Pan-Seared Pork Loin Chop with Sage

From the blog For Love of the Table

Place a heavy sauté pan (cast iron or French steel are perfect) that is just large enough to hold the pork over medium-high to high heat. While the pan heats, pat the surfaces of the pork dry with a paper towel and season the pork chop(s) well with salt and pepper. Add a thin film of oil to the pan—when the oil ripples and a faint wisp of smoke appears, add the pork to the pan. Regulate the heat to maintain an active sizzle (you will probably have to reduce the heat slightly). When the pork is golden brown on the first side (after a couple of minutes), turn it over to brown the other side. When the second side is golden brown, reduce the heat slightly and if you have thick chops, briefly place the chops on their edges, rotating and moving so that all of the edges are lightly seared.

Return the pork to their first sides and add some butter to the pan (2 to 3 teaspoons per chop) and allow it to melt and foam. For each chop add 2 large...or 3 or 4 small...sage leaves (tearing large leaves in halves or thirds) to the butter. Turn the chops over a couple of time to coat and baste them in the sage and butter. At this point you may continue to cook them on the stove top...or (and this is my preference) transfer them to a 375° oven to finish the cooking. Whichever you choose, continue to turn the chops occasionally to baste them with the butter and encourage them to cook evenly.

You should cook the pork to the doneness that you prefer. I like mine to be juicy...with a faint touch of pink...which occurs just under 140°, so I remove my pork from the pan/oven when it is somewhere between 130° and 135° (the temperature will continue to increase as the pork rests). When it has reached the temperature you like, remove the pork from the pan and pour the sage-infused butter and drippings over the pork. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice (if you like) and serve with the drippings poured over.

The length of cooking time will depend on the thickness of the pork chops, but for a chop that is around an inch thick, it reaches my desired temperature in about 12 to 15 minutes from the time I put it in the pan.

http://www.forloveofthetable.com/2015/06/simple-food-for-everydaybasmati-pilaf.html

As published on forloveofthetable.com