While it does get insanely COLD in Canada during the winter months, this is not a hindrance for me when it comes to being outside on the grill. Such is my love for fire kissed meats (especially), vegetables and fish. Here’s a simple technique to get juicy and flavorful pork chops on the grill every time.
You’ll Need…
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
water (2 cups + 3-4 cups)
6 sprigs thyme
4 cloves garlic
3 scallions
8 pimento (allspice) berries
- I find that brown sugar gives it a wonderful flavor, but white granulated sugar works just as well.
In a large bowl place 2 cups of lukewarm water, along with the sugar and salt and whisk until there’s no more grit (melted).
Then add the other ingredients and whisk violently so as to bruise the herbs and garlic etc. This will help to release their flavors in the brine. Top with 3-4 cups of COLD water and mix well. Make sure the finished brine is COLD – add ice if necessary.
Put your pork chops in a sealable plastic container and pour the brine over it. Make sure you have enough liquid to cover the pork.
You’ll notice in the images that my garlic skin was still on. That’s not a problem, simply crush the garlic before placing in the brine so we can get that lovely flavor in the mix.
Set in the fridge for 2-4 hours, then rinse with cool water, pat dry and get ready to grill as you normally do. The brine is discarded. Feel free to season the pat-dry pork chops with your fav herbs etc (as you normally do).
You can certainly customize this brine with flavors you like. For me it was the herbs and All-Spice, but you can add Juniper Berries, Black Peppercorns, Coriander seeds, Ginger.. you can even spike it with some thinly sliced Scotch Bonnet peppers for a Caribbean KICK!
Tip! Try to not go beyond the 4 hours as it will then influence how salty the pork is after you cook it. Remember to rinse well and keep in mind that we brined it in salt when seasoning when you gill them off.
This method can also be used for pan-fried and oven-roasted pork.. if you don’t have or use an outdoor grill as much as I do.
