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IFX-015 · 12 in skillet · Oven finish

40 mm pork chop: oven finish versus all-hob cooking in a 12 in skillet

A thick chop cannot be cooked on the hob alone — by the time the centre is safe the outside is grey. The cast-iron skillet exists for exactly this: sear, then straight into the oven, pan and all.

By · Published · 9 min read

Bench plate IFX-15: rim diameter, wall thickness, handle angle and measured parameters

01Abstract

Two 40 mm bone-in pork chops, brined 2 percent for 4 hours, were cooked in the same 12 in skillet. Chop A was finished in a 200 °C oven after 150 seconds of searing; chop B stayed on the hob at medium for 9 minutes, flipped every 90 seconds. Chop A reached 60 °C core at 8 min 20 s with a 4 mm grey band; chop B took 11 minutes and carried a 12 mm grey band.

02Variables

Independent

  • Finish method: 200 °C oven for 8 min 20 s versus hob-only for 11 min

Held constant

  • Pork: two 40 mm bone-in chops from the same loin, 2% brine for 4 h, dried, no sugar rub
  • Pan: 12 in bare cast iron, 6 min preheat to 435 °F, 1 tsp avocado oil
  • Sear: 90 s then 60 s, flipping once, before the method splits
  • Probe: centre, 20 mm from the bone, logged every 2 minutes
  • Rest 6 minutes before slicing

Hypothesis A 40 mm pork chop seared for 150 seconds and finished in a 200 °C oven lands at 60 °C core faster and with a narrower grey band than one cooked entirely on the hob.

03Process

  1. Brine the chops 4 hours in 2% salt water, then dry them thoroughly; a wet surface will not sear.
  2. Preheat the skillet 6 minutes to 435 °F with the avocado oil, and lay the chops in away from you.
  3. Sear 90 seconds, flip, 60 seconds. Only chop A then goes into the 200 °C oven in the same pan.
  4. Probe every 2 minutes: chop A from 12 minutes, chop B from the start. Pull both at 60 °C core.
  5. Rest 6 minutes on a warm plate, then slice and note the width of the grey band under the crust.

04Observations

  • Chop A went into the oven at 42 °C core and reached 60 °C in 8 min 20 s, with the pan wall at 190 °C — the handle had to be tucked into the oven door.
  • Chop B needed 11 minutes on the hob, and the crust on its second side darkened past mahogany in the last 3 minutes.
  • Grey band under the crust: 4 mm for the oven-finished chop, 12 mm for the hob-only chop.
  • The oven finish also kept the pan hot for a pan sauce: deglazing with 100 ml of cider vinegar started within 10 seconds of the chop coming out.
  • Moisture loss was 14 percent for chop A and 19 percent for chop B by weight.

Instrument log

ChopMethodTime to 60 °CGrey bandWeight loss
Asear + 200 °C oven8 min 20 s4 mm14 %
Bhob only, medium11 min 00 s12 mm19 %

05Conclusion

For anything thicker than 30 mm, the pan is for the crust and the oven is for the centre. Searing 150 seconds and moving the whole skillet to 200 °C cut the grey band from 12 mm to 4 mm and pulled 5 percent less moisture out of the meat. The one thing to watch is the handle: a bare cast-iron handle in a 200 °C oven needs a leather sleeve, not a cloth.

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