Are you pre-treating the chops by marinating, dry rub, etc.?

Are you just going to bake them or is there more planned? Will you baste them or put any other fluids on them?

You could try lightly dusting the chops with flour then sauté them in olive oil. My wife likes to twice coat them in egg then breadcrumbs before frying them like chicken; with lemon squeezed on top, these are delicious and moist. The flour or breadcrumbs keep the moisture in the meat.

Likewise in the oven. Your idea of foil or parchment is attempting the same thing. I just think something on the meat itself— marinade, flour, etc.— would create a barrier to prevent the moisture from escaping.

As with any meat, DON’T OVERCOOK! Dry meat is useless.

Good luck!

...about 5/8" thick, perhaps .4 lb each. How long should I cook them? I've seen recommendations for 25 minutes in the bag at 350 degrees, so that's what I was thinking, and no marinade is intended.

Maybe check them with a meat thermometer around 18-20 minutes.They should be a minimum of 145ºF but don't let them get too hot!

Last edited Mon Jan 13, 2025, 11:02 AM - Edit history (1)

I take a piece of heavy duty foil (be generous) and place the seasoned (salt & pepper) chop in the center. I cut an acorn squash in half, remove the seeds, trim the bottoms so they sit flat on top of the chop.

Then put a tablespoon or so of butter and another tablespoon or so of brown sugar/honey in the squash cavity. Gather the foil and roll down all sides.

Bake at 400 for an hour. Thank you Betty Crocker!

If I were you, I would brown the chops in a skillet (nonstick sprayed with Pam) and then add sliced onion, rosemary, some dry chicken bouillon and about 1/4 cup or so of water. Put the lid on, lower to simmer and check at about 40 minutes or so. They will be very tender. Delicious!

The problem is pork loin chops are so lean it is easy to overcook them. They really need to be an inch to inch and a half thick and also need some onion, celery to add moisture. Cooked in foil they will not brown so you could pop them under the broiler, briefly.

Hope this helps!

If you have. you can put tomato juice around them and put 1/4 orange circles on each one. That keeps them moist and tender. I don't recall the cooking time and temp, butt 45-50 ~375 degrees seems to be what I recall.

do not cook by "time" - if you want them to have some kind of texture just cook in a pan on stove until a few degrees before done then let rest a couple of minutes. if you want them mushy or shreddy simmer in liquid on stove or in oven in which case you CAN sort of do it by "time" but watching for texture is needed because you can actually create nasty dry meat even in liquid by over cooking it.

here is a reverse sear method using both oven and stove - too complicated for me, but good reading on meat cooking. other recipes at the site - https://blog.thermoworks.com/reverse-sear-pork-chops-with-apples/