Cumin-Baked Pork Chops Recipe (2024)

Cooked as directed the chops were a little tough. The 2nd time I made them, I brined the chops first for about 45 min in a mixture of 3 TB table salt in 1 Qt. water, rinsed, and wiped them dry, then cooked them as directed. They were much better.

I heeded the comments of previous cooks about difficulty with browning the pork chops. I browned them first. I let them cool slightly and then applied dijon mustard, crushed cumin seeds and pepper. Also to increase the browning of the chops, I finished them under the broiler rather than baking. This recipe is simple and delicious.

I used ground cumin, mixed it with the mustard, used olive oil instead of canola, then followed the directions - I'll cook this again (and again) -- easy for a weeknight but great for guests.

Made in a nonstick skillet and no issue about sticking to pan -10 min in oven was perfect for 8 oz chops. I was a tad worried about about of cumin, especially freshly ground in a mortar as I did - but a big hit. I did brine the Frenched chops for 2 days in the brine indicated for a different recipe- http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6176-cider-cured-pork-chops
which contains the best sentence yet in this section:" until the chops lurk in the liquid like frogs in a pond"...

What should those of us without cast iron skillets do?

After 30 years of cooking, I finally learned how to make pork chops that aren't dry and chewy: brine them in salt water for a few hours first, then pat thoroughly dry before cooking. I don't understand how it works, but it does!

I was lazy and made this recipe but I baked the pork chops, no frying beforehand. It was delicious I just cooked it at 360 for thirty minutes. Perfectly done and what great flavor!!!

Made this and loved it. I only cooked it for 10 minutes.
Also, beware making this in a poorly ventilated apartment. It can smoke, and it set off my fire alarm.

My crust all fell off when I flipped the chop, it was all stuck to the pan. I used a well-seasoned, cast iron skillet as instructed. There just didn't seem to be anything to bind it to the chop.

Have made this several times with great success. Last time, based on a note, I put a sliced apple and a pear under the chops after they were browned and before baking. When done I removed the chops and fruit, deglazed the pan with about a half cup of white wine, boiled down to a syrup, and stirred in soft butter. It was amazing. Used Berkshire pork chops which are worth the price.

Used boneless pork chops (as they were all that was available at Park Slope Food Coop) so baked for only 8 minutes. Mustard is Kryptonite to my husband but cumin crusted anything is ambrosia so instead of mustard I coated the chops in a mixture of 4 tbsp of sour cream, mixed with 3 tbsp of ground turmeric, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, 1/2 tsp of chili pepper flakes, and a dash of salt. Does not provide the "bite" of Dijon but coats the chops well for the cumin and black pepper to adhere.

If possible, used crushed cumin as recommended in the article - there is a significant (positive) difference in taste. I crush cumin seeds in my mortar and pestle, enjoying the aroma while crushing the seeds is part of the positive cooking experience. I tend to hand crush herbs and spices whenever possible just for this added enjoyment, working the spices by hand, smelling their sometimes pungent aroma as it is released, all part of the fun of cooking.

Cooked as written - turned out great.
Instead of salting the chops directly, I sprinkle sea salt on the cast iron to stand the chop very slightly off of the high heat surface. Cumin crust stays on, chop gets seared and salted, life is good.

I salted the chops, browned them on one side, flipped and smeared with mustard and spices on the top only and popped into the oven for 10-12 min. Yum!

Brined the chops in salt water for 3 hours. First seared the chops - each side for 2 minutes. No cumin / mustard yet. Let the chops rest off heat for a minute. I combined the mustard & cumin and made sort of a paste to cover the chops (added a small bit of water to soften it up)I put a layer of mushrooms in the pan and placed the chops on top - to keep the chops off the pan surface to avoid having the mustard/cumin stick. Then put the pan in the oven. Delicious.

Served this on a bed of wilted spinach...delicious!

Haven't made this in awhile. Coated the chops in hummus because husband despises mustard and while that doesn't add a lot of flavor it does keep the coating on. Doubled the amount of black pepper to compensate for the missing mustard. 12 minutes was definitely too long in the oven - came out medium well. So next time - no more than 10 minutes in the oven!

Delicious! Loved the crunchiness of the cracked cumin seed and flavor was great. I've made a similar recipe using cracked coriander seeds and that's great also. Unfortunately, some of the mustard coating stuck to the pan but I'll take a hint from previous posts and put the mustand on after frying.

I skipped the browning step and baked the chops, over a bed of sliced sweet potato, at 375 for 30 minutes. Topped with spinach when done and covered the pan as the meat rested. Delicious and quick one-pan meal!

Loved this dish! Followed the recipe and it was amazing.

Can’t figure out how to get the stuff to stay on the pork chop. When I flip, the coating sticks to the pan. Any idea what I’m doing wrong?

Did a mash of cumin and mustard. Nice. Cook at 450 for 20 minutes, flipping half way through. First did at Lake Muskoday on 8/10/23.

This was good. My changes are as follows: Fried some onions, set aside, fried chops per directions and set aside, drained oil, deglazed with sherry, everything went back in pan then in oven. Yum.

Suggested changes to this recipie to insure moist results 1. Salt brine in frig for 2-3 hrs. 2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 3. Add oil to skillen and put cast iron skillet in the oven for 10 min. 4. Remove from oven, and place chops in skillet, return to the oven for 10 min. 5. Remove from oven and sear/brown each side for 1 min on medium high heat. 6. Allow meat to rest for 2-3 min and serve.

Next time add breadcrumbs and just bake at 425 for 25 minutes. Browning with the mustard is a joke.

Add bread crumbs and bake at 425 for 25 minutes.

Not very good. Mustard stuck to the skillet, so the pork chops did not brown much. The recipe also says to use four pork chops in one cast iron skillet, but I feel this would require a comedically large skillet—even the photo included here has just two chops fitting in the skillet. The flavor was fine, but it was frustrating to follow the recipe almost exactly (subbed ground cumin, did not bake to avoid overcooking) and yet receive sub par results.

These had a nice flavor and were an easy dinner, but like others, I found much of the mustard and cumin stuck to the pan when the chops were flipped. I used boneless pork chops and a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.