium-rare, and it may still have a pinkish tinge to the center. When you cook a pork chop until it hits the 160-degree threshold, there’s a good chance that it will have a dry, sawdust-like texture.
What to do with dry pork chops?
Here’s what to do with dry pork chops—and a primer on how to avoid the problem going forward. To rehydrate dry pork chops, try heating them in a bit of chicken stock. You can also try to bump up the moisture by smothering the meat in your favorite barbecue sauce, or give the pork a second chance at life by adding it to a soup, stew, or casserole.
How long do you cook a pork chop in a pan?
Cook pork chops in a pan for 2-3 minutes per side, depending on thickness, until they are golden brown. Then, add butter, garlic, and thyme to the pan and baste the pork chops for a minute or two until done to your preference. Remove from the pan, pour over the butter and aromatics, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
How to cook pork chops in a frying pan?
To cook pork chops in a frying pan, first season them (as per the recipe below) and add them to the pan. Press down on the chops with a spatula and cook for 2-4 minutes per side, depending on their thickness. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add butter, garlic cloves, and fresh thyme to the pan and baste the pork chops with the butter.