Pork Chops in Milk Marinade

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Easy recipe for pork chops in milk marinade with lots of garlic and seared in the skillet. Served with vegetable rice.

Milk brined or milk marinated pork chops – a super easy, cheap, and tasty recipe suitable for any season. And look at those golden chops, don’t they make your mouth water? For more pork chops recipes, check out these Baked Pork Chops and Potatoes or the Pork Chop Burger (with Mustard and Onions).

Why and how to tenderize pork chops with milk?

Milk is more effective in tenderizing meat than other marinades. The milk enzymes break the proteins, softening the fibers and making the meat more tender. And the milk-tenderized pork chops will remain juicier, the risk of them drying out during cooking reduces.

Other milk products suitable for tenderizing meat (not only pork but chicken or beef as well) are yogurt or buttermilk. However, they will make the meat tangier, while milk keeps it not only tender but also more genuine in taste.

How long to marinade the meat in milk?

For at least 2 hours and preferably overnight, so up to 24 hours. I keep it in the marinade overnight most of the time.

Tips for best results

Flavors:

• Flavor the milk marinade by adding spices or dried herbs. In this case, lots of garlic, it imparts the chops an amazing flavor.
• Alternative spices: sweet, hot or smoked paprika, ground cumin or/and coriander, spice mixtures used for pork, and so on.
• Alternative herbs: rosemary, savory, thyme.

Dish:

• Use a non-metallic container for marinating the meat, metal might react with the ingredients of the marinade, changing the flavor of the brine. Glass casserole dishes (like Pyrex, for instance) are great, they are large and flat, you can arrange the meat inside in one layer and cover it evenly with the milk brine.
• Always keep the marinating meat refrigerated. And covered.
• However, remove it from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking, so that the meat has time to reach room temperature.

Thickness:

• Adjust the cooking time according to the size (particularly thickness) of the chops. The best way to ensure that the meat is perfectly cooked is to use a meat thermometer (Amazon affiliate link).

Recipe ingredients

Pork chops:

• With the bone in, each weighing about 6-7 oz/ 175-200 g.

Marinade:

• Full-fat milk, about 3 cups/ 750 ml. Please use as much as required to submerge the meat pieces completely in the marinade.

Other ingredients:

• Garlic and sweet paprika powder for the brine.
• Flour for coating and oil for cooking the chops.

For the rice: long grain rice, onion, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, bell pepper, tomato paste, paprika powder, marjoram, stock, oil, fine sea salt, and black pepper. The rice is an optional side dish but it fits this pork chop recipe perfectly.

How to brine pork in milk?

• Salt the meat generously on both sides. Place in the marinating dish.
• Mix about 1 cup milk with the grated garlic cloves and distribute evenly all over the meat. Add the remaining milk, making sure that the chops are covered with the liquid.
• Cover the dish with its lid or with plastic foil and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes prior to cooking.

How to cook in a skillet?

• Shake the meat well to remove the marinade and pat dry with kitchen towels. The meat really has to be dry.
• Mix flour, salt, pepper, and sweet paprika powder. Use this mixture to season the chops, press lightly to make sure it coats the meat well.
• Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet. A non-stick pan would do the job as well. The bottom of the pan should be covered in a very thin layer of oil, about 2 tablespoons oil should be OK.
• Fry the chops on one side for 3 minutes. Turn and cook for further 2 minutes until golden.
• If the pork chops are thinner, reduce the cooking time. If they are thicker add a couple more minutes.
• Don’t overcook the meat, it can still be slightly pink in the middle.
• Let rest on a warm platter for a few minutes before serving.

Recipe FAQ

How to serve?

• Serve immediately after the short resting time.
• Make sure to pour the juices accumulated into the platter while the meat is resting over the meat on the serving plate, they are delicious!
• You can serve with the bonus rice recipe below or any kind of rice you like.
• Other suitable side dishes are potatoes in any form: mashed, oven-baked, sauteed, and so on.
• Or try some pan-fried or baked sweet potato slices.
• Add some vegetables like Brussels sprouts or cauliflower in winter or a fresh green salad with yogurt dressing or vinaigrette in summer.

More pork recipes

Pork Chops in Milk Marinade

Easy recipe for pork chops in milk marinade with lots of garlic and seared in the skillet. Served with vegetable rice.

4.36 from 82 votes

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Course: Meat Recipes

Cuisine: Gypsy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 4

Calories: 281kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

• ▢
  large skillet or nonstick pan

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Ingredients 

Pork chops:

• ▢ 4 pork chops about 175-200 g/ 6-7 oz each
• ▢ 5 garlic cloves
• ▢ 3 cups full-fat milk 750 ml/ 25 fl.oz, Note 1
• ▢ sweet paprika powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

Milk marinade:

• Generously sprinkle the pork chops with salt. Place them in a shallow, glass casserole dish (like Pyrex, Note 2).
• Stir marinade: Grate the garlic and mix it with about one cup of milk.
• Marinade pork: Pour this milk carefully over the pork chops. Pour more milk until the pork chops are completely covered with milk. Cover the dish with plastic foil and place it in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
• Remove the dish from the refrigerator about one hour before cooking the meat.

Cook pork chops:

• Prepare chops for cooking: Take them out of the brine and dry them very well with kitchen paper. Coat them lightly with the flour, sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and sweet paprika powder on both sides.
• Heat the oil in a skillet or another pan. You should have a thin oil film on the entire bottom of the skillet; two tablespoons were enough for my 12-inch skillet.
• Cook pork: Add the pork and cook for 3 minutes on one side until golden; turn and continue cooking for another 2 minutes until golden. You might add one minute or so if the chops are on the larger side.
• Check internal temperature; it should be 145°F/ 63 °C.
• Rest meat: Transfer pork chops to a warm plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for a few minutes.
• Serve: Place the meat on serving plates and pour some of the meat juices collected in the platter over the rice and the meat. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. Use enough milk to submerge the meat completely.
2. Don’t use a metallic dish for marinating the meat.

 

Optional rice dish: 

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 large carrot

1 small bell pepper

1 small zucchini

1 cup/ 200 g long-grain rice

2 tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

½ teaspoon sweet paprika powder

½ teaspoon dry marjoram

2 cups/ 500 ml chicken stock

fine sea salt and pepper

Chop the onions and the garlic very finely. Heat the oil in a pot and cook the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. While the onions are cooking, cut the carrot into thin slices or half slices. Slice the pepper and the zucchini as well. Add the vegetables to the pot and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the washed and drained rice and stir for a couple of minutes. In the meantime, chop the tomatoes into small cubes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sweet paprika, and marjoram to the pot stir well. Add broth and some pepper. Cover and let cook on low heat for about 20-25 minutes or until the rice is cooked to your liking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the dish | Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 517mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

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