What's The Best Oven Temperature For Cooking Pork Chops?

Pork chops are a perfect dinner protein. Lean, packed with flavor, and versatile enough to fit with any number of accompanying ingredients, it's no wonder they remain a staple of American cuisine. For those looking to refine their techniques, we spoke to Matthew Stowe, executive chef at Joey Restaurants, which is set to open a new location in Santa Clara, California, about the best ways to cook pork chops in the oven.

When it comes to temperature, chef Stowe says hotter is better, though he issues a note of caution: "I wouldn't go straight into the oven," he says. "I would sear it in a pan and then put it into the oven to get some color on the outside." There are several reasons for that. The first is that by creating a seared exterior, the interior is able to stay more moist, as the crisped surface holds the liquid better. But there's another reason that's even more simple. "If you just throw a pork chop into an oven at 400 degrees, it'll cook, but you're never going to get that nice roasted caramelized flavor on the outside that really is the most enjoyable part when you're eating a piece of meat," Stowe says.

As long as the oven is red-hot and you monitor the internal temperature, it should be an effective cook. "400, 425, 450 [degrees Fahrenheit]," Stowe says. Just remember that cooking times may vary depending on if it's a boneless or bone-in chop.

Cooking pork chops in the oven allows for the perfect combination of sear and tender meat, and is perfect for dishes like one-skillet French onion pork chops. But did you know you can actually use your grill in a way that allows it to essentially function as an oven while cooking pork chops? 

A pork chop is generally a meat you should think twice about grilling, given how little marbling they contain to render. This gives them the propensity to dry out before they've hit the exterior char you're looking for. However, if you follow chef Matthew Stowe's advice on how to use the grill like an oven, it can reinvent the way you cook these tasty morsels. "... If it's really thick, I would mark it on the grill and then put it on the top part of your barbecue and close the lid," Stowe says. "Then [the grill is] acting like an oven, so you kind of brown the outside and then you're using the barbecue as an oven to finish the cooking."

This use of the two-zone grilling technique, starting the meat over direct flames to achieve the desired sear before finishing on indirect heat in a closed grill, is the same concept as the oven technique, and can yield beautifully juicy pork chops with perfect grill lines. After that, all that's left is figuring out what to drink with your chops, such as a Beaujolais or cold hefeweizen.