You should always brine meat when you have time, it’s a sure fire way to get great results with minimal effort. With this pork chop / pork steak brine; you won’t believe how this simple salt mixture can impart so much flavor and tenderness.
Pork Chop / Pork Steak Brine
Description
This pork chop brine is a blend of salt, sugar, herbs and spices that infuses the meat with flavor and helps to keep it tender and juicy. A good brine is the secret to perfectly cooked chops or steaks every time!
Ingredients
Instructions
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Pour Boiling Water Into Bowl
Pour 1 cup of boiling water into a large bowl that will fit all of the pork chops or steaks. Make sure the bowl will fit into your refrigerator.
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Add Salt And Sugar
Add the salt and sugar to the water and stir until dissolved -
Add Rest Of Ingredients
Add the allspice, fennel seeds, peppercorns, bay leaf, garlic and thyme to the bowl. -
Add Cold Water
Add 7 cups of very cold water to the bowl and stir to combine -
Add Meat
Place the pork chops or steaks in the bowl, making sure that they’re completely submerged. You can add more water if needed.
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Refridgerate
Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or up to 24 hours. -
Remove the pork chops from the brine and pat dry with paper towels
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Cook the pork as desired. This brine is enough to for 6 pork chops.
Note
Make sure that your brine is cool before you add the pork. If you need it to cool down faster, you can add some ice cubes.
Flavor Variations
This pork chop brine is great as-is, but you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your taste.
- Sweetener: Instead of granulated sugar try using brown sugar, honey or maple syrup.
- Spices: Feel free to add other spices to the mix such as BBQ rub, smoked paprika, onion powder or dried chiles.
- Herbs: Swap out the fresh thyme for sprigs of rosemary, sage or parsley.
- Citrus: Add 1/2 cup of sliced lemons or oranges to the brine.
- Apple: Make a fall flavored brine by adding apple slices, cloves and cinnamon.
This brine works perfectly for baked, grilled, pan seared and smoked pork chops and pork steaks.
