Update for 2017: One reader suggested something so simple and brilliant that I had to come back and update this recipe for brining pork chops. Instead of boiling the entire 4 cups of water, just boil 2 cups of water with the salt, sugar and herbs and then mix in 2 more cups of cold water once finished. Seems simple, but beats the heck out of waiting 20 minutes or more for the brine to cool down before adding your pork chops.
One of our iPhone app readers was nice enough to leave a review on the iTunes store. Their only comment was that he or she wished there was something about brining. We actually have done a few brining recipes, including an awesome brined pork roast as well as a brined turkey, but I’ll forgive them for not trying those yet. Instead of moping, I offer up yet another recipe, this time for brined pork chops!
Brining is a process that actually hydrates the cells of the meat, creating a really juicy and tender cut of meat for the grill. But wait, doesn’t that take a long time? I don’t have 12 hours here, I need to get dinner going! Well, that’s what makes this brined pork chops recipe so great! Lean cuts like pork chops actually take very little time for the brine to make a difference. Brine the pork chops for an hour, rub them down with a little fresh rosemary and throw them on the grill. That’s all there is to it!
Quick Brined Pork Chops Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 4 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1.5 tablespoons sugar
- Pork chops
- black pepper
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
Instructions
- Pour the water, salt, sugar and one sprig of rosemary into a small pot and heat over high heat on the stove. Save the other sprig of rosemary until later.
- Bring the solution to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner as soon as bubbles appear, we just need the water nice and hot, not boiling.
- Allow the brining solution to cool to room temperature in the pot. This is important, we don’t want to pour hot liquid over the pork chops or it will cook the meat!
- Place the pork chops in a glass dish and then pour the cooled brine over the meat.
- Place the dish in the refrigerator and allow to brine for an hour to an hour and a half.
- Remove the pork chops from the brine, rinse with cold water and then pat dry with paper towels.
- Mince the remaining sprig of rosemary and rub the pork chops with rosemary and fresh ground black pepper.
- Heat the grill to high heat, clean and lubricate the grates.
- Place the brined pork chops over the hottest part of the grill and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Flip the pork chops over to the other side and grill for an additional 5 minutes or until cooked through.
- Allow the pork chops to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Quick, simple – I’ll be making this again!
good stuff!! I added peppercorn. I will be using this again!
Thank You
Thank You it was good! I added peppercorn. I will be using this again!!
Juiciest pork chops we’ve had for a long time, thank you
I used thyme instead of rosemary. Moist and delicious. Thank you.
Brined 1 1/2 inch pork chops using this recipe minus the rosemary for 1 hour and 15 minutes and found them too salty for my taste.
Would suggest brining for an hour and see if the salt suits your taste.
The chops were tender & juicy but I missed the Montreal steak spices I usually use on chops & couldn’t use this time because the spice blend has a lot if it’s own spice.
This was the first time we brined pork loin chops, ever! We grilled them and they turned out PERFECT! When I cut a piece of one off and it was so tender and juicy I was sure it wasn’t cooked all the way, just because I had never had one come off the grill so juicy and tender. (Lol) This is now our go to recipe from here on out. We didn’t have rosemary, so we replaced it with thyme and that really set it off. Thank you so very much!
Will try the brine soon, I’m sure it will work great. But I have a question: could I put frozen chops in the brine? That way they can thaw and brine at the same time.
Even quicker—just boil 2 cups water. Add 2 cups cold water after to cool down quicker!!
Even quicker—-boil 2 cups brine. Add cold water to chill it down faster. Then add meat!
Quick and easy way to prep for a busy cook. Thanks. Moist and juicy! Great go to recipe. Mine now!
If you boil 1 cup of water with the flavorings, then add 3 cups of ice water, better still. We had one chop come out great and one was so-so. They were 1 inch boneless chops. We left them in for a bit over an hour and a half. They had very little fat.
I always add curry powder to my brines, adds a great kick to boring chops.
My pork chops turned out great! Thank you 👍👍