Alton Brown brines his pepper pork chops for a best-of-both-worlds result: juicy meat with plenty of flavor. He adds a pound of ice to quick-cool the brine so the pork doesn’t have to wait around any longer than necessary.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 14 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 14 hr |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, slightly crushed
- 1 pound ice (about 4 cups)
- Four 1 to 1 1/2-inch-thick bone-in pork chops
- 3 ounces dried apple slices
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, julienned
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Combine the vegetable broth, 1/2 cup kosher salt, brown sugar and peppercorns in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook just until the salt and sugar dissolve, and then remove from the heat and add the ice. Place the pork chops into a 2-gallon zip-top bag along with the brine and seal. Place in a plastic container and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove the chops from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Sprinkle on both sides with the remaining 2 teaspoons kosher salt and set aside.
- Place the apples in a 5 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker.
- Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 12-inch stainless steel saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute the pork chops on both sides until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Once browned, place the pork chops into the slow cooker atop the apples. Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the pan, followed by the onions, and saute until they begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth to the pan to deglaze. Add the black pepper and thyme and stir to combine. Transfer this to the slow cooker, set to high, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Decrease the heat to low and continue cooking until the pork is tender and falling away from the bone, another 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 543 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 32 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 24 g |
| Protein | 45 g |
| Cholesterol | 140 mg |
| Sodium | 1694 mg |
Reviews
I’ve had this recipe on my radar for a while and finally decided to try it. I followed the recipe word-for-word with one deviation, I dried the apples myself in a dehydrator. Luckily, the neighbors hadn’t made a plan yet for dinner and we invited them. Everyone loved it! The meat was so tender and flavorful that everyone wished there was more. It will now take a place in my regular rotation.
I served this alongside stuffed tomatoes on a bed of pearled garlic and herb couscous with a basic chopped salad to accommodate a vegetarian in the group. I highly recommend the combination.
I also highly recommend reading recipes before you commit to them so you don’t end up serving an item you will not appreciate from the word “go” and then penalizing the chef and their creation with a single star rating. This recipe turned out exactly as Alton promised and deserves ten stars.
I’ve never tried a brine; so for those in the know, this would have been a no-brainer don’t try recipe. I’m HIGHLY sensitive to salt, so of course I should not have tried this. But I did, and of course I didn’t like it. I’m only leaving this review for a watchout for dummies like me. lol Don’t try if you don’t do salty. 🙂
I watched him cook these today on his show. I will do mine in my Ninja slow cooker. That thing is amazing! I’ve done carnitas in there twice and the tenderness is unbelievable! Will try this recipe in a day or two while we’re in ‘stay at home’ mode.
PS. I’ve also done spaghetti bolognese in there too and the flavours are unbeatable!
Great
I’ve been making this recipe for years. It’s always a hit when I serve it up. Sometimes it is difficult for me to find dried apples so I sub in fresh apples. I go with 1.5″ chops. Someone in another comment said they’ve used dried apricots…I may try that since they seem to be easier to find. They do have a tendency to dry out, so I cut my time down 30 – 45 minutes.
The results of the labor were well worth it. The pork was so incredibly tender. I saw other reviews say it was dry, but I think my choice of a nicely marbled cut solved that problem. Every bite was delightful.
The flavor was OK. I just bought a slow cooker because of AB & this was my first “real” use except for overnight oatmeal. My pork chops were 1″. I followed the recipe exactly except I stopped the cooking with an hour & a half remaining. What a mess! The chops fell to pieces when I tried to extract. A waste of expensive meat IMO. After brining I should’ve grilled them. If this is an example of what a slow cooker produces(mine is a Crock Pot) I’ll be kicking it to the curb, after all the chops cost more than the cooker. BTW The results might have been better with 1.5″–2″ chops but that’s not what the recipe says.
Love this method for chops. I did choose a nice thick chop. super moist and tender. have made it with dried apricots . just as wonderful.
I tried this and it turned out great! The meat was a little on the dry side though. What is the purpose of setting the slow cooker to “High” for the first 1.5 hours?
Alton never disappoints! Really Yummy