Session 106 — Perfect Pork Chop
← Block 21–22: Pork & Charcuterie Overview
Skill: The hardest weeknight cook well-done: a bone-in pork chop, properly seared, properly finished, properly rested. Most home cooks overcook pork chops because they're afraid of undercooked pork. Tonight: understand the actual target (145°F), achieve it, taste the difference.
- Read: Serious Eats — Perfect Pan-Seared Pork Chop — the technique and temperature explanation is the lesson
- Dry brine the night before. 145°F. Rest 5 minutes. Cut and taste.
Full Meal: Bone-in pork chop + pan sauce (apple cider or white wine, shallot, thyme) + Serious Eats — Roasted Cauliflower with Pine Nuts and Capers + Apple, Celery & Walnut Salad — thinly sliced apple, celery, toasted walnuts, Dijon vinaigrette; the sweetness and crunch pair naturally with pork
🎥 Compare Notes: Pork Chops with Madeira Mustard Pan Sauce (Helen Rennie) — Watch her pan sauce construction after the sear — the deglazing sequence and butter mount are the same technique you're using, just with different liquid.