How to Cook Pork Chops With Broccoli Rabe (8 Steps)

No two ingredients cook at the exact same rates, share identical textures, or taste exactly alike, but you can cook different foods simultaneously and create a one-pan meal if you practice kitchen consolidation – the savior of the culinary world. Take pork chops and broccoli rabe, a leafy vegetable, for example. Pork chops respond well to pan-frying, grilling and braising. Just as diverse, broccoli rabe does great when poached, sauteed or simmered. Since both lend themselves well to moist-heat cooking, you can pan-sear the chops in a skillet, add the rabe and some liquid, slide it in the oven, and in less than 15 minutes you have a four-person meal and a one-pan cleanup.

Things You'll Need

Plate
White flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Oil
Cast-iron skillet

Tongs
Stock or wine
Wood spoon
Meat thermometer
Cooling pad
Aluminum foil

Instructions

Take the pork chops out of the fridge and let them reach room temperature on a plate or tray. Lightly dredge the pork chops in white flour spread in an even layer on a plate, and season them to taste on both sides with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of regular olive or vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet and place it on the stove over medium-high heat.
Lay the pork chops down gently in the skillet when the oil starts to shimmer, about 3 or 4 minutes after putting it on the stove. Always place food in a hot pan in the opposite direction you're standing so if oil splatters it won’t hit you.
Pan-sear the chops until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, using tongs to turn them over. Only turn the pork chops once when pan-searing or you’ll disrupt the browning effect.
Turn the heat off and pour 1/4 cup of stock or wine in the skillet for every 2 pork chops, known as deglazing. Turn the heat to medium-high and scrape the pan with a wood spoon to dislodge the brown, caramelized bits sticking to it, known as the fond. Cook until the wine stock or wine nearly evaporates.
Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock and 1/2 pound of sliced broccoli rabe to the skillet for every 2 pork chops. Turn the broccoli rabe over in the skillet to moisten it on all sides. Place the pan in the oven on the middle rack.
Cook bone-in pork chops for 10 minutes and insert a meat thermometer in the side of one. The pork should measure at least 140 F before you remove them. If cooking boneless pork chops, cook for 7 minutes before checking the temperature.
Remove the skillet and place it on a cooling pad. Loosely place a piece of foil over the broccoli rabe and pork chops and let them rest for about 10 minutes. The temperature of the pork will climb to 145 F while resting.

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