FOOD NEWS
The Buttery Baste For More Exciting Pork Chops
By Haldan Kirsch
Pork chops are a versatile cut of meat that can be baked, grilled, fried, or even air fried. They can be dressed up with a maple brine, soaked in a Thai marinade, or infused with several other flavor options; however, the best way to prepare pork chops is to butter-baste them by continuously spooning a hot fat — preferably butter — over the meat.
Butter basting helps the meat cook evenly on both sides while infusing it with the rich flavors of the butter and the aromatics and spices you add to it. Most meats are seared on one side, then flipped to the other, but basting applies heat to both sides, which allows you to sear one side while caramelizing the other in the slow-browning butter fats.
To butter-baste, sear your pork chop, flip it frequently until it's about 30 degrees short of the finished temperature, and then add the butter and aromatics. Next, tip the pan at an angle and quickly spoon the melting butter over the meat and aromatics until your pork chop has finished cooking — be sure to keep the browned butter as a sauce to be added to the final product.