Why It Happens

• The meaty portion of your pork chops consists largely of flavorful liquid trapped in muscle cells made of protein. The rind of fat around the edge of your chop also owes its structure to a fine network of proteins, but the content of the cells is fat, rather than water. When you cook your chop, the proteins in both the meaty and fatty section react by shrinking and becoming firm, but the fatty edge shrinks more quickly than the chop itself. That causes the meat to buckle and curl, preventing even cooking and spoiling the appearance of the chop.

Slashing the Chop

• The easiest way to fix the problem is to go around the chop with a sharp knife, scoring the rind of fat with a series of shallow cuts spaced approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart. Take cake not to cut through the fat completely and into the chop itself, or you'll create an opening for the pork's flavorful juices to escape into the skillet or onto your coals. There's often a thin layer of gristle between the fat and the meat, which helps you know where to stop. If the rind of fat on your chops is more than the usual 1/4 inch thick, slash it for at least two-thirds of its depth.

How It Works

• The strands of protein that lend structure to the fat run in bands, parallel to the edge of the chop. When you slash through the fat, you sever those bands. They'll still shrink, but each portion of the fat will shrink in on itself, rather than exerting a concerted force on the chop's muscle tissues. The chop itself remains flat as it cooks, while the contracting fat makes a crenellated pattern -- like the wall of a castle -- around the edge of the chop. If you've spaced the slashes evenly, the cuts can create rather a decorative appearance. If you'd rather have an unmarked chop, there are other ways to keep them flat.

Some Alternatives

• The thickness of your chop has a definite impact on the fat's ability to make it curl. Thin-cut breakfast chops might almost double over because they curl so much, while 1-inch-thick dinner chops are barely affected. When you don't want to slash the fat, choose thick chops to minimize the risk of curling. Alternatively, apply pressure to keep the chops flat. A clamshell-style contact grill applies presses on them from above, and will keep chops flat as they cook. In your skillet, use one of the heavy cast-iron presses sold at kitchenware stores to flatten bacon or burger patties. They'll work just as well with chops.