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Brined Pork Chops Recipe

5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Brine Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield 2 servings
Category Dinner
Cuisine Barbecue

Description

Bone-in pork chops get brined in an aromatic apple juice brine before getting seared on the stove top and finished in the oven. Juicy and flavorful!

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups apple juice or apple cider
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed*
  • 5 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 2 sprig rosemary, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 ½ cup ice
  • 2 bone-in pork chops (1 ½-inches-thick)
  • 1 tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil
  • Apple Barbeque Sauce or bottled sauce of choice

Instructions

  • Combine apple juice, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, garlic, rosemary and cloves in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until salt has dissolved. Stir in ice to cool mixture. Transfer mixture to a container with lid; add pork chops, cover and refrigerate 1–2 hours.
  • Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450ºF (232ºC).
  • Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high for about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, remove pork chops from brine and pat dry (thoroughly) with paper towels.
  • Add oil to skillet and swirl to coat. Once oil is shimmering, place chops in skillet and cook, without moving, for 2 minutes. Flip chops and cook on second side 2 minutes.
  • Flip chops once more then transfer to oven; roast chops until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of each chop, but not touching bone, registers between 130–135ºF, about 8 minutes, turning chops over once halfway through cooking time.
  • Transfer chops to a clean sheet pan or cutting board; tent loosely with foil and let rest 5–10 minutes. Internal temperature should increase to 140ºF-145ºF.
  • Brush chops with barbeque sauce then slice and serve with additional barbeque sauce.

Notes

Pork Chops: it's important to use bone-in pork chops that are at least 1-½-inches-thick for the timing of the recipe to be accurate. If you are using thinner chops, you may only need a couple minutes in the oven. If you are using thicker chops, you make need a couple more minutes in the oven. 
Crushing peppercorns: if you have a mortar and pestle, use that to crush the peppercorns. Otherwise, you can add the peppercorns to a plastic bag and use and pan or rolling pin to crush them. 

Nutrition

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