Learn how you can make breaded pork chops in the oven crispy by using a combination of Panko bread crumbs and crushed Ramen noodles in the breading. I will also share my top tip to get these pork chops from drying out.
📋 What's New In This Post (4/28/25) - Updated the formatting and added new FAQ section.
The 4 Bs of Juicy Oven Baked Pork Chops
Buterfly them.
Brine them.
Bread them.
Bake them.
These are four steps to make the most delicious baked pork chops you've ever had. This is one of those cases where taking the extra time to butterfly and brine your own pork chops will pay off in a big way. If your baked pork chops have always come out dry, you're about to change your life—at least when it comes to baked, breaded pork chops!
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Ingredients
I have two sets of ingredients to make these pork chops. First let's look at what I use to make a brine for the pork chops.
- Vegetable broth - If you don't have vegetable broth you can make it from veggies scraps. You also could use chicken broth or stock. If you have none of these things that you can just use water. It won't have any additional flavor on it's own but will help distribute the other ingredients to the center of the meat.
- Kosher salt - Any type of salt will work for this but I prefer to use the Diamond Crystal Kosher salt that recently became available at Target stores.
- Brown sugar - You can use either light or dark brown sugar. I like to use the dark because it has more molasses in it. Speaking of molassses, if you have some and some white sugar you can make your own brown sugar in a food processor.
- Whole Black peppercorns - You don't need to even break them apart but if you have them already a pepper grinder than you don't want to open back up, then you can grind them in as well. You can use white peppercorns or a mix of peppercorns if you like (like a container labelled as rainbow peppercorns).
Now let's look at the list of what you need for the pork chops themselves including the breading.
- Pork Chops - Ideally I would pick out 2 inch thick pork chops. You have the option of using either bone-in or boneless pork chops. I would rather use the boneless ones so I don't waste any breading on a bone I am not going to eat. Plus I like to butterfly my pork chops which you would need to remove the bone to do.
- Panko breadcrumbs - When it comes to picking out bread crumbs, I always go with the Panko breadcrumbs. Learn about what makes Panko different.
- Ramen noodles - This may seem like an odd ingredient. You are going to crush up some Ramen noodles from a packet and mix them into your breading for an extra layer of crunch. To crush my noodles I put them in a sandwich bag and smash them with a meat mallet or tenderizer. Or even a hammer.
- Paprika to taste - I think paprika is a great spice to be using for pork chops. You can use sweet, smoky, or hot paprika, or a combination of 2 or 3 of them! I have some great recommendations for paprika, if you have been disappointed with what you buy in the grocery store.
💲 Money Saving Tip - A great way to save money on pork and pork chops is to buy a whole boneless pork loin and cut your own chops. The best pork chops for breading come from the center portion of the pork loin. What I do is cut 2 inch chops from the center portion for this recipe.
How to Butterfly a Pork Chop
The very first thing you are going to do when preparing the pork chops is to butterfly them. The reason you want to butterfly is that you increase the surface area of a the pork chop, giving you more meat to cover. It also helps the pork cook quicker. Some butcher counters you can buy already butterflied pork chops but you are going to pay more money per pound for them - so I think it's worth to learn how to do that yourself.
Watch this 45 second video to see how to butterfly a pork chop.
Here are the written instructions for butterflying a pork chop. I do this with pork chops that are at least 2 inches thick.
- Set the pork chop on its side.
- Make an incision along the length of the pork chop.
- Using your fingers, gently spread the halves apart.
- Continue cutting downward, being careful not to cut all the way through.
- Stop cutting when about an inch of the pork chop is still intact.
- As you cut, start laying the pork chop flat to help judge when to stop.
How to Brine Pork Chops
Once the pork chops are prepared it's time to make our brine.
In order for the brine to work, you first must heat up it up enough to dissolve the sugar and salt. I just put the brine in a sauce pan over high heat and stir it until I can't see any more of the salt or sugar.
You don't want the brine hot when you add the pork. In order to cool it down faster you can add some ice cubes to bring it down the temperature. If I don't have ice on hand, just let it cool down to room temperature.
I always brine my pork in the fridge for at least a couple hours. Place the bag into a container just in case the bag leaks.
How to Bread the Pork Chops
Now that the brine is set. let's look at what we use to bread our pork chops. I start by getting out 3 cake or pie pans.
The breading begins by coating the pork chops one by one in all-purpose flour. This will keep the breading stick to the pork better. I recommend using a fork for this so that you can keep your hands clean.
The next step is for the pork chops to be coated in egg. Depending on the size of your eggs you might need one or two.
Next the pork goes into our breading mixture. Make sure both sides are nicely coated. Once you have completed one chop start on the next.
How to Know When Pork Chops are Done?
If you own a probe thermometer, insert it from the side into the center of one of the pork chops. It can be tricky getting the spot right. At 145 degrees the pork is safely cooked. It may still be slightly pink. If you want it to be completely white inside I would cook it up to 160 degrees.
The good news is that because you brined the pork, it won't dry out as easily, even if you don't use a thermometer or accidentally overcook it.
If you aren't using a thermometer, cook the pork for about 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees. The crust should be set and turning golden. It wouldn't be a bad idea to check at the 30 minute mark to see how the chops are doing.
FAQ
Panko-Ramen Breaded Brined Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 3 2-inch pork chops butterfiled
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 packet Ramen noodles
- 2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- ½ cup kosher salt
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp smoked paprika to taste
Instructions
How to Brine the Pork
- Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan over high heat.
- Cook until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Then remove from the heat.
- Add about 1 pound of ice to cool the brine down. Give it a good stir and set it aside. Now take your chops and place it in a gallon sized plastic bag and dump the brine into the bag.
- Seal the bag well, place it in a container just in case the bag leaks, and place it into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, 6 if you can.
How to Bread the Pork Chops
- Remove pork chops from the brine and pat dry with a towel
- Then pour some flour and Panko into separate containers. Take another container and crack your egg into, beating the egg to combine the yolk and white.
- Now starting with 1 chop at a time, place it into the flour, and coat both sides. Then into the egg, coat both sides. And finally into the Panko and coat both sides. It is important you go in this order.
- Set aside when finished and do all the chops the same way. When you are all done with breading, sprinkle the paprika and dried thyme onto both sides of each chop.
How to Bake the Pork Chops
- Set your oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a sheet pan with Parchment paper or non-stick spray. Place each pork chop down so they do not touch each other.
- If you have one insert a probe therometer. You are looking for 160 degrees.
- Bake for about 45-55 minutes. The crust should be browned and the pork should feel firm, but not hard to the touch.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into or removing the probe.
Notes
- Set pork chop up on it's side and make an incision along the
length of it. - Using your fingers spread the halves of the pork chop apart
and continue cutting downward - Be careful not to cut all the way through!
- You want to stop cutting with about an
inch left in tact. - Start to lay the pork chop flat as you cut to help determine
when to stop.
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