Best Ever Pork Chops

I’ve been doing pork chops this way for a year or two now. I figured it was time to share.

The main secret is the fact that it’s brined. It’ll make enough brine for at least 4 pork chops. Maybe more.

Be sure to buy good quality pork chops. The your tast buds and teeth will thank you.

Here’s the brine recipe:

Pork Chop Brine
1/4 cup salt
3 cups water
1 tbsp Pickling spice
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
2-3 cups ice cubes

Combine the above ingredients (except ice) in a sauce pan and simmer or bring to a quick boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add ice and stir until it’s very cool. Place pork chops in the brine for 1-3 hours for 1” thick pork chops. 2” might take 3-4 hours.

Remove from brine and pat dry. Put them on a wire rack and place uncovered in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This will help dry the surface of the pork chop so it browns/chars properly on the grill.

More to come after they get off the grill later…

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Dang! that sounds good,cant wait for the other pics !!!

Won’t be any. Bet they get gobbled up before camera gets to shoot!

Denny O wrote:

Won’t be any. Bet they get gobbled up before camera gets to shoot!

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After drying a bit I put a thin layer of bacon grease and some fresh ground pepper. Slap them on a screaming hot grill for a couple minutes each side/turn. I do the 1/4 turn for more grill marks. Adds flavor.

Baste with a little more bacon grease after the final turn. Take them off to rest a bit and devour. I didn’t find time to get a pic of a cut piece but they are fully cooked but slightly pink inside.

A little steamed broccoli and buttercup squash.

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Oh, and FYI. The chops and the squash came from down the road at MN Fresh Farm. I mentioned them a few months back in another thread. I stocked up before they closed for the season.

Got anything for a Pork loin that doesn’t turn it into shoe leather?

The brine would work great for the pork loin too. Although, when it comes to being tender, I’ve found that the quality of pork has the most influence on tenderness.

I’ve honestly never done a pork loin. I’ve used a very similar brine for a pork butt in the oven though.

I assume you’re referring to loin and not tenderloin.

Looks delicious, more Zantac please ????

Gino wrote:

Looks delicious, more Zantac please ????

Funny. I’ve been avoiding acid blockers like the plague. I took one today for whatever reason.

I think I like these better than my frozen steaks.

Chops look good. I brine chicken hind quarters and they always have that pink look to the meat when cooked. Something about the brining will do that. I have good brine recipe for whole pork loin that will taste like a pit ham when done. Any interest will post?

would love to see a pork loin brine! There are times when we can get a bone in pork loin, kind of like the chops before they become chops. I imagine that this could be heaven brined and slow smoked/grilled on the Weber.

I’m big fan of brining & your brine recipe sounds killer!
Brined & deep fried turkey is another favorite.

Maybe I’m wrong, but isn’t wet brining and wet curing are 2 different things, even tho they are widely spoke of doing some of the same thing?
Wet brine, to me, is a gal of water, cup of salt and cup of brown sugar solution that is used for maybe an overnight timeline or less.
Wet cure is maybe the same as above but with the addition of a curing salt like prague powder, curing salt #1 ect even Mortons curing salt (witch is different than the other two I just spoke of)

Buzz wrote:

Got anything for a Pork loin that doesn’t turn it into shoe leather?

Get a temperature probe, rub the pork loin with your favorite pork rub, and throw in the oven/grill/smoker at low heat(like 250-275). Cook until 145 degrees. Tender, delicious, fool-proof.

Or, cook until 130-135 degrees and take out of oven/grill/smoker, then throw in a hot cast iron pan to sear the outside.

We buy these at Costco all the time:
https://www.google.com/search?q=costco+pork+loin&safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS793US793&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=xV0-ZgEKjTl2CM%253A%252CwEGOa2Tinl-1lM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kS_KJMezNTEampyTBTusINwugNecg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiHjZHqkr7eAhUF24MKHX6iCrkQ9QEwDnoECAQQDA#imgrc=mfVGw-ocL7UbnM:

Cook them on low-ish heat and they will be melt in your mouth tender. I love them on the smoker, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do them on indirect on your weber or just in the oven.

Do this a few times and then come to the reverse sear brotherhood. I just did some reverse seared THICK pork chops(like 2″ thick), and they were absolutely delicious.

FYI. For anyone trying tge brine. I use pickling salt for my recipe. Depending on the type of salt you usevthe amount of sodium added can vary up to 20%. Pickling salt is very fine so it has more mass per volume.

If you choose to use kosher salt you may want to increase the amount of salt 10-20%.

You got it Phil! I will also add bacon around the tenderloin for the smoker @225 degrees too. It only takes the tenderloin a couple of hours too. Internal temp of 145 degrees then tent with a little foil and a 15 min rest. Goon-da-bar!

Denny O wrote:

You got it Phil! I will also add bacon around the tenderloin for the smoker @225 degrees too. It only takes the tenderloin a couple of hours too. Internal temp of 145 degrees then tent with a little foil and a 15 min rest. Goon-da-bar!

I’ll have to try the bacon on there! Here was out last tenderloin we did.

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Looks great Biggill!

There’s retired butcher that goes by Reinhard on an old nearly defunct forum that I used to participate in that has all sorts of great recipes on his website. One of his (and many others) favorites is a pork loin Canadian Bacon, definitely something I plan on trying soon!

https://sausageheavenoutdoors.com/

what mn fresh farm did you get them from? was it the one on Klondike and 65?

rubberduck wrote:

what mn fresh farm did you get them from? was it the one on Klondike and 65?

Yes. That’s the one. Its closed for the season now though. They’ll opeyagain in May. If you want the pork, you may be able to find somewhere else that carries the brand. It’s Ferris family farm and it looks like they’re in Cambridge.

great! this was the first year since I lived in EB that I haven’t gone there. I love that place and the owners are really nice people. will have to make it a point to get there next year. I live on Klondike so its right there for me
thanks for sharing biggill!

I cook mine in the crock pot. I pack it full with a jar of marmalade and some Mt. Dew in the morning and perfectly cooked when I get home. Then I sprinkle on some secret ingredients.

biggill wrote:

I’ve been doing pork chops this way for a year or two now. I figured it was time to share.

The main secret is the fact that it’s brined. It’ll make enough brine for at least 4 pork chops. Maybe more.

Be sure to buy good quality pork chops. The your tast buds and teeth will thank you.

Here’s the brine recipe:

Pork Chop Brine
1/4 cup salt
3 cups water
1 tbsp Pickling spice
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
2-3 cups ice cubes

Combine the above ingredients (except ice) in a sauce pan and simmer or bring to a quick boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add ice and stir until it’s very cool. Place pork chops in the brine for 1-3 hours for 1” thick pork chops. 2” might take 3-4 hours.

Remove from brine and pat dry. Put them on a wire rack and place uncovered in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This will help dry the surface of the pork chop so it browns/chars properly on the grill.

More to come after they get off the grill later…

Brine at room temp?

suzuki wrote:

Brine at room temp?

Fridge.

I can’t think of any situation where you brine at room temp.

I brined outside of fridge not catching this in time. They were excellent.

Glad they turned out!

I guess I’d be worried about spoilage if it sits for more than 4 hours. If it stays below 40 degrees for most of it it should be fine.

philtickelson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Denny O wrote:</div>
You got it Phil! I will also add bacon around the tenderloin for the smoker @225 degrees too. It only takes the tenderloin a couple of hours too. Internal temp of 145 degrees then tent with a little foil and a 15 min rest. Goon-da-bar!

I’ll have to try the bacon on there! Here was out last tenderloin we did.

Oh dang Sam! I’m regretting not having dinner this evening! Looks Great!

I just can’t bring myself to brining a pork chop. I’ll inject a chunk of pork loin to make Canadian Bacon, but a chop? Never.