Baked BBQ Pork Chops Recipe

Pork, aka "the other white meat," can be a surprisingly budget-friendly dinner option, especially as it's sometimes priced even lower than chicken. It's also quite versatile, and pork chops, especially, are super-easy to cook. As developer Kate Shungu says of her baked barbecue pork chop recipe, "I love a quick dinner recipe for busy nights, and this one definitely fits the bill." It only calls for seven simple ingredients and can be on the table in about half an hour. The richness of these pork chops is offset by the sweet and tangy sauce, with your barbecue sauce of choice picking up the spices in the dry rub for a subtle depth of flavor.

This simple dish is a hearty and satisfying entree and one you can easily adjust based on your taste preferences or the ingredients you have on hand. Although Shungu likes to use bone-in pork chops, she says the boneless kind will work, as well, even the thin-cut ones as long as you reduce the cooking time so they don't come out too dry. Shungu suggests serving these chops with comfort foods like mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese, while they would also pair well with a green or potato salad.

This recipe starts off with pork chops seasoned with a dry rub made from brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, and salt. You'll also need olive oil to help the seasonings stick to the meat and barbecue sauce for a sweet topping.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Place the pork chops in an oven-safe dish and rub them with the olive oil.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, paprika, salt, and garlic powder.

Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the pork chops, turning to coat them.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the pork chops from the oven and pour the barbecue sauce evenly over the top.

Bake for 10 additional minutes, uncovered, or until the pork chops reach at least 145 F.

Let rest for 3 minutes, then top with chopped parsley if desired. Serve while still warm.

If you've been cooking pork chops for a long time, there's a chance you may be overcooking this cut of meat. Back in 2011, the USDA made a change to its recommendation for the proper pork cooking temperature. Up until that time, it had decreed that all pork products needed to reach an internal temperature of 160 F before they were safe to eat. Sadly, generations of kids may have grown up thinking of pork chops as dry and flavorless for that reason. Now, however, the guidelines say that it's safe to remove pork chops from the oven or take them out of the frying pan once a meat thermometer reads 145 F. (Ground pork, however, still needs to hit 160 F.)

Even when your pork chops reach that magic number, you shouldn't dig in right away. The USDA also mandates a three-minute rest period, during which the chops may continue cooking in the residual heat. Once the three minutes have elapsed, they should not only be cool enough that they won't burn your mouth, but will also be bacteria-free and safe to eat.

A dry rub is a seasoning mix that typically contains salt and other flavoring ingredients and may also include sugar. Dry rubs are often used with smoked and grilled meats, as they can help to create a tasty crust on the meat when exposed to high temperatures. Shungu tells us that at its most basic, a good dry rub combines a mixture of sweet and savory seasonings, for a balance of flavor that complements your meat of choice. If you follow this recipe to a T, you'll be making a simple dry rub out of brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, and salt. If you wish, you may swap out these seasonings for one of the many commercially available dry rubs. You can also try our all-purpose dry rub or customize your own seasoning blend.

Using the dry rub from this recipe as a template, combine one part salt with six parts sugar, either white or brown, then season to taste. (You can always dial back on or even omit the sugar, however, since barbecue sauce is pretty sweet on its own.) Onion powder can be used in place of garlic powder, while smoked or hot paprika or even chili powder can be used instead of sweet paprika. Add some cayenne to spice things up, or go with chipotle powder for a smokier kind of heat. You can also mix in additional seasonings such as cumin, oregano, curry powder, or even cinnamon or nutmeg.