I don’t know why they call pork the “other” white meat. In my opinion, pork is the white meat. Juicy and succulent. Infused with rich, meaty flavor. And when it’s cooked just right, pork can show chicken up any ol’ day of the week.
Meat used to scare me. Not because I was an animal activitist (although I do consider myself to be an animal welfarist.) And not because I thought meat was bad or dangerous to my health.
No.
Meat scared me because I was afraid of undercooking it. Or worse. Overcooking it. But through many periods of trial and error, a few flops, and some lovely successes along the way, I’ve learned to embrace my inner carnivore. I’ve realized that meat isn’t something that I should fear, because it really doesn’t have to be difficult to prepare.
Sauteed pork chops, for example, are one of the quickest and easiest meats you’ll ever make.
First things first. Drizzle each side of each pork chop with a bit of olive oil. You don’t need a lot, especially if you spray your pan well with cooking spray.
Next, sprinkle on some coarse sea salt and pepper. Now here’s the kicker. Add about 1/8 of a tsp of sugar on one side of each pork chop and place sugar side down into heated pan.
Yes. Sugar.
If you’re a little freaked out right now, don’t be.
Trust me, you won’t taste the sugar afterwards (nobody likes a sugared pork chop unless it involves apple chutney and cranberries!) But it will give you a nice goldened crust which is exactly what we’re looking for.
Let those babies brown!
I kept the sides simple. Pan roasted cauliflower with a balsamic vinegar reduction. Baked sweet potato fries.
I love it when a deliciously healthy dinner is on the table in 30 minutes or less. 😉
Easy Pork Chops—recipe idea taken from Cooks Illustrated
Any leftovers taste great chopped up with some leftover brown rice, soy sauce, pineapple juice, garlic and diced bell peppers.
- 4 boneless pork chops, about 7 oz. each
- olive oil
- sea salt and pepper
- sugar
- Drizzle a small amount of oil onto each side of each pork chop. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle one side of each pork chop with about 1/8 tsp of sugar. Place sugar side down onto a pan that has been heated to medium and coated in cooking spray.
- Cook for 4-9 minutes. Flip once the side has become browned to liking. Continue cooking for about 4-6 minutes or until cooked thorough.
- Once cooked, move pork chops to a plate and cover loosely with foil for 5 minutes. Do not throw away pan juices! Add any juices from the plate with the pork chops to the pan, bring juices to high, and scrape browned bits. Once sauce has been reduced (about 30-60 seconds,) turn off heat. Add pork chops, flip once, and serve immediately, drizzling each pork chop with any remaining juices.
- ENJOY! 😀
Question: Is there anything that you’re “intimidated” to cook? A souffle! I think they’re so elegant and beautiful, but they intimidate me since one wrong move could result in a deflated balloon. One of these weekends I plan to overcome my fear and just make it. 😀
Running To Slow Things Down 
These look great! We eat pork chops in our house probably more than we eat chicken. It does take a good amount of trial an error to get them right but it’s worth the effort! I’m a HUGE fan of letting them rest covered on a plate for 5 minutes. That’s really when all the juices meld together.
I’m intimidated by the french macaroon. They are soooo delish but seem to be an impossible art!
I am intimidated by too many things to list here. Ha, ha. But cooking meat is definitely at the top of that list. Lately, I’ve been trying to tackle these things though, and I have surprised myself sometimes. ‘Course, there are flops along the way too. 🙂 Those porkchops look soo good!
PERFECTO MEAL! the chops look amazing!
My mom use to only overcook meat. Her pork chops were shake and bake for 1 hour. They were like shoe leather but my sister and I loved them, especially covered in apple sauce.
I completely forgot about shake and bake! I used to love it when my mom made it too. 😀
Oh pork is soo hard to cook! especially chops, i think it would be interesting to cook it in a stew, becasue it would be more tender and stuff no? I am intimidated to cook for other people i guess, unless the dish was practiced and perfected i would be pretty scared to cook for others! x
I made pork chops in my food principles lab and they were dry and disgusting, but yours look thick and luscious! Maybe I’ll try again…
And I’m intimidated by yeast.
I’d love to be able to make more “raw” dishes but some of the fancier ones intimidate me. And baking gluten-free bread from scratch.
I am intimidated by roasts. I am not scared of meat in general, but I am scared of a huge expensive piece of meat that I could overcook and ruin.
I am also a little intimidated by fish.
I don’t consider myself to be a very picky eater at all.. but I do not like pork chops. It has nothing to do with the way they are cooked or anything because my mom is really stellar at it, it’s just that I spend most of my years growing up eating pork shops 3+ times a week. I was allergic to poultry and seafood so I ate only pork and beef. Pork was the easier option most of the time.. so pork chops it was. I used to dunk them in ketchup. Hey, I was like ten .. no shame 😀
I agree with you on the souffle. I’ve never made one.
Your pork dinner looks delicious, especially those sweet potato fries! I haven’t made a souffle yet but I am much more afraid of messing up gravy LOL