These skillet seared Pork Chops with Mint Chimichurri make for a flavorful family dinner. They’re quick to prepare and taste amazing!! Check out this recipe if you want to learn to make the perfect juicy, tender pork chops. Everyone will be licking the bones and their fingers as they’re finishing dinner:).
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How To Sear Pork Chops?
Everyone wants to know how to sear pork chops in order to get juicy, tender and not overcooked pork chops.
My tricks are simple. You can add flavor by using more sauces and different spice blends but the method is fairly simple.
- Make sure pork chops are properly thawed and room temperature.
- Rub the pork chops on both sides with herbs, salt and garlic.
- Tenderize the chops with a meat tenderizer hammer.
- Don’t place the chops in the skillet until you have heated up the skillet and oil.
- Cook on high for about 4 minutes each side, until the chops are golden brown. Adjust time for chops thickness.
Back in my native country, we called these types of pork chops “berxolla derri”. We always tenderized the meat before cooking because we didn’t use marinades to cook these pork chops.
So as a rule of thumb, if you’re just using a rub, it helps to tenderize the meat with a meat tenderizer. However, if you are using a marinade and letting them chill for half an hour or so, you can skip the process of tenderizing the meat with a hammer.
Types of Pork Chops
There are different types of pork chops and each type will have a different cooking time. For this recipe I used bone in pork chops from the rib.
Pork chops can be from the shoulder, rib, loin or sirloin are. The bone in rib pork chops do great when grilled or seared!
Mint Chimichurri Sauce
We love traditional chimichurri and it’s one of our favorite BBQ condiments. I wanted to add a little more Mediterranean flavor to these pork chops so I experimented replacing parsley with mint. And this Mint Chimichurri turned out to be just the perfect sauce to accompany these pork chops.
How to Serve Pork Chops?
Well, there are so many options and really you can’t go wrong with any of them. We love serving the pork chops with the mint chimichurri and a big side salad. This combinations works if you are trying to eat low-carb or keto.
If you don’t abide by a specific diet, then other sides that would be perfect are:
Skillet Pork Chops with Mint Chimichurri
Equipment
- Skillet
- Food Chopper
Ingredients
- 5 bone in pork chops
- 3 tbsps olive oil extra virgin
Rub
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp dry parsley
- 1 tbsp dry marjoram
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
Mint Chimichurri
- 0.5 cup olive oil extra virgin
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tbsps chopped fresh mint
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes adjust for more spice or less to taste
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsps fresh parsley
Instructions
Mint Chimichurri
- Use a food chopper to chop finely mint, parsley and garlic. Add to olive oil. Then add red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar and salt. Mix well! Set aside to use with the pork chops when serving dinner.
Rub
- Mince the garlic.
- Mix garlic, parsley, marjoram, salt and black pepper together. Rub is ready!!
Prepare the Pork Chops
- It's very important for pork chops to be thawed properly and meat to be room temperature before cooking.
- Tenderize the pork chops on a cutting board with a meat tenderizer.
- Rub the pork chops on both sides with the rub your prepared earlier.
- Heat the skillet and oil.
- Place the pork chops in the skillet using tongs. Let cook on high without moving them much around the skillet for about 4-5 minutes. The timing really varies a bit on the thickness of the pork chops. Flip with tongs once the chops are golden brow. Cook the same amount of time on the other side. These bone in pork chops are thin enough than cooking them on both sides for about 4 minutes is enough time. However, if you are cooking boneless pork chops that are thick, you might have to cook on the sides as well!!
- Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving!! Add the mint chimichurri on the side. Serve with a salad or steamed veggies for low-carb meal or any side dish of your choice if you have no carb limitations. Enjoy:))
Notes
- Pork needs to reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. I highly recommend using a meat thermometer for checking if the chops reached the perfect temperature.
- If you’ll sear more than one rounds of pork chops, then I recommend using a different oil other than olive oil. Or wipe the skillet clean and add few tbsps of olive oil before your start cooking another round.
- It’s totally normal to start cutting on the chops with fork and knife then end up eating them with your fingers:). Bone in pork chops will do that to you!! I guess that’s one of the benefits of making gourmet pork chops at the comfort of your home!! Enjoy:))
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
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Other Pork Recipes
Check out these additional pork recipes.
Mary
Hi Sonila, this Pork Chops with Mint Chimichurri combo looks so delicious. Maybe I will try this recipe over the weekend.
Sonila
Thank you so much Mary:), hope you enjoy them!!
Maria Jose Cayuela
Sonila, te confieso que yo adoro el chimichurri aunque no lo sabía preparar. Con ese toque de menta que tú le das seguro que queda la carne deliciosa. Te felicito
admin
Muchas gracias Maria Jose:)). Yo aprendi hacer chimichurri aqui en Miami, de mi esposo. Esta ves decidí darle un toque del Mediterráneo con menta a este condimento tan rico!!!
Yasmari Bello
This recipe The Pork Chops with Mint Chimichurri so very delicius and easy make
Blanca D
These pork chops are mouth watering! love how you add mint to the chimichurri, that must be so delicious and refreshing.
admin
Thank you so much Blanca!! I hope you enjoy it. Mint definitely adds something extra to the condiment:)
María
Pero qué deliciosa se ve esta receta!!! Siempre he visto y probado el chimichurri tradicional, pero nunca había escuchado acerca del mint chimichurri. Me ha llamado mucho la atención y seguro que me sorprende cuando lo pruebe! Ya te contaré.
admin
Gracias Maria!! A mi me encanta el chimichurri tradicional también y lo hacemos bien seguido en casa. La idea de variar un poco con Mint Chimichurri salió porque en el Mediterráneo nosotros usamos mucho el mint especialmente con cordero y carne de cerdo!! Ojala te gusta:)). Muchas gracias por leer mi blog!