Brined Pork Chops With Fennel

why do I have to set oven to 400 degrees

This dish is amazing, I brined for a about 4 hrs very very important , I used boneless pork scotch fillets the results were amazing , I also added some red and yellow capsicum to the fennel , it was great

The reason that the chops are tough here is simple. Too much heat! I learned that to produce tender meat you can cook it at high heat for a short time as one does for a steak or braise it in liquid for a long time at low heat. No way do you “braise” it in a 400 degree oven! You could add more vegetables, more liquid, lower the temperature, do it on the stove top, etc. but not a 400 degree oven. Sam Sifton’s smothered pork chops (braised with sliced onions) is a favorite of mine.

The problem with this recipe is that if you sear the chops on high heat for 3 minutes a side they are going into the oven at 130-140. 25 minutes at 400f will have them well above 175

I’ve been making this recipe for years now, and I’ve made it enough times to know that the listed searing time is too short and the cooking time is too long. Other than that this wins every time.

Delicious I made this as written. I used bone in thick cut pork chops, convection oven 400. Next time 375 degrees Delicious with baked Granny Smith apples.

Everybody loved this recipe! I used a pork loin and marinated it overnight for approximately 20 hours It was moist and tender, and absolutely delicious!

This is delicious. I followed instructions re brining and searing. But to get to the recommended temperature of 140 degrees, I cooked it (in 400 degree oven) for only about 12 minutes. I recommend checking temperature well before the 20 minutes in recipe

For a very thick chop, cook to 140, takes about 25 minutes at 375. Try deglazing fennel onion with wine before putting into onion…

Okay, so I'll admit I used thick-cut boneless pork chops rather than bone in bc that's what was available and looked good at the store. Followed the rest of the instructions from there. I let them sit in the brine for the recommended 24 hours. They were the juiciest most flavorful pork chops we've ever eaten. Served with roasted potatoes. Perfect.

I don’t care for fennel so I substituted sliced apple and celery I will also check my temps a bit earlier, at 20 min they were at 160. Still tender and tasty but would like to see 140

I cooked this recipe yesterday and it was very good, but the times need to be modified. I had to double the time (10 minutes) in order to get the fennel and onions somewhat soft. After the pork chops have been browned three minutes per side, cooking the entire dish in the 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes was way too long for my pork chops. I checked my pork after 18 minutes and it was already up to 155 degrees.

If you have pork chops that are thinner than the picture then the brine will make the pork chops borderline too salty. A little lemon over the pan at the end of cooking helped though. Overall good dish! Even my partner that doesn't like fennel liked it in this.

Wish I'd read the comments before trying: the brine is plenty salty without adding any more salt during cooking. The dish overall was a bit too salty, but it was the most tender, flavourful pork I've ever made. Brined for ~36 hrs and dried very well before browning. Done to perfection at 12 min in a 350 F convection oven.

Delicious. For boneless chops check temp after 15” but let the fennel/onion stay in the oven for more caramelization. Wonderful with generous handfuls of HH parsley, fennel fronds, and lemon garnish.