What am I doing wrong when frying pork chops?

Question

I marinate them in a hawaiian marinade and then throw them in the frying pan on med/med-hi (6 out of 10 on my stovetop) and by the time they are done cooking the sugar based marinade has left burned remanants all over the place. Anyway to curb this effect and still get tasty chops?

Answer 1

Start out at a higher temperature, but turn it down after it gets up to a boiling point and cook slowly and maybe even try covering it.  And really, it doesnt take pork chops too long to cook either.

Answer 2

Try browning them in the fry pan then put them in the broiler on a rack inside a backing pan to catch the drippings.  Or just in the oven at 350 long enough to get cook them completely. How long depends on how thick they are.

By putting them on the baking rack the fat will drip into the pan under them. You can baste them with the marinade or reserve some of the marinade before you put the meat in to marinate it and then pour it over the chops when you serve it. Heat the marinade to pour it.

Answer 3

A sugar based, sweet marinade is only good for a grill, broiler or oven baking, not in a fry pan.  

Answer 4

Try cooking them at a lower temp. Try about a 3-4 for a little longer time.

Answer 5

Just pan fry the chops until done and then simmer them in the marinade for a few minutes.  You could also put the wholel thing in a casserole dish and bake them in a 325 oven for about 40 min.

Answer 6

I'd say cook them in a lower temperature. Start with a cold skillet, add the oil and let it warm and then the chops. Adding the chops to a warm, not scorching hot, oil will allow them to cook evenly and then the marinade wont stick to the pan as much.

After you are done frying ( I assume its only in a small amount of oil), you can always ad some stock to deglaze the pan, add whatever small amount of spices, and make yourself a sauce for the top :)

Answer 7

it caramelized? cook it slower, start it on a low heat so the inside cooks and the out side wont burn. then increase the heat. the meat will be softer  and retain the flavor.  

Answer 8

Scrape off as much of the marinade as possible before cooking.  Rinse them if you have to, the flavor is already inside the meat.

Answer 9

What's happening is that the sugar in the marinade is scorching from the heat; it's pretty common.  What I think you want is caramelization, where the sugar turns to a syrupy substance.

I would suggest that if you're going to use the marinade, that you grill your chops.  OR steam the chops (cook over a medium-low heat with a lid on the pan and about 3 TBS of water added, and brown them during the last 5 minutes or so.  Or you could cook your chops as you normally would, using the marinade as a brush-on rather than something that is on the meat the whole time.