Unleash the Power of the Pork Chop!

Celebrity Chef Madison Cowan Dishes Up Ideas for Top Chops

It’s hard to imagine BBQ season without a slab of baby back ribs or Easter brunch without a ham — but it’s the adaptable pork chop that can be a dinnertime star 365 days a year.

To help you unleash the limitless power of the pork chop, America’s pork producers have enlisted a pro who knows a thing or two about chops – Grand Champion of the popular cooking competition, “Chopped” and recent winner of “Iron Chef America” — Chef Madison Cowan. Boasting stints cooking in London, Jamaica, Detroit and even for the U.S. Coast Guard, the worldly chef is known for blending diverse inspirations from around the globe. But one of his favorite constants is the pork chop.

Are you adventurous in the kitchen? Or would you rather stick with what you know? Either way, there's a perfect pork chop to suit your personality, and your dinner table – no matter what day of the year. Find your recipe match, courtesy of celebrity chef Madison Cowan and the National Pork Board – and unleash your pork chop inspiration tonight!  

Cowan says the best way to start getting creative with pork chops is to change up the preparation method. For example, try stuffing a whole chop with savory fillings or slicing and cubing it to use as an ingredient in a less traditional recipe.Or, try a new type of chop. There are a range of pork chop varieties that should each have a place in your dinnertime rotation. For example:

Bone-In Rib Chops
A large eye of loin meat make these the perfect chop for stuffing. Try Cowan’s Grilled Pork Chops with Chorizo, Dates and Manchego Stuffing. Brined, stuffed and grilled, the sweet and savory flavors take cues from the La Mancha region of Spain.
Top Loin Chops
Also called Center Cut Chops or America’s Cut (when sliced to 1 1/4” thickness), these boneless chops are meaty and lean. Discover them in Chef Cowan’s Chinese Five-Spice-and-Maple-Glazed Pork Chops, which feature the classically Asian balance of pungent, bitter, sweet, sour and salty flavors.
Blade Chops
Usually the well-marbled of pork chop cuts, these are often butterflied and called “Pork Loin Country-Style Ribs.” Cowan took advantage of the blade chops’ bold flavor when developing his Moroccan-Inspired Country-Style Rib Ragu with Couscous Cakes.
Bone-In Rib Chops