When it comes to fast, easy weeknight dinner, it doesn’t get any better than pork chops. And we know, we make these at least once a week, every week. But one thing we neveer – ever – skip is the butter at the end. Four pan fried pork chops, one cast iron skillet, and enough garlic butter to spoon over every one of them.
It’s time to fix over-cooked pork chops once and for all. Cook them to 140°F. That’s it. Then get them off the heat as quickly as possible and baste them in extra butter. For generations, we’ve been overcooking pork to shoe leather and it’s time to be the generation that fixes this problem once and for all. The carryover cooking will increse the internal temp of the chop to 145°F, and that means you get juicy pork in every bite.
🔪 Ingredients for Pan Fried Pork Chops
Only six ingredients, and you probably own five of them. Quantities live in the recipe card below. 👇
- Pork chops: bone-in or boneless, cut about three-quarter inch thick. This is the standard grocery store chop, the one that comes four to a family pack. If yours measure an inch or more, cook them the thick cut pan seared way instead, because they need a broiler finish this recipe does not use.
- Kosher salt
- Coarse black pepper
- Neutral oil: avocado, canola, or grapeseed. A thin film only. This is what does the searing so the butter never has to sit over high heat.
- Unsalted butter: cut into cubes and kept cold until it goes in the pan. Cold cubes melt into a baste instead of instantly browning.
- Garlic: whole cloves, smashed with the side of a knife. Never minced. Minced garlic hits the pan surface and burns before the baste is finished.
- Fresh thyme or rosemary: whole sprigs, stems and all. They go in with the butter to add that beautiful flavor at the end.
Equipment
- 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet. Cast iron holds its heat when four cold chops hit it. A thin nonstick pan drops 100 degrees on contact and steams them instead.
- An instant read thermometer. A three-quarter-inch chop swings 10°F in under a minute, so this is the only tool that tells you the truth. We keep a Thermapen next to the stove for exactly this.
- A spoon with a deep bowl. Basting with a flat spoon is how you end up with butter on the burner.
📝 How to Make Pan Fried Pork Chops
- Temper and dry the chops. Pull them out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before you cook, then pat every surface bone dry with paper towels. The chop should look matte, not glossy. Wet pork steams and never browns.
- Season both sides. Salt and pepper, about half a teaspoon of kosher salt per chop, pressed lightly into the meat so it stays put in the pan.
- Heat the skillet. Cast iron over medium-high for 3 to 4 minutes with a thin film of oil. It is ready when the oil shimmers and moves like water when you tilt the pan.
- Sear the first side, and do not touch it. Lay the chops in away from you with at least an inch between them. Cook 3 to 4 minutes without moving them. They are ready to flip when the edge you can see has gone deep golden and the chop releases from the pan on its own.
- Flip, then drop the heat to medium. Add the cold butter cubes, the smashed garlic, and the herb sprigs all at once. The butter should foam, not smoke. If it browns instantly the pan is too hot, so pull it off the burner for 10 seconds.
- Baste for 2 to 3 minutes. Tilt the pan toward you so the butter pools, then spoon it over the tops of the chops steadily. Start checking temperature at the 2 minute mark and pull them at 140°F in the thickest spot, away from the bone.
- Rest 5 minutes. Move them to a plate or board. Carryover heat carries them to 145°F, which is the USDA safe temperature for whole cuts of pork, and the juices settle instead of running out on the first cut. Spoon the pan butter over the top right before serving.
Same butter baste, same logic as our cast iron skillet steak. Sear first, butter second, thermometer always.
🔄 Substitutions
- Bone-in for boneless: bone-in runs about a minute longer on the first side and eats juicier. Go by the thermometer, not the clock.
- Rosemary for thyme: use one sprig instead of two. Rosemary is far more assertive and takes over the butter fast.
- Ghee or clarified butter for whole butter: higher smoke point if your burner runs hot, same nutty flavor, and it foams less so you can see the chop while you baste.
- Sliced shallot for garlic: add it with the butter. Sweeter and softer than garlic, but it browns faster, so keep the spoon moving.
- A marinade instead of a dry season: our pork chop marinade works here, but pat the chops completely dry before they hit the pan or you will lose the crust.
💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- Skip the brine on a thin chop. A wet brine earns its keep on a two inch chop. On a three-quarter inch chop it adds surface moisture you then have to cook off, and that costs you the crust you came for. Salt and a dry surface do more work here.
- Smash the garlic, never mince it. Whole smashed cloves perfume the butter and come out of the pan clean. Minced garlic sinks to the pan surface and turns bitter in about 90 seconds.
- Cook in two batches if the pan looks crowded. Four cold chops in a 10 inch skillet tank the pan temperature and steam each other. Two at a time, tented on a plate, then all four back in the butter for a 30 second finish.
- Start checking the temperature early. These chops climb roughly 10°F a minute at the end. Probe at the 2 minute mark of the baste and again 30 seconds later, and you will never guess wrong.
🍽️ What to Serve with Pan Fried Pork Chops
- Roasted potatoes, cut small so they finish in the oven while the chops rest.
- Sauteed cabbage, right into the same skillet after the chops come out. It soaks up the leftover garlic butter and takes four minutes.
- Buttered peas, the two minute side that makes the plate look like someone tried.
- A mustard pan sauce, made by splashing stock into the hot skillet, scraping the fond, and whisking in grainy mustard off the heat.
- Apple chutney or a spoon of applesauce, because the acid cuts straight through the butter.
- More ideas in our side dish recipes.
🧊 Leftovers and Storage
- Store them whole, not sliced, in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Sliced pork dries out overnight.
- Reheat low and covered. A 275°F oven with a splash of stock in the dish, covered with foil, until the center reads 120 to 125°F. That is about 10 minutes.
- Skip the microwave unless you are chopping the pork into fried rice or a salad, where texture matters less.
- Freeze them raw, not cooked. Cooked chops this thin go grainy after a freeze and thaw. Raw chops keep 4 months, vacuum sealed or double wrapped.
If you’ve spent years overcooking the cheap chops, that ends today. Tonight you’ll perfectly sear your chops like a pro and finish them with an herby butter baste that makes you feel like a pro chef in under 15 minutes.
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Prep the Chops
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Pull the chops from the fridge 20 to 30 minutes ahead, then pat every surface bone dry with paper towels. The chop should look matte, not glossy. Wet pork steams instead of browning.
Flip and Butter
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Flip, drop the heat to medium, and add the cold butter cubes, smashed garlic, and herb sprigs. The butter should foam, not smoke. If it browns instantly, pull the pan off the burner for 10 seconds.
- A thermometer is the key. A 3/4 inch chop climbs roughly 10F per minute at the end – so be sure to probe these to make sure you don’t overcook them.
- Smash the garlic, never mince it. Minced garlic burns inside the basting window.
- If four chops crowd a 10 inch skillet, sear two at a time, tent on a plate, and return all four to the butter for a 30 second finish. Never overcrowd the pan, or you won’t get a good sear.
- Chops 1 inch or thicker need our thick cut pan seared method with a broiler finish instead.
- Store whole, not sliced, up to 3 days. Reheat covered at 275F with a splash of stock to 120 to 125F.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 938mg | Potassium: 517mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.03g | Vitamin A: 381IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
Quick Summary
Three-quarter inch pork chops, seared hard in cast iron and basted with cold butter, smashed garlic, and thyme. Sear 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, flip and baste 2 to 3 minutes, pull at 140°F, rest 5 minutes to 145°F. On a chop this thin the thermometer matters more than the clock. Thicker chops belong in the thick cut pan seared version or the double-cut cast iron chops, and the grill version lives here.
❓ Pan Fried Pork Chops FAQs
A three-quarter inch chop takes 3 to 4 minutes on the first side and 2 to 3 minutes on the second while you baste it. Thickness drives everything, so treat those times as a window and pull the chops at 140°F.
Start on medium-high to build the crust, then drop to medium the moment you flip and add butter. Butter over medium-high heat browns past the point of no return before the chop is cooked through.
Pull them from the pan at 140°F and rest them 5 minutes. Carryover heat brings them to 145°F, which is the USDA safe internal temperature for whole cuts of pork with a 3 minute rest.
No. A lid traps steam against the crust you just spent four minutes building and softens it. Leave the pan open the whole time and let the butter do the moisture work.
Almost always heat and time, not the cut. Thin chops carry very little fat, so every extra minute past 145°F squeezes moisture out. Buy a thermometer, pull at 140°F, and rest them before slicing.