Sous vide pork chops with garlic, butter, and herbs.

Sous Vide Pork Chops

Pork chops are extremely lean and tender, leading to a decadent and tender pork steak, however they can easily end up dry and tough if overcooked even a few degrees. Using the sous vide method ensures your pork chops are cooked to the exact temperature you prefer.

For this sous vide pork chop recipe you can use any type of chops you like, including boneless pork chops or bone-in pork chops.

Pork Seasonings

I stuck to the classic mix of garlic and herbs for this pork chops recipe as it’s a classic combination for pork recipes beloved by most readers. It’s the same seasonings I use when making Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin.

Rosemary, thyme and oregano and great herbs to use in pork recipes. Both fresh or dried herbs can be used. Keep in mind if you use fresh herbs, you’ll use half the amount of dried herbs.

More sous vide recipes readers love: Sous Vide Tri Tip, Sous Vide Prime Rib, Sous Vide Ribeye, Sous Vide Lamb Chops

How To Sous Vide Pork Tenderloin

Making a sous vide pork chop recipe is remarkably easy to master. Only a few short steps to ridiculously tender chops:

Step 1 – Pre-heat the water bath to your preferred temperature (consult the sous vide pork tenderloin temperature chart below), using a sous vide immersion circulator. It’s important to determine the correct temp and time so you don’t end up with a raw or rare roast when you’re aiming for medium rare.

Step 2 – Sprinkle the salt, pepper and garlic powder over the chops. Add the seasoned pork chops to the sous vide bag, along with the fresh herbs, and vacuum seal.

Step 3 – Transfer the pork chops to the sous vide machine and set the timer for a minimum of 90 minutes and a max of four hours. Consult the “how long does it take to cook pork chops” chart below.

Step 4 – Reverse sear the chops in a very hot pre-heated cast iron pan for 45 seconds per side to develop a nice crust. Optional- while searing, baste the pork with extra garlic, butter and even more herbs on top of the juices left over in the bag after cooking.

Temperature

Reverse searing will only increase the temp by 1-2°, so pull accordingly once you determine your final temperature.

• Medium-Rare Pork: 130°F
• Medium Pork: 140°F (*My preferred “pull” temperature)
• Medium Well Pork: 150°F 
• Well Done Pork: 160°F +

Reference our Pork Temperature Chart for more cooking tips!

Finished Texture

• Medium-Rare Pork: Very juice with a buttery finish 
• Medium Pork: Slightly firm, tender and juicy
• Medium Well Pork: Firm with moderate juice
• Well Done Pork: Super firm with minimal juice (more than likely dry)

Timing

Pork chops need to be cooked a minimum of one hour PER 1″ of thickness and a maximum of four hours. Anything over this time frame and you risk getting mushy meat. Blah.

Frozen Pork Chops

You can absolutely use frozen pork chops. Just add an extra 60 minutes to the cook time, for a minimum of 2.5 hours.

Pan Sauce From The Bag Juices

After reverse searing the pork chops I make a pork pan sauce to act as a flavorful au jus. The pan sauce starts with the garlic butter basting sauce then gets elevated with the juices collected in the sous vide bag. The pan is already hot so it will only take about 1-2 minutes to make the pan sauce after removing the pork chops.

The flavor of the pan sauce is determined by the initial spices you rub on your pork chops. For example, if you don’t add salt to the pork chops before placing in the sous vide bag, you won’t have any in your pan sauce. You’ll need to add it. Same logic applies to the herbs.

The directions to make the pan sauce is in the recipe card below.

How To Reheat

The best way to re-heat sous vide pork is to heat it back up in a water bath! Heat the water to just below the cooking temp you used the first go round. The time will stay the same as the first cook.

Tips From Darcey’s Kitchen

• Make sure to pat dry the pork with paper towels before searing. To get a good pan-seared crust, the pork needs to be dry.
• Make sure the pork steaks are fully submerged in the sous vide bath. If the meat isn’t fully submerged it won’t cook properly. Do not even attempt as food safety would not be guaranteed.
• If your sous vide bag floats, try to re-seal or utilize something to weight it down once in the sous vide bath. You can always invest in some sous vide weights, which is the route I use these days. You can see the blue weights in the photos.
• You can use either fresh or dried herbs (use half the amount called for below if using fresh herbs).

Side Dish Ideas

Serve with Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes, Sous Vide Asparagus, Sous Vide Carrots or Sous Vide Corn on the Cob for a complete meal.

Sous Vide Pork Chops with Butter Herb Pan Sauce

Sous vide pork chops with garlic, butter, and herbs are reverse-seared and served with a flavorful pan sauce, resulting in moist and delicious chops.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 chops

Calories: 375kcal

Author: Darcey Olson

Cost: $8.00

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Ingredients

Sous Vide Pork Chops:

• 4 pork chops, 1½ inch thick (*Note 1)
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder 
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme and/or rosemary

Optional: Searing The Pork Chops

• 2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
• 2 tbsp butter, divided
• 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme and/or rosemary

Optional: Pan Sauce

• 1 bag reserved pan juices (*Note 2)
• 2 tbsp butter, divided
• Optional: additional fresh herbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper

Instructions

• Pre-heat the water bath to your preferred doneness (*Note 1) using a sous vide immersion circulator.

• Add the salt, garlic powder and black pepper to a small bowl and mix to combine. Evenly sprinkle over both sides of the pork chops.

• Place the pork in a vacuum-seal bag with the fresh sprigs of herbs and close using a vacuum sealer or water displacement method.

• Transfer the vacuum bag to the water bath and cook for 90 minutes minimum, up to 4 hours. If using a 2″ thick pork chops, you’ll need to increase the cook time to 2 hours.

• After the pork is finished cooking, remove the bag from the water bath. Carefully remove the pork chops from the bag (reserving the juices in the bag) and pat dry. Discard the fresh herbs.

Optional: Reverse Sear

• Add 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tbsp of butter, smashed garlic and 2 springs of fresh herbs to a heavy cast iron skillet and pre-heat over medium-high heat. Once it starts to smoke add the pork chops to the skillet and sear for 45 seconds per side. Use a metal spoon to baste the pork chops with the butter herb sauce as it sears. Remove and place on the dinner plates.

Optional: Pan Sauce

• After removing the seared pork chops remove the skillet from the heat for 1-2 minutes to let it cool down a bit. Whisk in the pan juices and 2 tbsp of butter and return it to the heat for about 1 minute. Taste and add any extra salt, fresh herbs, minced garlic, or butter you prefer.

• Spoon the pan sauce over the pork chops and serve immediately for best temperature and texture.

Notes

Note 1 – Sous Vide Pork Temperature

• Medium-Rare Pork: 130°F
• Medium Pork: 140°-145°F
• Medium Well Pork: 150°F
• Well Done Pork: 160°F +

Note 2 – This is a pan sauce (like au jus), not gravy. It will not be thick.

Nutrition

Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 446mg | Potassium: 521mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.03g | Vitamin A: 404IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg