Gordon Ramsay Pork Chops

These Gordon Ramsay pork chops get the same treatment he gives a good steak: a thick bone-in chop salted ahead, seared hard in a hot pan, then basted with foaming butter, garlic and thyme until a thermometer reads 145°F. While the chops rest, the same pan turns into a Calvados, apple and mustard cream sauce in about eight minutes. It's a 45-minute dinner, and the only tricky part is pulling the pork off the heat at the right moment.

How Gordon Ramsay Cooks Pork Chops

Gordon Ramsay cooks pork chops like a steak: hot pan, a thin film of oil, a hard sear, then butter that's allowed to froth and brown before he spoons it over the meat. The Takeout describes exactly that in his shake-and-bake pork chop video, where the melted butter goes nutty and brown as he bastes. It's the pan routine he teaches for chicken in his MasterClass too: the meat only goes in when the pan sizzles, smashed garlic and thyme join the butter, the meat rests, and the sauce is built in the same pan without washing it.

He has cooked plenty of pork chop dishes over the years. The first episode of Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course pairs pork chops with sweet and sour peppers, and on The F Word he pan-roasted them. This version keeps his sear-and-baste method and pairs it with the classic French partners for pork: apples, apple brandy and mustard.

Which Pork Chop to Buy for Pan-Searing

Buy bone-in rib or center-cut loin chops about 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick. That thickness gives you time to build a deep crust before the center passes 145°F, while a thin half-inch chop is overcooked by the time it browns. The National Pork Board lists chops from 1/2 to 2 inches thick and notes that bone-in chops tend to have more flavor. The bone also slows the cooking of the meat right beside it, so take the temperature away from the bone.

If your store only has thin chops, sear them hard for 2 to 3 minutes a side and skip most of the basting. For a 1 1/2- to 2-inch chop, sear on the stove and finish it in the oven (see below).

Should You Brine Pork Chops? Salt Them Ahead Instead

Salting pork chops 40 minutes to a day ahead gives you most of the benefit of a brine with a better crust. Salt draws moisture out, dissolves into it, and is then pulled back into the meat, where it loosens some of the muscle proteins so they hold on to more of their juice as they cook. A wet brine does the same thing but leaves the surface waterlogged, and wet pork browns poorly. Salt is the one seasoning that travels deep into meat; marinades and rubs stay within a few millimeters of the surface.

Season the chops with about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt each, lay them on a rack and leave them uncovered in the fridge. The cold air dries the surface overnight, which is exactly what you want before a sear. If you only have 15 minutes, salt them right before they hit the pan; the awkward middle window is when the salt has drawn out moisture that hasn't been reabsorbed yet.

Why Pork Chops Curl, and How Scoring Stops It

Pork chops curl because the band of fat and connective tissue around the edge shrinks faster than the meat. Collagen contracts sharply from around 136°F (58°C), and that thin strip pulls the chop into a bowl, lifting the middle off the pan so it never browns evenly. Cut through the fat edge every inch or so, just to the meat and not into it, and the chop stays flat.

Before you lay the chops down, stand them on their fat edge for 2 to 3 minutes. The fat renders and turns golden, and the melted fat adds flavor to the pan for the sear.

How Long to Pan-Sear Pork Chops for a Golden Crust

Pan-sear 1-inch pork chops for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side and about 3 more on the second, with basting, until the center reads 145°F. The first side gets the hardest sear, so leave it alone until it releases from the pan on its own. If it sticks, the crust isn't finished yet.

Browning, the Maillard reaction, starts once the surface of the meat passes about 284°F (140°C), according to the food science of the Maillard reaction. A damp surface can't get hotter than 212°F (100°C) until its water boils away, so pat the chops dry right before cooking. Heat the pan first, then add a high-smoke-point oil such as grapeseed, and lay the chops in only when the oil shimmers. Four big chops crowd a 12-inch skillet and steam each other, so cook two at a time or use two pans. Searing is for flavor and color. It doesn't seal in juices; a seared chop loses moisture as fast as an unseared one, which is why the thermometer matters more than the crust.

Basting Pork Chops With Butter, Garlic and Thyme

Gordon Ramsay bastes pork chops by turning the heat down to medium after the flip, adding butter with smashed garlic and thyme, and spooning the foaming butter over the chops for the last 3 to 5 minutes. Tilt the pan toward you so the butter pools, and baste in a steady rhythm. The butter browns as its milk solids toast, and that nutty flavor coats the crust along with the garlic and herbs.

The order matters. Butter added at the start of a high-heat sear burns, because its milk solids scorch well before the oil does and turn bitter near 356°F (180°C). Wait until the first side is seared and the heat is lower. Basting won't make the inside juicier, since the meat is already full of water and being squeezed by the heat. What it does is brown and flavor the outside and cook the top of the chop gently while the bottom stays on the pan. Sage is a good swap for thyme with pork; our guide to rosemary or thyme in a butter baste explains how each herb behaves in hot butter.

Pork Chop Internal Temperature: 145°F and a 3-Minute Rest

Cook pork chops to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C), then rest them for at least 3 minutes. That's the USDA's safe minimum internal temperature for pork steaks, chops and roasts, measured before the meat leaves the heat. Pork cooked to 145°F can still be faintly pink in the center and is safe to eat, as the USDA explains in its guide to fresh pork. Ground pork is different: it needs 160°F.

Use an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the chop, away from the bone; the National Pork Board suggests going in through the side for chops thinner than 3/4 inch. Start checking a minute or two before you think it's done, because the window is small. Meat proteins tighten between about 122 and 140°F (50 to 60°C), and as the collagen contracts it squeezes juice out of the fibers, so every few degrees past 145°F costs moisture. A chop cooked to the old 160°F standard is noticeably drier.

ThermoPro

ThermoPro TempSwift Instant-Read Digital Thermometer

• Reads in about 1 second, accurate to ±0.9°F, with a 4.3-inch food-grade stainless probe
• Hold and calibration functions, so you can lock a reading away from the heat
• NSF certified and IP65 waterproof, rinse it clean under the tap

Price & availability on Amazon · affiliate linkCheck price on Amazon

Rest the chops for 5 minutes on a board or rack. The temperature keeps climbing a few degrees from carryover heat, and the juices thicken slightly as the meat cools, so less runs out when you cut it. Steak cut after 2 minutes loses about 6% of its weight in juice versus about 2% after 10, and a pork chop behaves the same way. Five minutes is also exactly how long the sauce takes.

Sauce for Pan-Seared Pork Chops: Calvados, Apple and Mustard

The best sauce for pan-seared pork chops comes from the pan they were cooked in. The brown film stuck to the bottom, the fond, is concentrated Maillard flavor, and Ramsay's rule is never to wash it away: cook the apples and shallot in the leftover fat, deglaze with Calvados, add stock, and finish with cream and two mustards.

Granny Smith apples hold their shape because they're firm and tart, and that acidity keeps their pectin, the glue between the cells, from breaking down quickly. A teaspoon of brown sugar helps the cut faces caramelize, which happens from around 320 to 338°F (160 to 170°C). Take the pan off the burner before you pour in the Calvados so it can't flare toward you, then let it bubble down for a minute to scrape up the fond. That short simmer doesn't remove much alcohol: Idaho State University notes alcohol boils at 173°F and that about 85% remains when a liquid is just brought to a boil and taken off the heat. Use hard cider or apple juice with a splash of cider vinegar if you want it alcohol-free.

Heavy cream is the right dairy here. Cream with more than about 25% fat can boil without curdling, even with mustard's acidity in the pan, and the mustard itself helps hold the sauce together as an emulsifier. Reduce the stock by half before the cream goes in, then simmer until the sauce coats a spoon and stir in the resting juices from the board. Don't put the chops back in the sauce to simmer; that pushes them past 145°F and softens the crust you worked for.

Want something different? A green peppercorn sauce or a red wine reduction can be built on the same fond, and a spoonful of Gordon Ramsay chilli jam makes a sweet-hot glaze in the last minute of basting.

Thick Pork Chops: Sear, Then Finish in the Oven

For pork chops thicker than about 1 1/4 inches, sear both sides on the stove, then finish them in a hot oven. A thick chop's crust would burn before the center reached 145°F on the burner alone. The National Pork Board sears chops in a pan, then bakes them at 425°F for roughly 6 to 8 more minutes until they reach 145°F. Use an oven-safe skillet, slide it into the oven after the second side is seared, then baste with the butter back on the stove for the last minute. Our Gordon Ramsay cookware guide covers pans that handle oven heat.

Why Are My Pork Chops Dry or Tough?

Dry pork chops are almost always overcooked chops. Cooking by time instead of temperature is the usual cause, along with chops that are too thin, a pan that's too cool (so the meat cooks through before it browns), or chops that go back into a simmering sauce. Pull them at 145°F and rest them.

Grey, pale chops mean the surface was wet or the pan was crowded. Pale and curled means the fat edge wasn't scored. A bitter, blackened crust means the butter went in too early or the heat stayed on high during basting. Tough but cooked correctly? Slice across the grain, so you cut the fibers short instead of chewing along them.

What to Serve With Gordon Ramsay Pork Chops

Serve Gordon Ramsay pork chops with something that soaks up the sauce. Creamy mashed potatoes or our silky sweet potato puree sit well under the chop, and braised red cabbage, a classic partner for pork and apples, cuts the richness with a little sweetness and acid. Green beans or a sharp watercress salad work on busy nights.

For a fruit twist, try the idea that won a perfect score in the Hell's Kitchen Season 25 premiere: a seared pork chop with a quick strawberry compote instead of the apples. For another butter-basted dinner, the cast iron ribeye uses the same sear, baste and rest, and the Gordon Ramsay pork chops method works on a thick veal chop too.

Gordon Ramsay Pork Chops with Apple-Mustard Sauce

Thick bone-in pork chops salted ahead, seared golden, basted with garlic and thyme butter to 145°F and served with caramelized apples in a Calvados, mustard and cream pan sauce.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 4 servings

Calories 700 kcal

Ingredients

  

Pork chops

• 4 bone-in pork rib or center-cut loin chops, 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick (about 10 oz / 280 g each)
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp grapeseed or other high-smoke-point oil
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed, skins on
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme

Apple-mustard sauce

• 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges each
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Calvados or other apple brandy (or 1/2 cup dry hard cider)
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp whole-grain mustard

Instructions

 

• Pat the chops dry. Cut through the fat around the edge of each chop every inch, just to the meat. Season all over with the salt and set them on a rack. Refrigerate uncovered for 40 minutes or up to 24 hours (or salt them right before cooking if you are short on time).
• Pat the chops very dry again and season with the pepper. Heat a heavy 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then add the oil. When it shimmers, hold two chops on their fat edge with tongs for 2 to 3 minutes until the fat is golden.
• Lay the chops flat and sear without moving them for 3 to 4 minutes, until deep golden brown and they release easily. Flip them. (Cook in two batches, or use two pans, so the chops are not crowded.)
• Turn the heat to medium. Add the butter, garlic and thyme. When the butter foams and smells nutty, tilt the pan and spoon the butter over the chops continuously for 3 to 5 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part, away from the bone, reads 145°F. For chops thicker than 1 1/4 inches, move the skillet to a 425°F oven after the flip until they reach 145°F, then baste on the stove for 1 minute.
• Move the chops to a board, spoon a little of the garlic butter over them and rest for 5 minutes. Repeat steps 2 to 4 with the second batch if needed.
• Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat (keep the garlic for serving). Add the 1 tablespoon butter, then the apple wedges, cut side down, and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until caramelized and just tender. Move to a plate.
• Add the shallot and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until soft. Take the pan off the heat, pour in the Calvados, then return it to the heat and simmer for about 1 minute, scraping up the browned bits.
• Add the stock and boil until reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the cream and both mustards and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce coats a spoon. Stir in the resting juices from the board and taste for salt and pepper.
• Return the apples to the sauce to warm through. Plate the chops, spoon the sauce and apples over and beside them, and serve right away.

Notes

Total time does not include the 40-minute (or overnight) salting. Pork chops are safe at 145°F with a 3-minute rest and may be faintly pink in the center. For an alcohol-free sauce, use apple juice with 1 tsp cider vinegar in place of the Calvados. A star anise pod cooked with the apples adds a warm note. Serve with mashed potatoes or braised red cabbage.

More from the pan: cast iron ribeye, green peppercorn sauce, red wine reduction sauce and sweet potato puree. Herbs for the baste: rosemary or thyme. Browse every dish in Recipes.

Gordon Ramsay Pork Chops FAQs

The questions that come up most: how Gordon Ramsay cooks pork chops, what internal temperature pork chops need, how long to pan-sear them, whether pink pork is safe, whether to brine them, why they curl, when to finish them in the oven, and which sauce to serve.