It's time for recipe of the day.In today's episode I am telling you the best way to brine pork chops all of which has been tested comparison side by side to make sure that we are doing the optimum brine for flavor and texture
without having to take extra time.So we want it to be as quick and easy and convenient as possible while getting the best results.Okay, let's dive in how to do this.So first, what is brining?
It is the process of soaking meat in salt water so that it absorbs in both the salt flavor and extra liquid.It seems that meat is better able to absorb salt water than plain water.
So when you put it in salt water, it can soak up more than if you just did plain water.
Now some people add extra ingredients to their brine, not just the salt and the water, but I have found in my testing with chicken and in a quick test with these pork chops too, that in the small amount of time that you actually need to brine these guys, they are not going to pick up too much flavor.
Having said that, I often do scoop in a good tablespoon or so of garlic powder because that does seem to permeate a little bit at least, Or the other thing that I do, which is like a whole extra step, is to make my flavor bomb slurry brine.
So that is the one that I did for turkey.And that is where I use a food processor or blender and I am just pulverizing together the salt and the water and a whole bunch of herbs, garlic and onion.
and it just makes a really, really potent brine and that will penetrate these pork chops.If you want to do that extra step, do that.
But if you're just going to add the ingredients to the water or even if you're going to try and like simmer ingredients with the water to infuse them and then cool down that brine, it is not going to be flavorful enough.So I would just skip that.
Really what we're looking for here is that like really great midweek pork chop.Like what is the least amount of effort that you can put in to make those pork chops taste better than ever.So my standard brine recipe is four cups of cold water.
And yes, I did test it cold versus like warm tap water because there are some recipes online that tell you to use the warm tap water.It does help the salt dissolve.
And I believe the theory that they say is that it's actually bringing the meat up to kind of more of a room temperature, so it's going to cook more quickly and therefore stay juicier in cooking, but that did not actually turn out to be the case.
The brine worked better with the cold water.We got much better results.So four cups of cold water, and then it matters what kind of salt you are using to determine how much salt to put in.
So if you're using normal table salt, it's going to be three tablespoons.If you are using Morton's kosher salt, that's a coarser salt, that's going to be four and a half tablespoons.
And if you are using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, a different brand of coarse kosher salt, that's going to need six tablespoons. and this is because the different brands of salt, different types of salt, have different sized crystals.
You're gonna mix that salt and water together, add in the other ingredients if you want to, and then you're adding in your pork chops.
I'll say that I typically do this in a big measuring cup, so I mix it together in my like eight cup measuring cup, and then I just add the pork chops right into there if I'm doing three or four of them.
If you have more, then you're gonna use a bigger bowl or you could use a zip top bag.You just want to make sure that the meat is fully submerged.
If you make up your mixture of brine and add your pork chops to it and it is not submerged, you either need a different container or you can make a little bit more brine and pour it in just to make sure that they're covered.
Now what kind of pork chops should you be using for this?The best ones are the center cut rib chops, ideally one inch thick.
Now these are essentially loin chops with the bone on them and it is loin meat just like it is chicken breast meat that is best when brined.
I don't usually brine chicken thighs, for instance, because that dark meat does not benefit anywhere near as much.It's already juicy and delicious.It doesn't need that extra tenderizing.
However, the pork loin meat like the chicken breast does really benefit from this.You do want some kind of loin.You wouldn't use like a shoulder chop or anything like that here.Just don't even bother.
That is going to be juicy and delicious without this brining step. Now why am I saying one inch chops?Really that's going to benefit the most too.
If you have those thin chops, they're just being cooked for a very short time and the little bite-sized pieces when you cut them in your mouth, they're already so small that they're going to be fairly tender.That thinness makes them more tender.
It's just when you want that big meaty pork chop, big meaty pork loin chop like these ones, that is when you're going to find the best benefit and that it's worth your time to do this.
So I've done the testing to find the minimum amount of time that you want to brine these for, and there is a chart I will link to this post on Cook The Story, but if you just go to cookthestory.com and type in brine pork chops to the search bar, you'll get there as well.
But there is a chart there that tells you the results from this test, the side-by-side.We brined them all, different amounts of time, and then cooked them and then tasted them.
If you're in the brine for just 15 minutes, really a little bit of seasoning, but not much difference. 30 minutes you get a little bit of seasoning but not a lot of difference in like texture, juiciness, nothing like that.
At one hour you get really beautifully seasoned pork chops that are juicy and tender with just a noticeable difference in that texture and tenderness.Just a little bit better than the 30 minute point.
Really the best is somewhere between one hours and two hours.That's where you get that seasoning all the way through and you get that noticeable difference in that juiciness and tenderness.
Now you can do this for two hours in the fridge or it can be on the counter.It's going to be fine in that amount of time, especially if you started with the cold water and cold pork chops.
Now, if you just had the one hour, that's going to be good too.And like I said, at the 30 minute mark, you had a nice seasoning kind of through there.So if you even put them in for 30 minutes, it is going to benefit.
Trying to go closer to that one hour, trying to go closer to the two hours, that is going to make it better and better. but do not go beyond two hours.
When we got into two and a half, three hours, oh four hours, way too salty and the texture of the meat is starting to get like processed, almost like a deli turkey lunch meat, that kind of thing.We don't want to go all the way to there.
Now I will say that if you have those thinner loin chops, like about one inch thick or even less, then you want to only do 30 minutes.They will get a nice seasoning and a mild texture change in there.
And so if you just pop them into that brine right before you start making dinner and they're just sitting on the counter, thin pork chops in a saltwater brine for like 30 minutes while you're prepping other stuff, and then you're just going to like pan fry them or grill them real fast, that is going to make a difference to those thinner ones.
And that's pretty much all that I have to say.After you take them out of the brine, you don't rinse them or anything, you can pat them dry.You can add seasonings, just don't add anything that has salt because they're already well salted.
And then you're going to cook them however you normally cook pork chops.I will link to grilling pork chops and to baking pork chops.
And I also have a like how to cook pork chops perfectly, which involves searing them in a pan and then finishing in the oven.I will link to those.I'm going to remind you that it is perfectly safe to cook your pork chop to 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
It's going to be a little bit pink in the middle at that point.That is the new standard by the USDA that has been tested to be safe.However, many of us grew up eating sort of well-cooked pork that is fully white in the middle.
That is at 160 degrees Fahrenheit.If you are like that, then you don't want to stop at 145.Put them in a little bit longer.But I do urge you to try the lower temperature.Just try to get used to it.Maybe go slowly.
Do it at 155 this time, 152, 150 next time.And see because it is so much juicier and more tender when it's cooked a little bit less like that.And I think you're going to really love it once you're used to it.So that is 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Often you can take it off the heat. out of the oven, out of the pan, off the grill at 140 degrees Fahrenheit and let it finish getting up to 145 at room temperature.It'll probably hit that.Use an instant read thermometer to make sure.
Before I sign off on this one, and I know there was a lot of information, I have one more thing to tell you.You can freeze brined pork chops.
So you can brine them for that hour or two hours and then drain them of the brine and then put them into your freezing container whether you're using a zip top bag or other kind of container.Make sure they're well wrapped.
You do not want to leave them in the brine though in the freezer.It's going to be way too salty and it's going to kind of have the ice crystals in there can break up the the texture of the meat.You don't want the meat in that water in the freezer.
Okay, I will put the link to this recipe in the show notes for this podcast episode, or you can head to cookthestory.com slash R-O-T-D and get it there.Everything there is arranged by date, so it's helpful to know that today is October 29th of 2024.
And if you are a new listener to this podcast, make sure you are subscribed.There are over 1,100 episodes of this podcast, all recipes like this, walking you through them,
perfectly chosen for the day, time of year, helping you make your meal planning or party planning decision processes so much easier.To subscribe, there are two ways to do it.
The easiest is to just get on your phone and go to whichever podcast app you like to use and search for Recipe of the Day.There you will find me.
The other thing you can do is go to that same link cookthestory.com slash ROTD and you do that on your phone and you will see the little buttons across the top for some of the main podcast apps, Apple Podcasts,
YouTube, et cetera, and you can just tap on one of those and it'll take you to the show there.And then you can subscribe or follow, and you can also leave a review and rating.I would love to hear what you think of this show.
Thank you so much for listening.I'm Christine Pittman from cookthestory.com, thecookful.com, the all new chicken cookbook, and from this podcast, Recipe of the Day, I hope you have a great day.Let's get cooking.
Sign in
