Love pork chops, but afraid to cook them at home? Sous vide is your friend. Moist & tender pork chops are no longer impossible! Pair with this creamy caper mustard sauce, this is one romantic dinner for two.
I have my sous vide cooker for about 6 months now. For a long time, I wasn’t convinced to get one. I already had a pressure cooker and a slow cooker. Do I really need another cooking tool? OH YES! I have used my sous vide cooker way more often than the other kitchen appliances.
What makes sous vide unique is the precise cooking. Food is cooked in a bag in a water bath. The water is set to an exact temperature for hours, so your food guarantees to come out in the exact doneness you want. No overcooking!
The one thing I have cooked the most with a sous vide is pork chop. I used to hate cooking pork chops at home, because it’s hard to get them right. Everyone hates a tough & dry pork chop. Sous vide changes the game forever. With the precise temperature, my pork chops remained perfectly medium-rare and moist every time.
For this recipe, season the pork chops and then put into sous vide bags or ziploc bags with smashed garlic. Then sous vide for 1 – 4 hours. Pat dry the pork chops and do a quick sear until golden brown. Next is the sauce. Cook the capers in the same skillet that you seared the pork with. Deglaze with white wine and slightly reduced. Add cream and vinegar. Last, stir in the mustard.
Pork chops were tender & moist. The sauce is mustardy with a nice caper flavor. It’s creamy, yet a bit tangy from the vinegar & white wine, which is perfect to cut through richness fo the pork chops. Pair the dish with some vegetables, this is one easy & elegant dinner!
Other than pork chops, you can sous vide a lot of things, steak, fish, egg, bacon, vegetables and even desserts. If you’re thinking about getting a sous vide, I definitely recommend it! One tip is to get a reliable brand, because that will ensure accurate & persistent cooking temperature to give you good result.
Sous Vide Pork Chops with Creamy Caper Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pieces pork chops (about 1-inch thick)
- 4 garlic cloves (peeled & smashed slightly)
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- vegetable oil
Caper Mustard Sauce:
- 2½ tablespoons capers
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 2½ tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon whole grain or old-style mustard
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Pat dry pork chops with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1 pork chop with 2 garlic cloves in a sous vide bag or a large freezer Ziploc bag. Seal and set aside. Repeat with the second pork chop in another Ziploc bag.
- Preheat the sous vide cooker in a large pot of water to the desired final temperature, 130˚F for rare, 140˚F for medium-rare, 150˚F for medium-well & 160˚F for well done (I did 135˚F). Place the sous vide bags inside the water bath. Make sure the meat is submerged under water. Cook for 1 – 4 hours.
- Once cooked, remove pork chops from bags and pat dry with paper towels.
- Meanwhile, in a medium cast iron or heavy skillet over high heat, heat until very hot. Lightly brush with vegetable oil. Fit both pork chops into the skillet, press down for a better seared. Cook until nicely brown, about 1 minutes. Flip and cook the other side, 1 more minute. Turn the pork chops on the side and get a quick seared. Transfer pork chops to a large plate. Cover with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Turn the heat to medium. Wipe the skillet with paper towels to remove most of the grease. Add capers and stir for 1 minute. Add white wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Add heavy cream and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in mustard.
- Plate the pork chops on serving plates. Spoon a few tablespoons sauce over the pork and serve immediately with extra sauce on the side.
Notes
- My sous vide cooker is Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano. You can find it on amazon.
- For sous vide, you can use a large pot or a plastic food container like this.
- How to use Ziploc bag for sous vide: Prepare a large bowl of water. I used the water for the sous vide (before heating up). Get a large freezer Ziploc bag (more durable). Place the food in the middle of the bag. Zip the bag by leaving 1-inch opening. Slowly submerge the bag into prepared water, but leaving the opening above water. Pressure from the water will force out the air in the bag. Once the air is out, sear the Ziploc bag. Now, this is ready for sous vide.
- Preheating sous vide cooker will take about 30 – 45 minutes.
- I cooked my pork chops for 3½ hours. Texture of the pork can start to get a bit too soft beyond 4 hours.
- If you don’t like capers too much, just don’t spoon them over the pork when serving. But make sure to cook the capers in the sauce as they add a lot of flavors.
Ross Donaldson says
It was good, I got a you can make this again from the family.
Lokness says
Haha, that’s great to hear! So glad you guys enjoyed these pork chops. ?