The Genius Pork Chop Cutting Hack You'll Wish You Knew Sooner

Pork chops make a fast weeknight dinner. But if you're tired of preparing them in the same old way, we've got a genius hack to take you out of your culinary slump. Simply use a sharp knife to make a series of cuts along the surface of your chops to turn them into flexible, accordion-like lengths that crisp up in a hot skillet.

You may be familiar with this slicing technique if you've ever made a spicy Korean cucumber salad or a batch of accordion potatoes to impress at a dinner party. Both of these dishes require making a line of several shallow cuts along the surface of the vegetables that go only halfway through (similar to preparing Hasselback potatoes). After cutting one side, flip them over and do the same thing again — but this time making the cuts diagonally. 

When preparing a pork chop in this fashion, it can help to place it between two chopsticks or dowels to provide support. The chopsticks act as a physical barrier, or insurance policy, that prevents you from accidentally slicing all the way through the meat and ruining all your hard work. When you're done, you should be able to hold the pork chop at either end and pull it apart gently so that it stretches out and mimics the appearance of an accordion.

Slicing your pork chops in this clever way maximizes their length and surface area, which creates more opportunity for flavor. As your meat hits a hot skillet or grill, the bounty of cuts you've made across the pork chop will crisp up, caramelize, and turn a golden color. Moreover, those considered incisions will act like scoring and help to relax the meat in the pan, so it can cook evenly and stay tender. 

To boost the caramelized quality of your chops further, marinate them in a mixture of honey and soy. These sweet and salty ingredients will counterbalance each other and tenderize the meat, resulting in a chop with a complex character and amber appearance. Better yet, the marinade will cling to all the nooks and crannies you've cut into the pork, guaranteeing that each piece is full of umami seasonings.

Marinating pork chops in milk is another simple way to tenderize them (the natural proteins in the milk break down the protein fibers), but you can also steep pork chops in root beer or brine them in maple syrup. Pork chops work well with sweet additions, such as apple sauce, because they complement the meaty savoriness of the pork and cut through its richness. But whatever the marinade, flip your pork chops regularly to keep them juicy and succulent. Turning them more than once throughout the cook time allows the meat to cook evenly, which prevents it from becoming dry.