No more dry boring chops!! Brining pork chops before cooking is an easy way to make them extra juicy and tender!

Brine helps the meat to draw in moisture (and salt) adding tons of flavor, especially to lean meats like pork and poultry. This simple pork chop brine makes any cut a savory delight!

Close up of pork chops brining in a zippered bag.

Best Brine for Pork Chops

This savory brine is made with fresh herbs and seasonings and some sugar. While I use water, add in your favorite liquids from apple cider to a cup of white wine. The sky really is the limit for flavors and herbs as long as you’ve got salt, sugar and liquid.

After just a little simmering, the brine should be stored until cool or even overnight. After that, it’s ready to use!

Pork Chop Brine ingredients

Ingredients & Variations

  • A basic brine consists of sugar, salt, water, and seasonings.
  • Variations can be made by using different kinds of peppercorns, thyme, even chili peppers!
  • Be sure to pat pork chops dry before brining.

How to Brine Pork Chops

With a simple pork chop brine, it is super easy to get flavorful chops every time!

  1. Add salt, sugar, and seasonings (per recipe below) to a simmering pot of water.
  2. Cool the brine completely in the refrigerator (or outside if it is chilly)! To speed up chilling, use a bit less water in the boiling step and add in some ice while cooling.
  3. Once cooled add the pork chops and the chilled brine to a ziptop bag and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or up to 4 hours)!
  4. Remove the chops from the brine, pat dry and cook as usual. Do not add extra salt when cooking or the chops may become too salty.

Grill, bake, broil or fry them up!

Tips for Success

As with turkey brine, ensure the sugar and salt are fully dissolved in the water. No need to bring the water to a boil, just a gentle simmer will do!

To ensure that chops don’t become overly salted, be sure to purchase pork that isn’t already brined before or salted before packaging. And if adding additional seasoning before cooking, omit the salt or opt for unsalted seasonings!

Don’t brine them too long (2-4 hours is enough) or the meat can take on a mushy texture.

To store Brine will keep in the fridge about two weeks before the flavors start to fade. Do not store ‘used’ brine. Once your pork has been brined, discard the remaining brine.

Perfectly Tender Pork Chops

Have you tried this Pork Chop Brine? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!

Close up of pork chops brining in a zippered bag
4.99 from 78 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Pork Chop Brine

This simple pork chop brine makes even the toughest cuts of meat a savory delight!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Cooling Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

Ingredients  

  • 4 cups water
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 4 pork chops

Instructions 

  • In a medium-sized pot add water, kosher salt, sugar, peppercorns, bay leaf, and rosemary.
  • Bring to a simmer over high heat. You do not need the water to rapidly boil but you need to make sure the salt and sugar have dissolved in the water.
  • Remove the pot from the heat and cool completely.
  • Once the brine is cool add the pork chops to a large ziptop bag and pour in the brine.
  • Let the pork brine in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours.
  • Rinse and pat dry before cooking.

Notes

Purchase pork that has not been pre-brined. A lot of pork in grocery stores has a saline solution so using brine on that will make it too salty.
Ensure sugar and salt are completely dissolved in the brine.
Brine must be completely cool before adding the pork.
Don't brine them too long (2-4 hours is enough) or the meat can take on a mushy texture.
To season pork before cooking, use herbs and spices without salt.
Do not store 'used' brine. Once your pork has been brined, discard the remaining brine.
4.99 from 78 votes

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1pork chop | Calories: 209 | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 784mg | Potassium: 500mg | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American

Like our recipes?
Follow us on Pinterest!

Follow us on Pinterest

Top image - Pork chops brining in a zippered bag. Bottom image - pork chip brine ingredients

Pork chops brining in a zippered bag with writing
Pork chops brining in a zippered bag with text.
Pork chops brining in a ziptop bag with text

Categories:

, , ,

Recipes you'll love

About the author

Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!
See more posts by Holly

Follow Holly on social media:

pinterest facebook twitter instagram

Free eBook!

Subscribe to receive weekly recipes and get a FREE Bonus e-book: Quick & Easy Weeknight Meals!

You can unsubscribe anytime by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of emails you receive.

latest & greatest

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. Used this brine yesterday for our evening meal. Used 10 boneless pork chops and recipe just as directed. I breaded and oven baked the pork chops. They were by far the tenderest chops I have ever prepared. I will definitely use this brine again.4 stars

  2. Great recipe but dreadful measurements. How can you scale it up or down. How tablespoons make a cup? Please use grams it’s what most of the world use

    1. To scale the servings you can either use the 2x/3x button or use the print page and adjust either up or down. There are 16 tablespoons in 1 cup.

  3. Holly, you’re the best! Your website is my “go to” recipe bank for delicious recipes that are easy as well.

  4. I have used this countless times and even made a batch to save some in the fridge. NEVER disappoints! THANK YOU5 stars

  5. If I only have 2 thick pork chops to brine should I cut the brine recipe by half or keep it the same?

    1. Hi Victoria, you definitely can half the recipe to avoid having too much wasted.

  6. I am trying this for pork loin chops this weekend.
    Can I use regular brown sugar instead of dark?

    1. Yes Germaine, you could use regular brown sugar, but this will change the taste. It’ll still be delicious!

  7. Holly,
    I gotta tell ya…your website is my “go to” place when I’m looking for a recipe that’s quick, easy and delicious without resorting to exotic ingredients. I’ve used more of your recipes than any other website. You’re the best!
    That being said, I tried this brining technique yesterday on my pork chops which I pan fried. In the past, my pan fried chops wound up dry and leathery. You brining technique resulted in chops that were moist and tender.
    I always look forward to receiving additional recipes from you in my e-mail. Thank you so much.5 stars

  8. I fixed a crockpot full of Pork Chops (using your recipe on this site). I brined half of them per this recipe.

    The difference in tenderness between those that I brined for 1 hour and the ones that were not brined was amazing.

    Thanks for the tip!

  9. I followed the recipe exactly but added a garlic clove, smashed, 1 crushed juniper berry and a slice of onion…yum!!!5 stars

  10. I was wanting to know if the salt has to be kosher salt? Can I use plain non iodized salt instead? It sounds really good and I’m going to try this recipe. It sounds awesome

  11. I used 1 1/4″ thick pork chops and used the exact ingredients as described. I altered the procedure slightly by boiling the ingredients for about 30 seconds in one cup of water until the sugar and salt were almost dissolved, Then took the pan off the heat and added one cup of cold water, stirred until all the salt and sugar dissolved, and added two more cups of cold water with some ice cubes included. I brined the chops for 6 hours. This recipe says 2 to 4 hours but some say 8 to 12 hours. Anyway, it worked perfectly and was not too salty. I rinsed the chops well and did not add any more salt. This is definitely the way I’ll always prepare pork chops from now on.

    From there I dried the chops well and rubbed on a small amount of rubbed sage and powdered garlic.
    The pan roast method of cooking the chops is probably the best way of doing them, but I tried another method that also worked well without frying in a pan. I placed the chops on rack over an oven pan and broiled them. I let the chops get good and browned on top, then turned them over, placed a remote read thermometer in one of them and continued broiling until the temperature reached 160F. Although 140F is usually recommended, these were tender and juicy with just a slight hint of pink inside. In other words, they couldn’t have been any better IMHO.5 stars

  12. I only had time to brine for 1 hour, but still, the pork was tender and flavourful. This will be my go-to pork chop recipe.5 stars

      1. That should work just fine Trudy. I would follow the same instructions in this recipe. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!