Just don't over cook it.....
If you are only cooking one...I would use an iron fry pan....rub the chop with whatever....don't know that Bavarian seasoning but how bad could it be?
Heat your pan blazing hot put a dot of oil in it and slap in that chop....flip it after about 1 minute to brown the other side, and finish it off in a 350 oven....not too long just until it doesn't look raw inside when you cut it....a little pink is good but the meat needs to be opaque.
How big....thick...is that chop?
Linda C

I agree, L, just don't overcook that chop and it'll be tender and juicy. Many people cook pork until it's leather and you just don't need to.

Linda's instructions are good, that's how I'd do it too. Now, if you were also going to eat the pork I'd probably brown the chop, put it on top of the braised cabbage in a casserole and bake the whole thing, so the cabbage would have that "pork fat" flavor, LOL.

Annie

I dunno why but unless I am doing them in the oven in some sort of sauce , or really thick ones on the BBQ pork chops can be a bit iffy.....especially for someone who doesn't cook meat regularly.

If I were you I'd go with either a smoked pork chop which only needs warming (available at most good delis) or a German style cooked sausage like the kielbasa which just needs to be warmed. I particularly liked it sliced and cooked right in the cabbage.

One of my favourite meals is braised cabbage or sauerkraut, potato and cheese pierogies with huge dollops of sour cream sour cream and sauted kielbasa.

Chase your idea sounds kinda good too, I could eat everything but the kielbasa, and they actually make fake italian sausages I could have.

I haven't had much luck when I've tried making pork chops for the family. They are usually kinda dry, like Annie said. But what do I know. I don't like pork chops under any conditions. They'd probably be good cooked in the oven with the braised cabbage, after searing, like Linda instructed.

I'll keep you posted on what I end up doing.

Ditto Sharon!! I'd go the kielbasa route or some other type of sausage, you can saute in a skillet with some white wine and some S&P. It would be a good compliment to the cabbage.

I cook them the way Linda does too. If you ever need to cook a pork chop for somebody, try Pat T's recipe, they're great, and no, they're not health food! Are you making those oven braised cabbage wedges that Robin posted? If so, I wouldn't put a chop on top of the cabbage cause the cabbage wedges look so pretty - they stay nice and firm in wedges and are browned on top. I'd put the pork in a separate dish, just my humble little opinion :)

Have you thought about a pork tenderloin? Just rub it with some garlic and s&p and maybe some other herbs that you like and then brown it on the stove in some oil then finish it in a 450 oven for about 15-20 minutes. Doesn't really need any sauce, unless you feel like making one. As long as the meat is seasoned and moist, its good as is, we eat it plain like that quite often.

PAT T'S IDIOT PORK CHOPS

2 sticks butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
Italian bread crumbs
6 pork chops

Mix the melted butter and the eggs being careful that the butter is not so hot it will cook the eggs. Dip your pork chops in the butter/egg mix, and then the Italian bread crumbs, and then dip it AGAIN in the butter/egg mix and Again in the Italian bread crumbs. You have to dip it in each twice as it is not as good if you only do it one time. Bake the pork chops at 350° F. for 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the chops.

I love pork chops.

As far as I'm concerned, there are three ways to cook pork chops.

Furious and fast -- very thin pork chops, richly seasoned and cooked on high heat in a little oil really quick. This is my favorite.

Slow braise -- thicker pork chops, seared and then steeped in a liquid/sauce, in a covered pan.

Baked -- either coated in some way (as woodie says) or in a thick sauce.

Joe

I cook pork chops one of two ways - either grilled or broiled. Season the chops - put on the grill or under the broiler - let brown for a couple minutes flip until the other side is browned. You can test with a fork or your finger - push down on the chop if it gives slightly its done (no give at all, it's leather).

I doubt I've eaten 50 pork chops in my life but if I have then I'd venture a guess that no more than 5 were good. The rest were somewhere between just ok and bad. Pork, chops in particular, intimidate me. Gotta work on that!

Linda - What's you're typical whatever rub? You cook your chops like I cook my steak - so I should be able to handle that.

I like Chase's kielbasa idea, esp if you can find a good Eastern European shop that makes their own. WORLD of difference over a ring of something like Hilshire or even Boar's Head.

Costco pork chops - they are delicious and hard to muck up.

I just had these last night. I cut each in half, (butterfly-style) so I ended up with 2 thinner chops. Let them come to room temp. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat up some olive oil over medium heat in a regular (not non-stick) skillet. Cook the thin chops about 3 minutes each side, set aside. Deglaze the skillet with butter, white wine. I added maple syrup and some cranberry chutney. Serve over chops.

For a very simple sauce, deglaze the pan with a lot of butter. Brown the butter and add a handful of fresh sage leaves. Cook leaves until just crisp. Drizzle chops with the browned butter and sage.

Stumpy, "whatever" means just that.....whatever I am in the mood for...garlic and oregano...garlica nd sage, mustard...parsley and rosemary, Lowrey's, Tony couchere's...
As I said....whatever.
The thing to remember with pork chops is do not over cook!!! Pork loin is now very very lean meat and quickly turns stringy and tough.
Back in the olden days when pork wasn't "the other white meat" and was well marbeled with fat, long slow cooked pork chops were wonderful...not so now, farmers are breeding and feeding for lots leaner pork!.
Linda c

You already have a bunch of good suggestions, but I just wanted to share that this video is really helpful. Before seeing this, I had been over-cooking pork chops.

If you don't want to watch the short video, there is a transcrupt of the recipe at the bottom of the screen. I've used this guys's rub, but I've also used store-bought spice blends such as Grill Mates pork rub and a blend from our local farmers market.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to saute boneless pork chops

Great discussion! I made pork loin roast following instructions here and using a store bought marinade plus some tips from Mom's Good Housekeeping. It was fantastic, but that was a 24 hour marinade and 1.5 hour roast, which I am not able to do for this quick dinner. We're going to be out most of the day so I just want to make something relatively quick for dinner--not too much more than an hour to get dinner on the table.

My dad loves pork chops so mom made them all the time, but I'm just not real crazy about the texture--mostly underseasoned and haphazardly cooked is the way mom makes them. The only time I had them when I liked them was some cheapo ones I got about 15 years ago and use for a woodstove cooking demo during a Sugarbush. I put them in a dutch oven on top of the woodstove on the back burner, over seasoned veggies, with a maple syrup glaze. Those were thin, marbled chops. The deglazed gravy was awesome! Completely beginners luck, as I had never cooked pork chops OR on a woodstove before, but I had done some research, lol! I got the cheapo chops because I had to feed a crowd! Add maple pecan pie and you've got a little bit of heavan! I think I made coleslaw as a side dish, lol!

I've got the recipe for Idiot pork chops that Woodie posted in the oven right now. I'll report back.

Nancy

Here it is...

I didn't have any Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs in the pantry so I used panko and added my own Italian seasoning. They turned out very good, I'll be making them again.

Nancy

lpink, I am not a vegetarian, but I have enjoyed many vegetarian meals. Why cook something you don't even want to eat yourself and aren't proficient at it's preparation in the first place?

My advice would be to serve your friend a wonderful vegetarian meal. One assumes he/she is aware that you are a vegetarian, and perhaps he/she would enjoy taking a walk on the "other side of the street!"

You can't go wrong with this recipe.

Pork Chops with Parmesan Sage Crust

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 large eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges (optional)
Orange wedges (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, sage and lemon peel in pie dish. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Place flour on plate; season generously with salt and pepper. Coat pork chops on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Dip chops into eggs, then coat on both sides with breadcrumb mixture.
Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet with pork to oven. Bake until pork chops are crisp on the outside and meat thermometer inserted into pork registers 150°F, about 20 minutes.
Transfer pork chops to plates. Garnish with lemon wedges and orange wedges, if desired, and serve.
4 servings

From the magazine Bon Appetit

Chase said "One of my favourite meals is braised cabbage or sauerkraut, potato and cheese pierogies with huge dollops of sour cream sour cream and sauted kielbasa."

That's my rescue meal. I try to keep ingredients always on hand for when I get home late, exhausted and the last thing I want to do is cook--or even think for that matter. With your boiled new potatoes and fresh green beans it should be a winner. DH always uses his favorite hot mustard for the kielbasa.

I like them grilled. A bit tough but hard to beat the flavor of flame seared pork fat. Never was a fan of breading on my pork chops... some disturbing memories of shake and bake pork chops.

: )
lyra

Speaking of disturbing memories, I remember putting pork chops in a Crock Pot with a jar of some glop called Saucy Susan. In my defense, this was probably 40 years ago. The recollection does have me thinking about some sort of a braise the next time the Acme has pork chops on sale, however.

--Doug

have you tried asking Jessy? grin.

Shhh Robin, let sleeping evil one's lie...

Another good pork chop recipe is Diana's, Cider Cured Grilled chops. I like to use the thick boneless ones from Costco for this one!

Cider-cured pork chops
4 cups water
2 cups hard cider or regular apple cider
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
10 whole peppercorns
4 bay leaves
1/2 bunch fresh thyme
1 onion
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
4 center cut pork loin chops, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches thick
To make the brine, combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from the heat and let cool When completely cool, transfer to a bowl or baking dish and refrigerate til cold. Add the pork chops to cold brine. Weight with a heavy plate if necessary to submerge them. Refrigerate at least 24 hours and up to 48.
Remove chops from bring and pat them dry. Grill them as you prefer or pan fry them in olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet, about 10 minutes each side.
Source: The Best American Recipes 1999

Now why would Jessy F. know ANYTHING about pork chops Robin? :)

I do cook vegetarian and my friend eats it with no complaints, but sometimes it has to be my time to walk on the other side.

Since the weather was sunny we ended up hiking and eating out at a local pub afterwards. But I have all the ingredients for Chase's suggestion--pierogis, braised cabbage and kielbasa. I found vegetarian fake kielbasa at the grocery this weekend, I knew I had to get it, it was fate! Red cabbage was $1.49 a pound, RIDICULOUS. I bought the green stuff which was still ridiculous at .79 cents a pound, but I didn't feel like schlepping from store to store trying to find the best deal on cabbage, lol! So sometime this week or weekend I will try the braised cabbage, but pork chops may well remain a mystery to me for some time.

Thanks for the tips though, I will use them someday, since when I cook for my dad I have to make it meat and potatoes, and his favorite meal is pork chops. What is it with non-observant Jews and pork--always seems to be a favorite food! :)

Lpink, I think it is because for many non observant jews pork is a factor in not eating kosher. My uncle loves bacon every time he eats out, his wife on the other hand still does not have a taste for pork. My boys and I love it.

Weed's Dijon Pork is also a great easy way to cook it. Her recipe calls for pork tenderloin but i have always used boneless chops.

-Robin

p.s. While I do know that Jessy does not cook pork, sometimes she pops in on the non kosher threads just to say that she won't have any suggestions. LOL

Weed's Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Dijon Sauce
Serves: 2
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 2" slices
Seasoned flour
2 Tbl. butter, divided
2 tsp. canola or olive oil

Sauce:
2 green onions, sliced (coin shape), white and green parts separated
1/3 cup white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. Dijon mustard (or more to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to low, about 170 degrees.
Lightly pound pork medallions to 1" thick.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tsp. oil over medium high heat.
Dredge pork in seasoned flour. Add all at once to pan and saute 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and hold in the oven while finishing the sauce. (pork will be a bit underdone but will finish in the oven.)
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter to pan.
Add white part of onion, saute for 1 minute.
Add wine or vermouth, simmer until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons.
Add cream, simmer 2 - 3 minutes until thickened.*
Stir in Dijon, add salt and pepper to taste.
Return pork to pan to coat with sauce. Serve over rice or pasta, garnishing with the green part of the onion.
*If sauce ends up too thick for your liking, add a little water or milk, but no more than 1/4 cup.
** you can double the sauce ingredients so there is enough to pour over white or brown rice  yum!