Grilled Pork Chops without the Grill
No grill? No problem! Bring the grilling inside with the use of your oven’s broiler. With a little bit of set up you can have a delicious grilled pork chop.
Ingredients:
2 - 1 ½”-thick bone-in pork chops
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Vegetable oil
1 lemon, cut in half
Compound Butter
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Salt & pepper to taste
Method:
Mix the kosher salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Generously apply the seasoning to both sides of the pork chops. Transfer chops to a rack on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
Make the compound butter. Mix the softened butter and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Wrap in plastic and keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook the chops.
When you’re ready to cook, set up the oven. Move one oven rack to the top position under the broiler element. Your food should be about 3-inches from the broil element.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a cast iron grill pan or skillet in the oven and allow it to heat for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the grill pan from oven. Set the broiler to High.
Remove the pork chops from the refrigerator and pat dry. Using paper towels and tongs, rub some vegetable oil on the hot grill pan. Place the pork chops on the pan and arrange the lemons next to them, cut side down.
Place the grill pan on the top rack and broil for 2-3 minutes, flip the pork chops and broil for another 2 minutes or until the chops reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Allow the chops to rest for 5 minutes.
Squeeze the grilled lemon over the chops and top with a pat of compound butter before serving.
Chef's Notes:
The broiler in your oven is a great, time-saving tool that’s already in your kitchen. Here are some tips to ensure you get the best quality food when using the broiler.
Position matters.
The higher the rack, the closer to the heating element, and the faster food will cook. To sear food quickly, like a medium rare steak, put the rack on one of the top levels, if you want to cook more slowly without drying food out, think chicken breast, put the rack lower.
Broil high or low.
Most broilers have two levels - high and low. For thicker foods you want cooked through broil on low, for food that you want browned, broil on high.
Don’t walk away.
Food can go from barely brown to burned in a matter of seconds under the broiler. Your food will brown faster, especially toward the end of cooking, so keep an eye on it.