These balsamic glazed pork chops are so easy to make, and they taste fantastic. Seared then baked and finally smothered in a balsamic glaze. The best part is they are ready in less than 30 minutes, making this a great weekday meal.
One of the things I love about pork chops is how versatile they are and also how easy and quick they are to cook. This is a perfect meal for those on the go or who don’t have a lot of time. They also make for great leftovers, so they are wonderful for meal prep as well. The best part is you never have to worry about dry or bland pork chops with this recipe as the glaze alone will have you coming back for more.
In this recipe
One of the reasons that I love this recipe so much is that everything will probably already be in your kitchen. This makes it easy to just “throw together” and if you need to hop on over to the store everything is easy to get a hold of.
Pork chops: find a good thick cut pork chop. You want it to be at least an inch thick. If you use thinner ones, you should be able to forego the oven. More about that later.
Balsamic vinegar: this is going to add acidity and sweetness to the pork chops and carry the flavors of the other herbs and spices.
Paprika: will add some smokiness to the pork.
A quick and easy glaze
You can never go wrong with a sauce that takes very little time and tastes great. There are a couple of things you will want to be aware of. The first thing is to make sure you make a slurry with the cornstarch. This will prevent little clumps of cornstarch in your glaze when it is done. Secondly, you want to add the cornstarch as soon as the vinegar starts to boil.
This is because the boiling vinegar can irritate your eyes, and you will not want to keep your face right over the pan. Finally keep stirring until it thickens, it should only take less than a minute to reach the best consistency.
The most tender pork chops
Pork chops normally get a bad reputation for being too dry and it is very easy for them to go from perfect to drier than a saltine cracker. However here are a few tips and tricks to make sure they come out well every time. Searing will not lock in the juices, but it is there to make the pork chops taste even better. Searing helps develop flavor as well as quickly introducing heat into the pork chop to accelerate cooking.
The best size for glazed pork chops
The first thing you will want to do is get a thick cut pork chop. While these take longer to cook, they also take a little longer to dry out. This is because you want to get the center to 145°F or 63°C. If you have a meat thermometer, then you will want to remove it from the heat once you are within 3 degrees of that temperature as the pork will continue to cook.
If you are using a thinner pork chop, then you will want to forego the oven. Just cooking it in the pan 2-4 minutes per side can be enough to fully cook the pork chop. A meat thermometer will also be great here as well to make sure it is at the correct temperature.
Looking for other pork chop recipes?
Oven Roasted Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops
Equipment
- 2 Sauté pans, oven safe
- Mixing Bowl
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork chops thick cut preferred
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F, 200°C or gas mark 6. Season both sides of the pork chops with salt, garlic powder, and paprika.
- In a pan over medium high heat the olive oil. Add the pork chops and sear each side cooking for 2-3 minutes per side. Place in the oven and cook for another 7-10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F or 63°C.
- While the pork chops are cooking in a mixing bowl combine the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, honey, mustard see, oregano, and red chili flakes. Whisk to combine. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry.
- Add the balsamic mixture to a pan and heat until it starts to boil. Quickly stir in the cornstarch mixture and keep stirring until it has thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Once the pork chops are done add them to the pan with the glaze and spoon the glaze over the pork chops to coat evenly.
Nutrition
