Juicy Baked Porkchops
Juicy Baked Porkchops
Print RecipeIngredients
- 8 medium pork chops (3/4-1" thick)
Brine:
- 6-8 cups water (enough to completely cover pork chops)
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp peppercorns (or 1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper)
Rub:
- 1 Tbsp Rosemary
- 1 Tbsp Thyme
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions:
Marinate:
- Combine about 2 cups of the water and the rest of the brine ingredients in a bowl or saucepan and bring to a boil in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- Once the sugar and salt has dissolved, combine with the rest of the water and chill in the fridge until completely cooled.
- Once cooled, pour the brine over the pork chops and return to the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 or 4 hours.
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Remove the pork chops from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel.
- If the pork has a fat cap on one side, cut slits into the fat.
- Combine the rub ingredients and rub over the pork chops.
- Lay the chops side by side in a 9×13 pan.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes then broil for another 2-4 minutes to brown them. Remove from oven when they reach 142° or so then remove from the oven, cover, and allow them to reach 145° before serving.
Notes:
Make Ahead: This is best if it can marinate for about 3-4 hours at least.
*If you don’t have time to brine the chops, just add 1 tsp salt to the rub mixture.
**Thicker chops will need extra time while thinner chops will cook faster. They need to reach 145°.
Diet: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free
These were extremely tender and juicy. It took 20 min + 4 min broiling for only 2 chops, so I’d plan on at least 30 minutes if doing a pan full.
The brine is perfect. It makes the meat super tender. We accidentally way overcooked these and they were still very tender, even though they were rather dry.
However, the rub is not what you’d expect on a porkchop. Next time I do this, I would completely omit the sugar and add some herbs to make it a savory flavor.