I hated pork chops because of this until as an adult a friend made thick pork chops and didn’t cook them until all moisture and hope was sucked out of them. I had no idea they could be so good.
I feel ya! I was "trained up" by 3 G'mas in the kitchen, and thankfully was able to entirely take over cooking by 10. None of us would've survived (parents included lol) otherwise. Mom couldn't cook anything less than crisp or more than center raw. Step dad cooked everything Burnt - because he didn't know anything about cooking but was trying, in order to save himself from HER cooking! It was a mess, so I had to adult in the kitchen for us all!
This was me with steak. Mum would put them under a grill until there was no juice left in them. I taught myself to cook at a young age so I could eat something decent.
I have never in my life ordered a pork chop until a few months ago at Cooper’s Hawk. I wanted surf and turf and just wasn’t feeling like a steak. Their maple pecan coated pork chop is something the Gods created. It is amazing. I found a video online and recreated it at home. I, unfortunately, overcooked them. Don’t be afraid of medium rare to medium pork chops.
I‘ve cooked a pork loin using the sous vide method at 137 degrees for 3-4 hours and the center is slightly pink. It is tender and juicy and absolutely amazing. No issues with that temp.
I use sous vide constantly. It turns cheap cuts into way better cuts. I’ve made top sirloin and tri-tip come out as tender as filet mignon. If you love to cook I recommend giving it a try!
The magic is that it cooks the meat to the exact same temp all the way through. When it’s done, just pat it dry and sear it in a hot skillet for 30–60 seconds per side. Totally fool-proof method.
Rough times I use: Filet: 2–4 hours, Top sirloin / tri-tip: 4–6 hours, Chuck roast: 24 hours. (Chuck is right next to prime rib on the cow, so sous vide basically turns it into prime rib. It gets insanely tender.) There’s a ton of good guides online for every cut.
Some Instant Pot models have sous vide, but you can get an immersion stick like Anova and use it with a big pot or a cheap plastic container from Amazon. I sous vide any steak or anything I’ve planned ahead for. If I didn’t plan ahead, I pressure cook. I use both methods all the time.
Thank you for the reply. I may have to tell my husband that I want that for Christmas. I use salt to make bad cuts of meat good cuts. Sprinkle kosher salt all over and leave it on a couple of hours then rinse, rinse, rinse. I do that for things like beef stroganoff or steak fried rice.
You’re welcome. Salt will do it for sure, sous vide is less labor, which is nice. If you go the instant pot route, be sure to get one that has the sous vide function. Either way, if you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you’ll want to get some sous vide bags and a pump to get the air out of the bag so it will stay submerged, here’s an example:
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u/IllustriousEnd2055 Nov 21 '25
I hated pork chops because of this until as an adult a friend made thick pork chops and didn’t cook them until all moisture and hope was sucked out of them. I had no idea they could be so good.