This may sound a little bit ridiculous or sarcastic, but it is a true factor I take into consideration when I go grocery shopping. Due to the pandemic, a lot of grocery prices inflated. I started cooking more pork dishes to because of the inflation. I did cook pork chops in the past but didn’t have satisfying results. Those chops were either too dry or had an undercooked smell.
A few weeks ago, I had a dinner with a customer at a steakhouse in Dallas. I followed the customer’s recommendation and ordered a bone-in, thick-cut pork chop (see below). I was really impressed with the chop, which was very juicy, tender, and flavorful. My customer is good at cooking and grew up eating steaks and chops. I asked him how to cook chops like that. He said he didn’t know.
When I came back, I decided to do some research. When I saw the idea of marinating (brining) chops in brine (salt and water) solution, I felt that might be the trick. It turned out the chop roasted after brining did taste like what I had at the steakhouse.
I cooked the “recipe” a few times. Each time, the chop tasted sort of different. Here are a few things you need to pay attention to:
- Bone-in chops seem better than boneless chops
- Thicker chops (1.5” ore more) hold moisture (juice) better
- There are recipes that use 2 cups of water, ½ cups of salt and sugar. I found that this is too concentrated. I use 3 cups of water, ¼ cups of salt and 1/3 cups of sugar. Depending on the thickness of the chop and concentration of the brine solution, marination may vary between 8-14 hours. I once used 1” thick chops and marinated for 10 hours in refrigerator and 6-7 hours at room temperature. The resulting chops were too salty.
- When the roasted chops are rested, flip them 2-3 times, so the juice would evenly distribute in the chop.
Juicy Pork Chop 多汁猪排
Equipment
- 10‘ cast iron pan (or frying pan)
- Large bowl or glass baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 1.5-inch thick pork chop
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 cups salt
- 1/3 cups sugar
- half medium onion
- 1 stem celery
- 1 small carrot
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 3-4 tbsp neutral flavor oil
Instructions
- Chop the onion, carrot, and celery like the following
- Warm up the water in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Add water, sugar, and salt to the baking pan. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt
- Add the sliced veggies and black pepper to the brine solution. Submerge the pork chops into the solution
- Cover the pan with a lid. Put it in the refrigerator
- After about 10-12 hours, take out the chops. Drain the chops with kitchen paper towels. Place the dried chops into the cast iron pan
- Set the oven to 270F. Place the cast iron pan into the oven, and bake for 20-25 mins. Flip the chops at half time
- After baking, remove the chops from the cast iron pan. Place the pan on the stove. Turn the heat to high. When the liquid in the pan dries out, add the oil
- When fumes come out of the pan, turn the heat to medium, and put the chops back into the pan. Roast/sear each side for 2 minutes
- Let the chops stand in the pan to sear the edges to render the fat
- Place the chops onto a plate, and let them rest for 4-5 mins before serving
- Plate the chop with other side dishes
Video
Notes
- Depending on the thickness of the chop and concentration of the brine solution, total brine time varies. For 1.5" thick chops, brining lasts about 12 hours.
- Since sugar was added to the brine solution, the chop surface chars easily. Watch out.
- The essential ingredients for the brine solution is salt and water. You don't have to add the spices, but they certainly add flavors. You can choose different spices.
- Bone-in chops add additional flavor.
- You could choose to sear in the pan first and then roast in the oven after that.
- You could do butter basting before letting the chop rest.
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