Pork chop

thumb|Cooked pork chops

thumb|Raw pork chops

A pork chop is a thick slice of meat cut from the domestic pig, particularly one adjacent to a rib and usually served with it. It may be cooked in many ways, the simplest being fried or grilled, plain or coated with flour and dipped in egg and breadcrumbs. Numerous combinations of vegetables, fruits, spices and herbs are cooked with pork chops in the cuisines of many countries, including Austria, Britain, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US.

Although pork was favoured in classical and mediaeval times it was not until the nineteenth century that pork chops became popular. Modern breeding techniques mean that it is no longer necessary on food hygiene grounds to cook pork, including chops, for as long as used to be recommended, with the result that a juicier result can be obtained.

Definition and history

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines a pork chop as "A thick slice of pork, esp. one adjacent to a rib and usually served with it".. The first use of the term cited in the OED dates from c. 1752, In her 1954 Food in England, Dorothy Hartley wrote of the Anglo-Saxons enjoying a grilled pork chop with apple sauce and ale, but although pork was a favoured meat in classical and mediaeval times it was not until the nineteenth century that pork chops became widely popular. Hanna Glasse (1747) makes no mention of pork chops in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, but Mrs Beeton (1861) gives two recipes for pork chops in Beeton's Book of Household Management.

Old cookery books insist that pork must be thoroughly cooked, erring if at all on the overcooked rather than the undercooked side. Modern breeding techniques have made it possible to cook pork, including chops, to a lower temperature, helping the meat to remain juicy while still being safe to eat. Pork chops are sometimes sold marinated, or they can be marinated at home. In their Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle and Julia Child suggest marinating pork chops in brine, lemon juice or wine.

International variations

Austria and Germany

Among Austrian ways of serving pork chops is – braised with sauerkraut. , familiar in Austrian and German cuisines is made of pork chops, deboned, beaten thin, breadcrumbed and shallow fried, served with a mushroom gravy. German dishes using pork chops include – cooked with mustard in white wine, and – cooked with paprika, Speck, peppers and sour cream.

Britain

The traditional British way with pork chops is to trim them of superfluous fat, brush with lard, dredge in flour and grill quickly; they are served with hot apple sauce, brown gravy and boiled potatoes. Alternative British methods of cooking pork chops include braising with honey and cranberries or cherries, and casseroling with lemon peel, sherry or Madeira, sultanas and apple.

China

A Chinese way of cooking pork chops is marinading them in oyster and soy sauces and then frying with white and red onion, ginger, garlic and wine. The meat of a pork chop is sometimes sliced whole from the bone and beaten thin, resembling an escalope, before being marinated in wine and soy sauce and then fried.

France

The pork chop plays a prominent part in French cuisine. Among the ways of serving it are:

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| Berlin style

| Dipped in egg and breadcrumbs, fried; mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage with sliced apples served separately.

| With sauerkraut

| Browned in lard, placed in baking dish with pre-braised sauerkraut, covered with raw apple slices, moistened with white wine and a little beef stock, braised in oven.

| Butcher style

| Not trimmed, lightly flattened, dipped in melted butter and breadcrumbs, grilled; mashed potatoes and butcher sauce served separately.

| Braised in white wine with sage and rosemary

| A Calabrian dish with pickled artichoke, pickled mushroom and tomato

| Slowly cooked with white wine and chicken stock, mustard, sage and balsamic vinegar

| The chops are cooked with anchovy filets, parsley and red, yellow or green peppers

| The chops are cooked with a large quantity of grapes in white wine and chicken stock

| "Drunken pork chops" – sautéed with red wine, fennel seeds, garlic and parsley

Spain

Among Spanish recipes for pork chops are – braised with orange juice and ginger, served with sour cream, – with garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, coriander seed, cinnamon cooked in red wine vinegar and orange juice, served with a pineapple and lime sauce (), and – cooked with garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds, chili flakes lemon juice and olive oil.

US

In his 1972 book James Beard's American Cookery the American chef James Beard gives recipes for pork chops with cream gravy, breaded pork chops, pork chops Creole, chilied pork chops, pork chops with mushrooms, pork chops with onions, pork chop sauerkraut casserole and pork chop and potato scallop.

Alternative chop cuts

Chops vary in size from smaller foreloin chops (or cutlets), through to the middle loin chops, both of which have the bone in. Chump chops are boneless and the biggest of the three. They all come from the loin and can be cooked in the same way. In American butchery rib chops come from the rib portion of the loin, and are similar to rib eye steaks; blade or shoulder chops come from the spine and tend to contain much connective tissue. The sirloin chop is taken from the (rear) leg end and also contains much connective tissue. The shoulder end produces chops that are considerably fattier than the chops taken from the loin end.

The "Iowa Chop" is a large thick middle cut, its name coined in 1976 by the Iowa Pork Producers Association due to the state producing more pork than any other in the US. The middle-cut loin is often over thick, and likened to a quality cut of beef for its size and tenderness.