The Duroc pork chop we sell comes as a rack: our Pork Rack, 5 Rib is a bone in Heritage Duroc roast that the product page says to “slice between bones and serve as chops,” or to cut into a tomahawk chop before cooking. There is no separate chop listing in the shop, so five bone in chops start as one rack.
Order the 5 rib pork rack, or browse the heritage pork fresh cuts. Below are the two ways to get chops from it, what Duroc means on the label, and how to cook a chop by the thermometer, with a cited grill table.
- Chops from the rack: two ways
- What a Duroc pork chop is
- How to cook it: 145°F and a thermometer
- Grill times from Clemson Extension
- Questions people ask
Duroc pork chop from the rack: roast and slice, or cut first
| Roast the rack, then slice into chops | Cut chops first, cook as chops | |
|---|---|---|
| What the product page says | Roast at 325°F to 145°F, about 1.5 hours; rest 10 minutes; “slice between bones and serve as chops” | “Cut into a tomahawk chop”; the page gives no chop cooking method |
| How many | Five bone in chops from the 5 rib rack | Up to five, one rib each; thickness depends on bone spacing and trim, so measure each chop |
| Method source | Our product page | USDA’s 145°F with a thermometer; Clemson Extension’s grill table below |
| Best for | One roast, carved at the table | The grill or a skillet, one chop per plate |
The first column is the page’s own method: rub the rack with olive oil, salt, pepper, and spices such as paprika, garlic powder, and brown sugar, roast at 325°F until the center reaches 145°F, about 1.5 hours, rest 10 minutes, then slice between the bones. The second column is the page’s tomahawk option, which the page names but does not give a method for, so the cooking rules come from USDA and Clemson.
What a Duroc pork chop is
A pork chop is a slice from the loin, one of the four primal cuts USDA’s fresh pork page lists (shoulder, loin, side, and leg); chops are among the loin’s retail cuts. A Duroc chop is that cut from a Duroc hog, a red breed with drooping ears whose history we told in our older post on decoding the heritage breed Duroc pig.
Our Porkology page answers “why does breed matter” with three words: “marbling, flavor and tenderness,” and describes the Duroc as “known for its rich red color and celebrated for its juicy, tender and flavorful meat.” Those are our pages’ words about our hogs, and we keep to them; how that compares with commodity pork, in terms our pages support, is in Duroc pork vs regular pork.
The hogs are raised crate free, with no antibiotics ever, on family farms, per our story page. “Heritage Duroc” on the label is our product language for the breed’s history; the Duroc is not on the Livestock Conservancy’s priority list, so it does not meet that group’s heritage definition.
How to cook the chop: 145°F and a thermometer
USDA’s rule for chops: cook to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F as measured with a food thermometer, then rest at least 3 minutes. USDA also says cooked pork can still be pink at 145°F and be safe, which is worth knowing on a thick bone in chop that looks less done than it is.
We give no skillet method, because no page of ours has one. The cited method is the grill table below; whatever the heat, pull the chop at 145°F on the thermometer; our older post on top tips for cooking the perfect pork chop covers the rest, and pork chop wine pairing covers the glass.
Grill times for a pork chop, from Clemson Extension
Clemson Extension’s Food Safety for Outdoor Cookouts gives a grill table for fresh pork chops, bone in or boneless: a 3/4 inch chop, 3 to 4 minutes per side; a 1 1/2 inch chop, 7 to 8 minutes per side; both to 145°F to 160°F. Those are the only chop times we publish, because they are the only cited ones.
Our rack page gives no chop thickness, so measure the chop you cut and pick the matching line; a chop thicker than 1 1/2 inches is outside the table, and the thermometer finishes the job. Clemson’s other rules apply too: marinate in the refrigerator if you marinate, and apply sauce in the last 15 to 30 minutes.
Questions people ask about Duroc chops
Is Duroc pork better than regular pork?
We think so, and our Porkology page says why in three words: marbling, flavor, and tenderness. We laid out what our pages can and cannot support in Duroc pork vs regular pork.
What is a Duroc pork chop?
A chop from the loin of a Duroc hog. Ours come from the 5 rib rack, sliced between the bones after roasting or cut into tomahawk chops before cooking.
What is the best way to cook Duroc pork chops?
To 145°F on a thermometer with a rest, per USDA. On the grill, Clemson gives 3 to 4 minutes per side for a 3/4 inch chop and 7 to 8 for a 1 1/2 inch chop.
How thick should a Duroc pork chop be?
From our rack, one rib per chop sets the thickness. Clemson’s table covers 3/4 inch and 1 1/2 inch chops; thicker chops take longer, and the thermometer decides either way.
One rack, five chops, one number. A Duroc pork chop from our 5 rib rack is done at 145°F, whether you roast the rack and slice it or cut the chops first and grill them.
Order the 5 rib pork rack, or see the rest of the heritage pork fresh cuts.