Brining pork chops is a great way to flavour them and to help them retain a juicy interior while cooking. This Maple Brined Pork Chop recipe is a great way to make your pork chops extra tasty! Oven roasting / Pan roasting the pork chops leads to great flavour and juicy texture. The brine recipe is super simple and you can add a huge number of flavours.


Ingredients:
1L (4 cups) water
50g coarse salt
50g (60 mL / ¼ cup) sugar
125 mL (½ cup) maple syrup - dark late harvest if you can get it
15 mL (1 Tbsp) Dijon mustard
15 mL (1 Tbsp) juniper berries
7-8 whole cloves
4 garlic cloves, smashed
Thumb of chopped ginger - optional
2-3 branches fresh thyme - optional
4-6 pork chops

Method:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a pot and bring to a boil.
Stir to make sure that the salt and sugar has dissolved.
Chill the brine completely, in a nonreactive container.
Making the brine can be done a few days ahead, just keep it in the fridge.
Add the pork chops to the brine and put back in the fridge for 6-8 hours.
The sweet spot is 6-8 hours but no more than 12 hours.
Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry.

Preheat oven to 230ºC (450°F).
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a cast-iron or other oven-proof fry pan.
Cook chop until beginning to brown, 3-4 minutes.
Turn and cook until second side is beginning to brown, about 2 -3 minutes.
Place pan in the oven and roast the chops until an instant-read thermometer inserted into centre of a chop registers 275ºC (140°F).
Let rest 4-5 minutes before eating.

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