Why Bone-In Pork Chops Are A Must For Juicy Results In The Air Fryer

Pork chops are tricky almost any way you slice them. The lean, virtually white meat's relatively low fat content just positions it more at risk for drying, versus something more forgiving like a nicely marbled steak. Some butchering blunders, such as removing the fat cap, all but ensure dry pork chops, and there are plenty more cooking mistakes that will ruin your pork once you get it home, too. Pork chops will usually just turn out bad or good with little margin for error in between. But, fortunately, (and likely the reason they haven't disappeared from dinner tables across the country), there are also some things you can do to improve your final pork chop product.

Pork chops are one of the best types of meat you can cook in the air fryer, for example. And bone-in chops are a must when cooking pork in these small convection ovens. Bone-in is recommended in most cases due to even small amounts of flavorful marrow melting out of the bone and adding its richness to the pan juices, which is particularly valuable in mild pork's case. The bones also tend to be attached to fattier pork chop cuts, too, bringing tasty moisture. The air fryer's quickness and even heat distribution is part of what makes it effective and convenient, but those qualities can also make it easier to overdo it and really zap your foodstuffs. A pork chop bone absorbs some of that targeted heat, slightly slowing down the cooking process, which also helps keep the meat from overcooking.

The United States Department of Agriculture wants you to cook pork chops to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Confirming that temperature with a food thermometer means that, contrary to old-fashioned belief, a little pork pinkness is generally safe. And, once you've calibrated your air fryer pork chops, you can actually get them that way more consistently with the little appliance than via other vehicles like the oven or stovetop, which might have cold or hot spots.

When making an air fried bone-in pork chop, preheat the machine to avoid overcooking. When you introduce an item before the air fryer has reached its intended temperature, you're adding to the cook time — even just those incrementally increasing degrees. The longer you cook it, even with the protective bone, the greater the chance of a dry pork chop.

For a nice, thick, seasoned, bone-in pork chop, you want to reach 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for about six minutes, flip, and cook for six more minutes before checking the temperature. It's better to register a little under and cook a bit longer than to go over, so reduce the cooking time by a minute or two if you've sourced an especially large chop. Once you've air fried pork chops a couple of times, you'll get a better feel for how long they need and won't have to pause as much. Finally, when you're all done and ready to savor the fruits of your labor, you can pair your pork chops with red or white wine, thanks to the protein's versatility.