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 every time!
I always brine my meat when I have time, it’s a sure fire way to get great results with minimal effort. I use chicken brine, turkey brine and this pork chop brine; you won’t believe how this simple salt mixture can impart so much flavor.
In my opinion, pork chops are an underrated cut of meat. They’re inexpensive, readily available and full of flavor. This cut of meat is fairly lean, so a good pork chop brine is the key to achieving perfectly juicy results time and time again. Once you brine your pork chops you can cook them a variety of ways. Try making some of my favorites like grilled pork chops, smoked pork chops and air fryer pork chops.
These pork chop make a great dinner with side dishes like honey roasted carrots, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted red potatoes.
Pork Chop Brine Ingredients
When you make this pork chop brine you will need water, kosher salt, sugar, ground allspice, fennel seeds, peppercorns, a bay leaf, cloves of garlic and fresh or dried thyme.
How do you make pork chop brine?
To make this pork brine recipe start by pouring a cup of boiling water into a large bowl. Dissolve salt and sugar in that hot water. Add garlic, peppercorns, herbs and spices to the bowl. Pour in cold water, then add pork chops to the brine. Make sure the pork chops are submerged in the brine. Place the bowl in the refrigerator. Let the chops soak up the brine for 6 to 24 hours. Remove the pork chops from the liquid and pat them dry with paper towels. Then cook your pork as desired.
Tips For The Perfect Pork CHop Brine
- I typically brine my pork in a large bowl, but a brining bag will also work. You can find brining bags online or at kitchen stores.
- If the brine doesn’t completely cover your chops, it’s fine to add a little more water until they’re fully submerged.
- This recipe calls for kosher salt. If you’d prefer to use table salt, use 3 1/2 tablespoons.
- You can make the pork chop brine up to 3 days before you plan to use it.
- This recipe calls for fennel seeds and allspice, which are somewhat unusual ingredients but add SO much complex flavor. You can find both items in the spice aisle of every grocery store.
- This recipe calls for lightly crushed fennel seeds. You can lightly crush the seeds with a mortal and pestle, place them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or lightly chop the seeds with a knife.
Quick Tip
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.
Recipe FAQs
You should your pork for at least 6 hours, but no longer than 24 hours. If you go for less than 6 hours, the pork won’t have time to absorb all the flavors. Do not exceed 24 hours or the meat can become overly salty. I typically aim for about 12 hours when possible.
Brining is essentially a form of marinade with a higher salt content. The salt adds flavor to the pork, and also helps it to retain moisture, which mean you don’t have to worry about dry pork chops! Using a brine makes the meat more flavorful and tender than a chop that has not been immersed in brine.
You do not need to rinse pork after brining. Simply pat the pork dry with paper towels and remove any peppercorns, leaves or seeds.
Follow Me
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. Once you try it, you’ll find yourself making it on a regular basis.
More Great Pork Chop Recipes
Smothered Pork Chops
35 mins
Fried Pork Chops
35 mins
Honey Garlic Pork Chops (Slow Cooker)
5 hrs 15 mins
Stuffed Pork Chops
30 mins
Pork Chop Brine Video
LOve This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Pork Chop Brine
Ingredients
- 8 cups water divided use
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds lightly crushed
- 2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Pour 1 cup of boiling water into a large bowl that will fit all of the pork chops. Make sure the bowl will fit into your refrigerator.
- Add the salt and sugar to the water and stir until dissolved
- Add the allspice, fennel seeds, peppercorns, bay leaf, garlic and thyme to the bowl.
- Add 7 cups of very cold water to the bowl and stir to combine
- Place the pork chops in the bowl, making sure that they’re completely submerged. You can add more water if needed.
- 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
- Cook the pork as desired. This brine is enough to for 6 pork chops.
Notes
- 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.
- I typically brine my pork in a very large bowl, but a brining bag will also work. You can find brining bags online or at kitchen stores.
- If the brine doesn’t completely cover your chops, it’s fine to add a little more water until they’re fully submerged.
Great brine recipe! It works so well with pork chops, even after I doubled the sugar to make it sweeter! And guess what! It works on chicken wings as well!
This was so tender and juicy, everyone loved it! The crushed fennel seeds were so good in this.
Just tried this pork chop brine, and it really does make a difference! The chops came out tender, juicy, and packed with flavor. My family couldn’t get enough of them!
Oh, my goodness. I can’t wait to try this. The pork chops look moist and delicious.
This brine really made a HUGE difference when cooking pork chops. they were so good!
Wonderful recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Cleveland, Ohio
I lIke the idea of brining meats to keep the moisture in. Sounds delicious.
Sounds amazinggggg! Can you please come over and make me dinner? Seriously…
I have to try this Brine technique! The pork chop looks so flavorful.
Tried these. Absolutely the best. Passed the recipe on to my daughter. She tried the chop cold and it was still juicy. She now has the recipe
The flavors in this brine will make these pork chops everyone’s favorite recipe!
I admit I typically don’t make pork chops very often as I find them a bit underwhelming , but I really should try brining them to help them be extra juicy and have more flavor. Love how easy it is.
This brine makes the best pork chops! I love all the spices.
I was looking for a easy brine to make. I will definitely this one next time!
This pork chop brine adds so much flavor, my meat came out perfectly.
I need to try this asap!!
This looks so delicious and tasty! I can’t wait to give this a try! My family is going to love this!