Spiced Butter-Basted Pork Chops

By Ali Slagle

Spiced Butter-Basted Pork Chops
Beatriz Da Costa for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susie Theodorou.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(316)
Notes
Read community notes

These pork chops are juicy inside, crusty outside and draped in a smoky butter sauce, but they won’t set off your fire alarm. They’re cooked low and slow with a few key ingredients. First, thick chops are coated with salt and sugar, which promotes browning, then they’re cooked over moderate heat. Smoked paprika and fennel seeds season the butter that’s added, but feel free to swap in dried herbs or other ground or whole spices. Basting the chops with this infused butter creates a rich crust quickly so that the interior stays tender. The key is to watch the temperature of your skillet: Lower the heat if things are moving along too quickly, and the chops will achieve what you’re after in time.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings
  • 2(1- to 1½-inch-thick) bone-in pork rib chops (10 to 12 ounces each)
  • 2teaspoons light brown sugar
  • Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
  • 1tablespoon neutral oil (such as canola or grapeseed)
  • 2tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1½teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1teaspoon fennel, cumin or coriander seeds, crushed
  • Black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

583 calories; 40 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 49 grams protein; 790 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat the pork dry and season all over with the sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. In a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium. Add the pork chops, cover with a lid or baking sheet, and cook until browned on the outside and the internal temperature is between 110 and 120 degrees, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Reduce the heat if burning or sizzling wildly.

  2. Step 2

    Using tongs, stack both chops on top of one another, then grab both chops together and hold upright to sear the fat caps until crisp, about 1 minute. Lay the chops back down in one layer and add the butter, paprika and fennel seeds. Season the butter with salt and pepper. Tilt the skillet and baste the pork by spooning the melting butter and drippings over the pork until the internal temperature registers 130 degrees, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer the pork chops to a lipped plate and pour the butter over top. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving with a spoonful of the butter.

Ratings

4 out of 5
316 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Greg

Made using cumin seeds -- old seeds, but the fragrance when I crushed them was amazing -- but otherwise as written, except at the end it rested in the covered skillet instead of on a plate. It tasted very good, the sweetness reminiscent of Chinese pork. Served with steamed and buttered haricots vert and lightly buttered egg noodles drizzled with some of the butter sauce from the chops -- a good match.

JCP

Anyone concerned about cleaning your cast iron... Fill the pan with water until all of the residual sugar is covered. Bring to a boil and stir. The sugar will dissolve and you can pour the water down the drain.

pH

Sugar and caste iron is a horrible cleanup task. Coat the chops in your favorite herbs, spices and small amount of melted butter, but no sugar. Then suggest you start in a *cold* pan using moderate heat, flipping the chop(s) every two minutes until browned and internal temp is 125F. (Takes about 7-10 mins). Melting fat from chops will lubricate them. Flipping prevents sticking and promotes even browning. Allow to finish cooking/resting in pan off heat for 5 mins. Final temp will be 130+F

Amber

Thermapen thermometers are good digital thermometers. I cook pork to 145 degrees. Should still be juicy and slightly pink.

stephanie

i hate to state the obvious but, it's paprika that has been smoked. it's absolutely delicious and adds a wonderful smoky bbq kind of flavor to things. it's not spicy. https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/smoked-spanish-paprika/c-24/p-1159/pd-s

Easy Cleanup

To clean cast iron when sugar has stuck on, simply fill your pan with water, boil on stove and toss the water down the drain.

Jonelle

These were totally delicious. I used toasted cumin, and pretty much followed the recipe. I cooked the chops in a grill pan and served them with Choctaw Pumpkin and green beans. Delightful.

Jed

Different! The fennel and pimenton make for an interesting flavor profile. Careful not to overcook the chops; 4 minutes is enough per side. Nice.

Tammy

Delicious but after four minutes chop was not at all browned - just gray like it had been steamed. Flipped and covered again as directed and flip side did brown. Not sure what was going on. Chops were already 125 after 8 minutes so removed from pan, made sauce (added chili flakes instead of suggested flavoring because we like sweet and spicy), and then put chops back in the pan and turned a few times. Drizzled butter over chops and roasted potatoes. Chops overdone but still delicious.

Margaret

Quick and easy and juicy.

yum! soak that butter up!

Put leeks in pan after and cooked them with peas that all soaked up the buttery goodness at the end. Delish!

Chef Egon

I found the melted butter a bit oily. I might deglaze the pan with stock and add butter to emulsify instead. The chops were tasty though.

ER

Love this quick easy tasty recipe. Cooked exactly as written more than once. ER

Columbia, SC

If you follow the more cautious, longer cooking time suggestions the chops come out really tough. I would like the time range to be revisited by the author perhaps shave off 45 seconds on each frying pan turn for example to prevent lots of great chops from getting abused. I really enjoyed the seasoning and will try it again tonight! Thanks for the eye opening spice combo.

Don

Fabulous! I didn’t miss the “or” but, like Laurie, I used all three spices, ground the whole seeds with a mortar & pestle, and I’m glad I did. It’s a wonderful blend. The fennel especially shines even when the cumin and coriander are present. I didn’t have bone-in chops, but used the boneless ones I had on hand, and it turned out very nice. I want to try this again with some thick bone-in chops.

Susan Bacon

Follow the recipe as written. Fantastic flavors!

drT

OMG. I had loin pork chops to use up. I didn't have fennel or the other suggested spices, so I used 2 Bay leaves and a pinch of cloves. This was SO very good. and I don't even really like pork chops. But I will make this again.

jean

This was delicious. I put all the herbs together and then dry rubbed then pan fried. Why? It’s just me and I only need one pork chop. Pan fried it with asparagus and it was delicious. Save the butter and used as a sauce.

Kathy A

Made it exactly as written. Absolutely delicious. Be careful not to overcook the chops - that would ruin it. The directions here are spot on. Very quick, easy, and satisfying. A definite keeper.

Stephanie

I used quite thin pork chops because that’s what I had on hand and other than adjusting the cooking time I followed the directions as written. This was delicious and my child says “this is a make again!” He ate two pork chops himself!

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