Super Thick Brined Pork Chops

Hello. I'd like to try my hand at making some brined huge pork chops on my weber kettle and Im looking for some advice. I was thinking I might sear them over hot coals and cook low and slow over indirect heat with some wood chips thrown in. Can anyone offer some recommendations for brining mixture, cooking times, temps, etc?

I saw a pile of lovely bronzed 2 inch thick porterhouse-type pork chops in a BBQ joint in Luling, Texas yesterday while on a brisket and sausage comparison tour of Hill Country places and I have been regretting not ordering one (or two!). Hoping to make a very rough approximation in my backyard soon!
Thanks in advance for the help.

this is the brine I use

1.5 gallons water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp Tony C's Cajun seasoning
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary

I only brine my chops (typically 1.5 inch thick, bone in, center cuts) for maybe an hour and fifteen minutes before rinsing them off & then grilling.

I did some on my Weber kettle this past weekend high heat sear over lump charcoal, then tossed on some apple chips, and then put the lid on to finish , maybe 20 minutes total.

good luck

thanks! the brine looks wonderful. Im new to brining but have been reading up. You boil it for a short time to dissolve the salt-sugar, right? I understand that it must cool completely before submerging chops

Question on the cooking: do you use an indirect/lower heat zone for the covered-wood chip part of the cooking?

champs2005 wrote:thanks! the brine looks wonderful. Im new to brining but have been reading up. You boil it for a short time to dissolve the salt-sugar, right? I understand that it must cool completely before submerging chops

Question on the cooking: do you use an indirect/lower heat zone for the covered-wood chip part of the cooking?

warm water(not boiling) is the easiest way to disolve the brine ingredients(specifially the salt and brown sugar) then cool it down with ice cubes, take those into account for quantity of water.

I charred each side and marked the chops and then moved them to position on the outside ring of the grate and then covered after tossing the apple chips on. finished em up nice, and even got a small smoke ring.

sounds wonderful, thanks.

I like to use "pickling" salt and superfine sugar to make brines because each dissolves in cold water. (Both are just sugar and salt that are ground finer than normal.) Most big-box grocery stores carry these.

Otherwise, yes, you need to use warm or hot water to get the salt and sugar to dissolve. The issue with using warm/hot water is that you then need to wait a while to get the water temperature back down so you can add the meat.

There are two basic ways to deal with this:

1. The quick and simple method is to use some warm water from the sink and mix it vigorously with the salt and sugar. Give it time to dissolve. Then add the rest of the water for the bring, using cold water.

2. A second way to deal with this is to heat half of the water, mix it with the salt, sugar, spices, etc. When it dissolves, add it to an equivalent amount of ice. (For example, a gallon of water is about 8 1/3 pounds. So you can use a half gallon of hot water plus a little over 4 pounds of ice. Don't worry about getting the measurements that precise - it isn't that important. I certainly wouldn't weigh the ice. I would just eye ball what looks like a half gallon.) This will leave you with a cold brine and you can then add your meat. Also, some spices give off more flavor when added to warm or hot water.

I usually use a slightly stronger brine (i.e. more salt per given amount of water) than Jim's, but it is best to start with a weaker brine since it gives you more room for error.


To cook, first cook directly over the heat for about 2 minutes per side (or until nicely browned).

Then, as you noted, use an indirect heat zone with the lid on for the remainder. I think Jim's estimate for 20 minutes total is probably about right (it is good to develop a sense for how the meat should feel when it is done). If you have a good meat thermometer, take the meat off the grill when it hits about 135-140 degrees, depending on your taste Let them rest for about 5 minutes after you remove from the heat, before you cut into them. It will rise another 5-10 degrees while resting.

I don't like brining chops, somehow they end up tasting like ham to me. I salt and pepper (or whatever spice you want) and just grill like I would a steak, making sure to not overcook (I use a probe thermometer to keep track of temp). They get a lovely thin char and stay nice and juicy.

I might have mentioned before my lack of love for pork chops, but I have to say the best I've ever had were some really thick ones that my neighbor bought from Costco. She brined them and breaded them before cooking them. Sweet Baboo wants them again as soon as possible, whether he has to do household repairs for her or hound me into driving to Costco to get them.

champs2005 wrote:thanks! the brine looks wonderful. Im new to brining but have been reading up. You boil it for a short time to dissolve the salt-sugar, right? I understand that it must cool completely before submerging chops

Yes. Salt and sugar dissolve more easily in hot water, and you can extract more of the herb/spice flavors with heat as well. Make sure you cool it completely. The bring and meat should remain at or below fridge temperature the entire time they are in contact.

leek wrote:I don't like brining chops, somehow they end up tasting like ham to me.

Have you tried brining with a weaker solution or a shorter period of time?

leek wrote:I don't like brining chops, somehow they end up tasting like ham to me. I salt and pepper (or whatever spice you want) and just grill like I would a steak, making sure to not overcook (I use a probe thermometer to keep track of temp). They get a lovely thin char and stay nice and juicy.

perhaps the ones you brined were already injected and "enhanced" prior to you buying them, essentially double brining them.

enhanced meat always tastes like ham when it is cooked to me.

just a thought.

A trick I learned from a sous chef of mine that was from Sri Lanka was to use pureed peeled papaya (w/seeds). About 2 Tbs per lb of meat. It contains papain, an enzyme that breaks down the meat. We used it on a similar cut of pork, brined overnite w/jalapenos and garlic and then grilled w/fantastic results.

jimswside wrote:

leek wrote:I don't like brining chops, somehow they end up tasting like ham to me. I salt and pepper (or whatever spice you want) and just grill like I would a steak, making sure to not overcook (I use a probe thermometer to keep track of temp). They get a lovely thin char and stay nice and juicy.

perhaps the ones you brined were already injected and "enhanced" prior to you buying them, essentially double brining them.

I don't think so, but maybe.

I dont want to turn the chop into ham. (not that I dont like ham) I thought the point of brining was to allow you to cook a fairly lean cut of (non-heirloom) pork like a chop on the grill without it drying out. It's not a roast, but a steak.

I certainly hope that the chop I plan on buying from Jerry's Quality Meats (on Dempster in Skokie) will not be injected with brine already like a Butterball turkey.

Im planning on making Jim's recipe Sunday...Ill report back. Thanks for all the advice!

champs2005 wrote:I dont want to turn the chop into ham. (not that I dont like ham) I thought the point of brining was to allow you to cook a fairly lean cut of (non-heirloom) pork like a chop on the grill without it drying out. It's not a roast, but a steak.

I certainly hope that the chop I plan on buying from Jerry's Quality Meats (on Dempster in Skokie) will not be injected with brine already like a Butterball turkey.

Im planning on making Jim's recipe Sunday...Ill report back. Thanks for all the advice!

good luck,

I find the little over an hour in the brine works nice, gets the flavor in, but not too much.

I am a big hot sauce, dipping sauce guy, and I dont add anything to these chops after the brine & rinse and before cooking, and then when I am eating them, they are plump, juicy, and popping with enough flavor.

Jazzfood wrote:A trick I learned from a sous chef of mine that was from Sri Lanka was to use pureed peeled papaya (w/seeds). About 2 Tbs per lb of meat. It contains papain, an enzyme that breaks down the meat. We used it on a similar cut of pork, brined overnite w/jalapenos and garlic and then grilled w/fantastic results.

Interesting. I have two questions. First, isn't that enzyme that's in papaya also in Adolph's Meat Tenderizer? Second, using either actual pureed papaya or AMT, how deep into the meat does the tenderizing effect penetrate? Does the real papaya do better, i.e., penetrate deeper? I don't doubt it would make a better contribution to the flavor. Guess that's three questions.

Yes it's in Adolph's although I've never used it. I was in the tropics of S. Fla and the fruit was overly abundant.

We played around quite a bit and decided 12 hrs was the appropriate amount of time for our spec which was approx 2" thick center cut bone in, chine off aka #412g in the meat buyers guide.

We also heated the brine that also included diluted teriyaki, ginger, garlic, brn sugar, k salt and jalapeno's, then let cool and added the fruit @ that point.

Ooh, that sounds fantastic! Thanks, Jazzfood.

champs2005 wrote:I dont want to turn the chop into ham. (not that I dont like ham) I thought the point of brining was to allow you to cook a fairly lean cut of (non-heirloom) pork like a chop on the grill without it drying out. It's not a roast, but a steak.

I certainly hope that the chop I plan on buying from Jerry's Quality Meats (on Dempster in Skokie) will not be injected with brine already like a Butterball turkey.

Im planning on making Jim's recipe Sunday...Ill report back. Thanks for all the advice!

I've been brining pork since I read an article in Cook's Illustrated about it...I'm a convert. It never tastes like ham to me, either, so I am guessing if you follow Jim's advice (very similar to what has worked for me), you'll be happy. It definitely makes them much juicier, though also saltier, which may be part of the reason Leek though it was ham-like. It's completely missing ham's other elements, to me, though. It's mostly the salt - and maybe a bit of texture - that is similar.

It definitely makes them much juicier, though also saltier, which may be part of the reason Leek though it was ham-like. It's completely missing ham's other elements, to me, though. It's mostly the salt - and maybe a bit of texture - that is similar.

I've experienced the ham like taste from brining and I think its more the sugar, or the sugar in conjunction with the salt that does it.

Ham is generally brined, so if one wants to get away from the ham-like flavor, alter the composition of the brine. All you need is salt and water. Everything else is optional, though equal parts of salt and sugar is fairly common.

Brined food shouldn't taste that salty (unless it is deliberately made so). If it tastes too salty for your taste, try a lower-salt brine or brine for less time.

rickster wrote:It definitely makes them much juicier, though also saltier, which may be part of the reason Leek though it was ham-like. It's completely missing ham's other elements, to me, though. It's mostly the salt - and maybe a bit of texture - that is similar.

I've experienced the ham like taste from brining and I think its more the sugar, or the sugar in conjunction with the salt that does it.[/quote]

That makes sense.

darren77 wrote:Brined food shouldn't taste that salty (unless it is deliberately made so). If it tastes too salty for your taste, try a lower-salt brine or brine for less time

[/quote]

The problem is with the definition of "that salty." My guess is that many people like salt or are used to it and don't notice that brined foods taste salty. I rarely add salt to things, so, to me, I can absolutely taste the salt, even if I use the least amount of salt that is recommended to get the positive gain of using a brine. I use the Cook's Illustrated guide as the minimum of salt/water ratio as their research suggested that you will not get the same results by using a shorter brine or one with less salt. If another brine suggests more salt, I do reduce it.

Going to put them on a Weber Charcoal Grill tonight.
Anyone made any good recipies with them???????

Thanks,

Wally Wade