Chops must be at least 1/2 to 1 inch thick and brined for at least 1 to 2 hours if you want perfectly juicy pork chops (ideally bone-in). The brine that will keep the chops wet is key to the success of this recipe. There are numerous brine alternatives available depending on the flavor you want to achieve, but it is still an essential component of the dish as a whole.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 4 cups cold water
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 (5 ounce) center-cut pork chops on the bone
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or more as needed
- aluminum foil
Instructions
- Make the brine: Combine cold water, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a bowl. Place pork chops in a shallow baking dish and pour brine over top. Let sit for 1 to 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, make the rub: Combine brown sugar, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, mustard powder, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Remove pork chops from brine, rinse under cold water, and pat dry. Rub pork chops generously on both sides with the seasoning mix. Discard brine.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to the hot skillet. Add pork chops to the hot oil and sear until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Turn pork chops and place skillet in the preheated oven. Bake until no longer pink in the center, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- I serve these topped with
- . The salsa does require extra time, but you will love the combo!
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 309 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 29 g |
| Cholesterol | 45 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 5980 mg |
| Sugars | 27 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I followed the recipe step by step, didn’t turn out as I expected. Good taste, though the pork chops pretty tough and dry. I wouldn’t waste my time with making them again.
Tender pork chop with great taste! Family loved it.
If you have a favorite rub, use that but the brining is absolutely critical. I will never cook pork chops again without brining them. Wow. What a HUGE difference. I can’t believe I never knew this. My family inhaled them. Thanks so much for this recipe!!
I hated pork chops my entire life until I found this recipe. I had always avoided making pork chops because every time I’d had them or made them myself in the past, they were dry and tough. These are incredible. I followed the recipe exactly (soaked the chops in the brine for 2 hours). They come out moist and perfectly cooked. I will say that some may not like the sweetness from the rub (though I thought it was perfect). I’m writing this after making it a second time and I’ll continue to make pork chops this way for the rest of my life!
I really loved it. Didn’t know I could brine pork. I will do this again.
very good moist and easy to make
We loved it! I’m wondering if the brown sugar could be cut back a little though.
These Pork Chops were extremely moist and flavorful.
It turned out perfect, it was juicy and tasted great, I didn’t change a thing
Thes were the best pork chops I have ever had. Followed the recipe exactly. Used 1.5”, bone in, center cut chops. Brined for about 3 hours. It took them about 35 minutes in the oven to get them to 145. Can’t wait to make them again!
They came out a bit salty-maybe I left it in the brine too long. Otherwise pork chops are tender and “moist” as promised.
Definitely moist and juicy. I will definitely do them again but using a lot less salt in the soaking solution. If they were not so salty I would have given them 4 stars.
This is a great, simple recipe. Made it as is, but for my taste it has too much sugar. Will probably reduce it a good amount. I never, ever order pork chops in restaurants bec/ they inevitably make it dry and tough. This recipe turned out a surprisingly moist pork chop! Will make again, and probably go easy on the time in oven. Probably also choose a fattier cut.
Very tasty and simple. I love this recipe. My only complaint is that I honestly don’t think the peppercorns or bay leaf added much. Most brines I have used require that you heat the mixture on the cook top; then add ice cubes to cool it off. Next time I make this, I will dissolve the Kosher salt in 2 cups of water low over heat along with the bay leaf and peppercorns; let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes; then use 2 cups of ice to cool off the mixture before I add my pork chops. I think that will bring out the flavors of the peppercorns and bay leaf. If I’m in a hurry and don’t want to go through that process, I’ll probably just use the salt and water for my brine and save the peppercorns and bay leaf since they didn’t really add much. Otherwise a great recipe. As soon as there are nectarines or peaches at my grocery store, I’ll try Chef John’s nectarine salsa. Sounds like a great combo!
Love this recipe SO MUCH, I’m making it for dinner tonight for the second time. I stick to the recipe exactly as written and the pork chops are moist, flavorful and delicious. I highly recommend this recipe.
Excellent. My husband, who is not a pork chop fan asks for them now. Followed recipe exactly and they are moist and delicious
Not sure if I’ve ever given 5 stars to anyone. This is my first. I was looking for a quick and easy pork chops recipe. I made my dry rub the night before and took my pork chops to work since I didn’t want to over marinate them. I put them in the water mixture 1 1/2 hours before leaving work. I like meats with a little bit of sweet added to them. This was fast, easy, moist, and delicious!
This is surprisingly good! I was missing onion and mustard powder. So I squeezed a bit of mustard and mixed it all. It turned out very good. I’ll make it again.
This recipe is wonderful and I have made it twice now. No changes needed
Wonderful.
I had a pack of thin sliced, boneless pork chops I had to use so I looked for some recipe that was better then ending up with pan fried pieces of shoe leather and this did the trick. The chops remained moist and tender and the resulting pan sauce was amazing. I will be making this again but with the proper bone in thicker chops.