Restaurant Quality in No Time
This recipe for balsamic glazed pork chops makes an absolutely restaurant quality meal that’s super simple to cook at home. The hardest part is waiting for your chops to marinate–and even that step is just a few hours. This is a perfect meal for those work from home days when you can take about 10 minutes out of your day to throw the marinade together between meetings. Once you’re ready to cook dinner, your pork chops will take less than 20 minutes!
Tips for the Tastiest Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops
A few tips to guarantee success. First, choose a chop that’s on the thinner side; I think a 1-inch thick chop is perfect for this recipe and will ensure the chops cook quickly on the stove top.
The next tip: take your chops out of the fridge an hour before you’re ready to cook them. This will allow the pork to come to room temperature which will ensure they cook quickly on the stovetop. Don’t worry about food safety here; an hour isn’t long enough to spoil things.
When you’re ready to cook, use a paper towel to dry off your chops. This will allow for a better sear.
- Explore: Braised Pork Chops Puttanesca
Finally, keep the heat on medium–especially while you’re in the searing portion of the cook. There’s a ton of sugar in the marinade and a hotter flame will burn instead of caramelize. On medium, the chops will get a very deep caramelization, so no need for higher temps.
Follow these tips and you’ll end up with perfectly cooked pork chops covered in a sticky, sweet, and tangy glaze. Dinner out? Nah, bistro at home!
Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in or boneless pork chops 1½-2-inches thick
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed, please!
- 3 cloves garlic grated or minced
- 3 tbsp fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce until well combined and the sugar is mostly dissolved.Pour the mixture into a gallon sized zip top bag and add the pork chops to the bag. Remove as much of the air as possible and seal the bag. Give it a little shake/jostle/smoosh to try to coat the chops evenly in the marinade.Put the bag in a container (in case there are leaks) and pop it in the fridge. Let the chops marinate for 4-6 hours. Halfway through this process, flip the bag to marinate as evenly as possible.
- An hour before you want to cook your pork chops, remove them from the refrigerator to warm to room temperature. When you're ready to cook, remove the chops from the bag being careful to save all of the marinate in the bag (we'll be reaching for that later.)Dry the pork chops with paper towels which will help create a better sear. Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add a small amount of oil or cooking spray to the pan. Place the pork chops in the pan and let them sear for about 5 minutes on each side or until the chops register 135F with an instant read thermometer. The pork chops should be very browned and caramelized on each side. Remove from the pan to a plate.
- Pour the remaining marinade to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until it reduces by about ⅓. Add the chops back to the pan and cook for another 2 minutes or so on each side in the glaze until the glaze reaches the consistency of a thick BBQ sauce.
- Remove the chops from the pan and plate drizzling the remaining glaze over the pork chops.
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