How to Stuff a Pork Chop - Cooks Illustrated

Published May 1, 2005.

Filling the wrong chop with the wrong kind of stuffing and then cooking it using the wrong method produces familiar but easily improved results.

The Problem

Stuffed pork chops are rarely well executed - too often, they’re crammed full of bulky bread stuffing that does little to enhance the flavor of lean pork.

The Goal

We were after a great pork chop: thick and juicy, seared crusty brown on the outside, and enhanced, not overwhelmed, by a flavorful stuffing.

The Solution

First, we had to buy the right chop. The perfect choice turned out to be the rib chop, which has an unbroken eye of meat into which a wide pocket can be cut with a sharp paring knife. We then developed stuffing mixtures that incorporated enough moisture, fat, and assertive flavors to enhance the lean, mild pork. Our final choices were creamy, even sticky -- using spinach and fontina cheese for one recipe and a red onion jam with port, pecans, and dried fruit for another. We stuffed the chop modestly and sealed the pocket with a citrus wedge. The best cooking results came from searing the brined, stuffed chops in a hot skillet and transferring them to a preheated baking sheet to finish cooking in the oven.

list of recipes

America’s Test Kitchen is a 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated magazines and is the workday destination for more than three dozen test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to America’s Test Kitchen (www.americastestkitchen.com) on public television.