Today, we’re asking (and answering) an important question. What’s the best way to fry a pork chop? The traditional method with oil or in the air fryer?
Let’s Get Fried
We are using pork chops that we hand cut ourselves from the larger pork loin. And we’re just going to cook them both with a traditional breading. If you don’t know what that is, let’s break it down:
- First, coat them in flour.
- Second, dip them in an egg mixture.
- Last, coat them in Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs. We’re using panko bread crumbs because they were designed to create a really crispy fried exterior.
For the deep fried pork chops, we are using corn oil. We recently tested corn oil for a chicken wing experiment and found that it gave us the tastiest results. We’re going to see if it has the same impact on these pork chops. We are using an Ommo Air Fryer and are going to air fry and deep fry the them at 370 degrees Fahrenheit.
Air Fried Pork Chop
The first thing we notice is a much different color. Since it wasn’t cooked in oil, it is much lighter in color as compared to the deep fried pork chop. For us, we are used to seeing a little darker color, but don’t let the looks fool you. It tasted great!
The air fryer produced a really crunchy exterior paired with a nice and juicy interior. Honestly, the perfect chop! But how did it taste?
Our intern, Jared T-Bone Stone, said that it had a nice crust and was really juicy. He also mentioned that it didn’t have too much breading, which created the perfect bite every time.
Deep Fried Pork Chop
The deep fried pork chop cooked in about five minutes from beginning to end. This one had the more classic dark brown exterior that we are used to seeing on a fried pork chop. Although it had a darker color on it compared to the air fried pork chop, the color was inconsistent throughout the entire chop.
This chop looks so, so good and is very, very crispy. However crunchiness doesn’t always equal flavor. T-Bone Stone noticed that this version had a little less flavor than the air fried.
Overall, this reminded us of a classic, old fashioned homestyle pork chop. You know, the kind you get at your grandma’s house or the county fair. Yum!
Which Chop Takes the Cake?
Or should we should we say, “Which chop pulls the pork?” Well, to be honest, it’s a toss up. There were only really small, subtle differences. They both had crispy crusts and juicy, tender bites. If we HAD to choose, we’d go with the air fried version. Why? It’s healthier and easier to clean up.
Don’t take our word for it, try it at home! Should we do more pork chop recipes? Tell us what you think. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more experiments, recipes and blind taste tests! We are here to help you – cook meat, made easy!
One Comment on “Air Fried Pork Chop vs Oil Fried Pork Chop, which one is BEST?!”
I’m a diabetic so I had to switch to air fried chops. Honestly I like the air fried better it’s crispy and light. I just seasoned it with out bread crumbs. Thanks