Slow-Baked Tender Pork Chops (Krehka Parzhola)

Seared pork neck and pork belly chops, slow-baked covered at 150 °C until they fall apart, with a simple pan-juice gravy — Dimitar Tonchev

• 4–6 servings
• Prep ~15 min (est.)
• Cook ~1½ hours + 20–30 min rest
• Bulgarian

Source: Крехка Пържола — Dimitar Tonchev (Facebook video) · share link facebook.com/share

Ingredients

• 600 g pork neck (vrat) chops
• 600 g bone-in pork belly (ribs)
• Salt and black pepper
• 2–3 Tbsp fat for searing
• 400 g water or wine
• For the gravy: 2–3 Tbsp butter
• 2–3 Tbsp flour
• 300–400 g of the cooking liquid from the chops

Method

1. Season the chops with salt and pepper.
2. Sear them in a hot pan with the fat over medium-high heat until lightly browned.
3. Arrange them in a baking dish.
4. While the pan is still hot, pour in the water or wine to lift the browned bits from the bottom. Skip this step if the fond has turned too dark during searing — it will taste bitter.
5. Pour this liquid over the chops, cover with another dish or foil and bake at 150 °C for about 1½ hours, until they feel tender when gently squeezed.
6. Take them out and let them rest, still covered, for another 20–30 minutes.
7. In a small pot, melt the butter, add the flour and cook for 30–60 seconds until very lightly golden.
8. Pour in the liquid from the baking dish and keep stirring and cooking until the gravy thickens and starts to bubble.
9. Serve the warm chops covered with the hot gravy.

Low, slow baking works for any tougher cut rich in connective tissue: pork neck, shoulder, leg, hock, belly (ribs), chicken thighs, and beef, veal or lamb shank, leg, shoulder, ribs and so on. The goal is for the meat to reach 90–95 °C slowly and evenly; the longer it stays there, the more connective tissue breaks down.
Lean cuts don’t work: in the video a pork loin chop (kotlet) cooked the same way also fell apart but was noticeably drier, because loin and fillet don’t have enough connective tissue.
For larger pieces (~2 kg+) the creator prefers 120 °C for longer — e.g. a whole ~2.2 kg pork neck for 8–10 hours for pulled pork, wrapped in baking paper and then foil.
Covering the dish with liquid creates a moist environment that makes the meat even more tender. Thick dishes or a clay pot (guvech) heat more gently and evenly.
Estimated (not stated in the video): prep time. Quantities, temperatures and times are from the creator’s caption and voice-over.
Recipe by Dimitar Tonchev (Facebook, sponsored post for Lidl Bulgaria). Transcribed from the video caption, voice-over and on-screen text.