Marinaded pork chops are great both baked and broiled. They retain moisture well. The type of vinegar you use will alter the way the marinade tastes. Apple cider vinegar adds a subtly fruity taste and generally is a good accompaniment to pork. Wine vinegars have a more potent, complex taste, and balsamic vinegar offers a blend of sweet and sour flavors. You can experiment with various types of other flavored vinegars until you find one that appeals to your personal sense of taste. Experiment with the ingredients of the marinade as desired. In general, marinades need to have an acid, like vinegar, and an oil. Other flavors can be contributed depending on the sweeteners, condiments, spices, and herbs you use. For example, another popular choice for pork chops is a marinade consisting of soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Other acids, like pineapple juice or lemon juice, can be used instead of the vinegar.
A marinade also helps tenderize and moisten meat. The longer you allow the pork to sit in the marinade, the more flavorful it will become upon being cooked. If you leave it in for more than a few hours, however, you can actually cause the pork to become even tougher.
Breaded pork chops are better baked than broiled. They are more generally more common than marinaded pork chops, and the breading actually helps to prevent the meat from drying out by partially shielding it from direct heat. An easy way to beat an egg is to crush or pierce the yolk first before quickly whisking the yolk and white together.
Crush the mix until fine crumbs are formed. If using cornbread mix or dry bread crumbs, no crushing is necessary. Both pork stuffing mix and herb stuffing mix work well.
Egg acts as a binding agent and helps adhere the coating onto the meat.
Both marinades and breaded pork chops can be baked. Nonstick aluminum foil or parchment paper can also be used instead of butter or cooking spray.
If desired, you can drizzle a small amount of melted butter over breaded pork chops to help them brown. Spraying them with a butter-based cooking spray will have a similar effect. Note that this may not make a difference in pork chops prepared with a marinade, however.
Note that for some marinades, the juices will always have some tint of color due to the color of the marinade.
Broil marinaded pork chops, but avoid using this method with breaded pork. The intense heat is likely to burn the coating too quickly. Most broilers only have an “on” setting, but if yours has separate “high” and “low” settings, preheat it to “high. " A broiler pan is the best option because the rack keeps the meat raised above the rendered fat that drips off into the bottom of the pan. This can prevent the fat from becoming too hot and catching fire. Do not line the broiler pan with aluminum foil or coat it with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
Cook for 5 minutes or until the top begins to brown. Flip and continue cooking until the other side is also brown. The finished pork chops should have no pink inside.
