Brining Pork Chops
Brines work by breaking down some of the muscle tissue and helping the meat to draw in moisture. A good brine can really consist of anything but must at a minimum contain 16 parts water to 1 part salt. The general way to do this is 1/4 cup of salt to 4 cups of water.
Bring the brine to a boil along with the aromatics of your choice until it clarifies. Once the brine has cooled to room temperature allow the pork to sit in the brine for between 30 minutes to 4 hours. Do not brine for less than 30 minutes. Once the pork is brined it can be removed from the brine, seared and added to any recipe or just served as-is.
My brine recipe changes from time to time but generally consists of:
- 1/4 cup salt
- 4 cups water
- 1T red pepper flakes
- 1T minced garlic
- 1T coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
After the brine cools soak the pork chops, fully submersed, for 45 minutes. Remove from brine and sear about 5 minutes a side adding season-salt to taste. Cook in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes monitoring to ensure that the pork does not over-cook.