Sweet and Spicy Pan-Seared Pork Chops
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:2 to 3 servings
- 2(1- to 1½-inch-thick) bone-in pork rib chops, patted very dry
- 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- Salt
- ¼ cup whiskey or apple cider vinegar
- 3tablespoons unsulphured molasses (see Tip)
- 1tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
- 1(2-inch) piece ginger, thinly sliced and smashed, plus 1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated
- 1tablespoon unsalted butter
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)
397 calories; 21 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 20 grams sugars; 28 grams protein; 482 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Coat the pork chops with 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and sprinkle generously with salt. In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons water, the remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar, whiskey and molasses. Season with salt.
- Step 2
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium. Add the pork chops and cook, flipping every 2 minutes, until browned on the outside and the internal temperature in the thickest part is 110 to 120 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat if sugar is burning. If your chops have a fat cap, using tongs, stack both chops on top of each other, then grab both chops together and hold upright to sear the fat caps until crisp, about 1 minute.
- Step 3
Lay the chops back down in a single layer and top with the sliced ginger. Add the butter, tilt the skillet and baste the pork by spooning the melting butter and drippings over the pork until the internal temperature registers 135 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and transfer the pork and ginger to a plate to rest for at least 5 minutes. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
- Step 4
Pour the molasses mixture into the skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium, standing back as it might sputter or flame. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce resembles maple syrup and coats a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. It can be tempting to crank the heat, but don’t, or the sauce risks tightening or burning. If your sauce gets too thick, thin with water. Turn off heat and stir in the grated ginger.
- Step 5
Discard the sliced ginger and stir resting juices into the sauce. Serve the pork chops with a spoonful of the sauce.
Tip
- When shopping, look for unsulphured molasses. For this recipe, light molasses is too mild, and blackstrap is too bitter.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
James K
This was a great dinner for two! Substituted maple syrup for the Molasses using 1/2 as much. Sliced the ginger and smashed it as directed but could have skipped the smashing as I scraped it off into the sauce to cook down and strained the sauce as I poured it over the bone-in-chops. Spot on direction in letting the sauce SLOWLY develop over low heat. Adding this to the rotation!
Kathleen
I'll start this thread off by risking being obnoxious. This looks amazing and I'll definitely make it. But, I thought immediately of a holiday dinner that I'm trying to plan for 6 people, and my love of putting something in the oven for hours, then finishing it off, rather than standing over a sputtering stove right before dinner. I'm trying to wrap my brain around doing this with a cut like a pork shoulder. I've got some ideas tumbling about, but feel free to weigh in!
michael
I just made this, did 3 pork chops. Minimal amount of time required standing over the stove, maybe 10 minutes of very easy, no fuss, minimal muss cooking. Quite tasty, we all liked it very much.
Neil
This is a great idea! You could roast a skin-on pork shoulder. Start w/ Melissa Clark's Porchetta Pork Roast as a template, but instead make a ginger-based marinade (grated ginger, touch of miso, bit of brown sugar, in a neutral oil), then follow Clark's direction for roasting. Finish with the molasses-whiskey pan sauce. Good luck!
Nanette
This is a delicious and easy dinner for two, maybe four depending on the size of your pan and/or appetite! For a dinner party, I agree with roasting a piece of meat, but I wouldn't do this with a pork shoulder. You just won't get the flavors and texture that pan searing will give. Save this for another night! (I'm going to make it tomorrow for two because it's quick and easy!
Ann
This is a winner! Made with boneless, thick pork chops, so cooking times were 1-2 minutes longer per step - it was great to have the temperature readings to use. I had way more sauce than I needed for two servings - next time I may add the whiskey first, simmered off the alcohol, then added the rest of the contents of step 1, but reducing the water to 1.5 tablespoons.
NameHelen Kelly
Tasty though we both said too sweet. Molasses is such a rich addition to pork, just leave out the brown sugar. Delicious gravy. Served with coconut roasted acorn squash and sweet potato wedges and broccolini.
Alterations
Separate sauce from cooking juices
UWSGRRL
This makes a lovely weekday meal and could just as well be served for company. I served it with ratatouille from the freezer and savory grits. Great “adult” meal that was made rapidly.
marga
This was appreciated by my meat eaters. I doubled the vinegar and subbed maple syrup for the molasses - but divided in half. The sauce was a perfect sweet/sour feel. Next time I think I will try to lose the brown sugar - FYI: when heated most sweet stuff becomes refined, thus high glycemic, maple syrup is an exception.
Kathy Schurzky
We found this dish a little too sweet with the molasses and sugar, but the cooking technique delivered chops that were moist and browned. I have an herbed pork chop recipe from the NYT Cookbook. Instead of the center cut chops I'll use the rib chops and substitute pepper/herb rub for the sugar and swirl some white wine with the spices left in the pan. Hoping this slower cooking will deliver less dry chops.....and around and around we go!
Helen B
no fresh ginger - I live on an island and we get what the small grocery store has. Tried using powdered ginger sprinkled on the chops. used part molasses and part apple cider vinegar in the sauce, so much liquid! cut back on the salt as there are so many other flavors. The sauce tastes like burned molasses with whiskey though I had it over low heat to thicken for about 10 minutes. Maybe the ginger would have saved it.
human
Really good. I was skeptical of the sauce until it started reducing. Perfect with the pork. Do not discard the sliced sautéed ginger it is delicious
trefoiles
The flavors were right on. The molasses added a complexity that made the dish. I would probably leave out the sliced ginger and double the grated ginger and add while reducing the sauce. Reducing it took way longer than 5 minutes. More like 15, going slowly so the sugar didn’t catch. I would probably cut down the water. It was not too sweet either. Loved the suggestion to put the chops together to brown the cap. I’ll be making this again!
a
I really didn't like this - the molasses flavor was overwhelming, to the point that our kids wouldn't touch the sauce. won't be making again.
M
I made this tonight, using apple cider vinegar instead of whiskey. The sauce simmered for longer than 5 minutes and never thickened. I wonder if that is because of using the apple cider vinegar instead of whiskey and if I leave out the water if it will thicken? I really liked the ginger with the tasty and moist pork chops.
Quinn C
Okay hear me out. I made as-written and I thought the sauce had too much molasses for my taste & so I removed to the side to use later for a veg. In the same saucy pan I added a teaspoon of chicken bullion, knob of butter, 1/4c cream, dozen twists of black pepper, reduce and it was the best sauce I’ve ever made with pork.
Brigham
It was fine, but way too fiddly for something pretty basic.
Laura
This works very well with pork butt might not be as good with chicken because you don't get the fact that you do with pork I think. With rice/couscous, it's really really good!
Carol
This is a suggestion I thought I’d share. I used the sous vide technique to cook 1.5 inch bone in chops then seared them in a cast iron skillet using the brown sugar mixture. They were cooked perfectly and delicious!
Kate
The sauce is fab! Lots of sugar. Doing with an extra thick cut pork chop creates cooking time issues. I’ve done tastier, more tender chops in the oven, but yum sauce. First did on 8/16/23 at Lake Muskoday.
Bethany
This recipe turned out waaayy better then it should have. It was a weeknight in August and the score was kids: 8,567,930 me: minus 30. I had plans to grill the pork, adjust, substitute, etc. but after reading through the recipe more thoroughly than I usually do, I (gasp) made it as instructed and it was wonderful. Already excited about the leftovers.
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