A Pork Chop + Potato Dinner = Both Oldie and Goodie.
An old-fashioned meat and potatoes meal, made easy with our new-fashioned way of using sheet pans to cook dinner. Bone-in pork chops are always a treat, and pairing them with potatoes and Brussels sprouts rounds them out into a classic, hearty meal. The veggies are tossed simply with olive oil and salt, while the chops get a sweet-tart glaze that everyone is going to love. Serve as-is, or with a nice green salad and dinner is done. For more pork dinner ideas, check out our round up of the Best Pork Chop Recipes.
Apricot Glaze: A Pork Chop’s Best Friend
Fruit and pork make a great combination and we especially love the light, delicate sweetness of apricots and pork. Store-bought jam makes it extra easy to add this flavor. We don’t want all sweetness, though, so grainy mustard and cider vinegar add a little hit of acidity, while butter mellows and merges all of these lovely flavors. You’ll melt the butter and then simply whisk it all together to make a pork chop sauce that’s even more delicious than it sounds. You’ll just need:
Butter
Whole-grain mustard
Apricot jam
Apple cider vinegar
How to Cook Pork Chops Aka How the Heck Do You Cook Pork Chops Without Drying Them Out?
The fear of dry pork chops is real—everyone seems to have an experience of ending up with a pork chop that’s dried out instead of juicy and moist, like it should be. Well, not to worry! There are a few things you can do to ensure that your pork chops stay moist as they cook, and all of them are incorporated in this recipe:
Sear the pork chops before baking them in the oven. We’ve listed this as an optional step, and if you’re really committed to only dirtying one pan, you can skip it. But, giving the pork chops a good sear before moving them to the oven will help to lock in the natural juices, keeping the pork chop moist.
Buy good pork chops. As with any meat, buy the very best quality you can. You know what we mean, right? Local, organic, from the fancy butcher shop, etc—you get the idea. Pork chops aren’t the cheapest cut to begin with, so just go ahead and make it splurge-y!
Use bone-in pork chops! This is key to moist pork chops, plus you always get a better flavor with bone-in. And it doesn’t hurt that they look nice, too.
Coat them in a moisture-giving glaze! Not only is this apricot glaze sweet, tart and delicious, it also helps to add some moisture to the mix as the pork chops roast. Yum.
Don’t overcook them! This is a no-brainer, right? But ensuring that you hit the safe “done temp” for pork while also ensuring that you don’t exceed it is the absolute key to nailing that juicy, moist chop. What’s the magic temperature? Well, we’re so glad you asked. We sort of have a lot to say about pork chops and the perfect “done temp”, so read on!
How Long Do You Cook Pork Chops For?
Alright. Grab your instant-read thermometer and let’s talk pork chop done temps. Part of the reason that many home cooks have a particular fear of making dry pork chops may be that, until 2011, the USDA recommended cooking pork chops to an internal temperature of 160°F. In other words, they basically insisted that to make a safe pork chop, you had to overcook it. Now, they've lowered the "safe" recommended temperature to 145°F. We're listing that as the suggested done temp, because we're not trying to get in trouble with the USDA and if you really do catch the pork *right* at 145°F, you'll be OK. That said, we'll also let you know that, ahem, certain incredibly trust-worthy, knowledgeable food writers (we're looking at you, Kenji Lopez-Alt. And you, too, Michael Ruhlman) say that 145°F is too close to dryness to guarantee moist pork chops. Both of them suggest pulling the pork chops at 135°F and letting them rest for a few minutes (the temp will rise a bit as it rests) before slicing and serving. And we’ll just leave that little tidbit of useful information right here and move on. But yeah, 135°F. It’s something to think about.
How To Make This Easy Apricot Pork Chop Sheet Pan
Buying good meat and not overcooking it—that’s the magical secret recipe for making most any meat-centric meal turn out well. Once you nail those two things, it’s impossible to go wrong. Here’s how to make this simple sheet pan dinner:
Chop the veggies.
Sear the pork.
While the pork sears, whisk your apricot glaze together.
Toss the Brussels sprouts and potatoes with a little oil and salt on the sheet pan.
Nestle the chops into the veggies, and brush them with the apricot glaze.
Bake! 375°F until the pork is done and the veggies are tender.
Local Sheet Pan Dinner Fanatic Saves Dinner, Again!
You did it! You made a quick, healthy, delicious dinner! And everyone loves it! And there’s only one pan to clean! We hope you feel all of these things (and more) when you make this pork chop recipe, and when you do, tell us all about it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
