How to Sous Vide Pork Chops

The more I cook meat in a sous vide water bath, the more I am convinced that this method of cooking produces some of the most tender and juicy meat. I have always had a love hate relationship with pork chops. While they can taste really good, they are often very dry and tough almost like shoe leather.

Cooking pork chops in the sous vide water, bath allows them to be perfectly cooked, incredibly moist, and able to be cut with a butter knife.

Below are step by step pictures for preparing and cooking pork chops in a water bath. I used boneless pork loin chops, but using pork chops with the bone in will work just fine as well.

Season the pork chop with your desired spice blend. Sprinkling both sides of the meat with salt and pepper is great or you can also get adventurous with various rubs and seasonings. If desired, add a couple tablespoons of butter to the bag.

Fold the edge of the food safe bag back about 1 inch. Place the pork chops in the bag. Make sure they are side by side and not stacked. Also, I find that it is important to not put too many pieces of meat in the bag. Two or three (small pieces) are plenty.

There are many marinade options like the example above that has oil, minced ginger, garlic and sliced Thai chilies. The pork chops are just packed with flavor!

Unfold the the open edge of the bag  and use the vacuum sealer to seal the chicken breasts in the bag.

Fill your water bath and set the sous vide machine for a temperature of 135F. Once the water has reached the target temperature, add the vacuum sealed pork chops.

Cook them in the water bath for 2 hours. The pork chops are fully cooked after 2 hours, but can stay in the water bath up to 8 hours and still be tender and delicious!

Remove the bag from the water bath and cut it open. Use tongs to gently lift the meat out of the bag and lay it on a plate or cutting board. The pork chop needs to be seared, but first, pat dry both sides of the meat with a paper towel. This allows the chops to get a far better sear when the meat hits the hot skillet.

• Heat a skillet to high heat with a little oil.
• Place the chop in the skillet and sear it for 30-60 seconds per side.
• You can also sear them on a grill or with a kitchen torch.

These pork chops are  moist, full of flavor and amazing just on their own. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce or bbq sauce.

Cooking pork chops in the sous vide is a great method that can be built upon. The above picture is sous vide pork chops with green curry sauce. We love green curry and this recipe takes a modern deconstructed approach to this classic Thai dish.