How to make pork chops juicier with easy step before cooking

Pork chops make for a satisfying meal that is straightforward to prepare, an ideal choice for a midweek dinner. However, if not cooked correctly, they can often turn out tough and dry as pork is a relatively lean meat, lacking sufficient fat to protect them, meaning a considerable amount of moisture tends to escape during cooking.

This not only results in an unpleasant, rubbery texture, but since the juices are what give meat its flavour, you could be left with a thoroughly tasteless meal. Fortunately, Stacy Lyn Harris, a cookbook author and host of her own television programme, The Sporting Chef, has a remarkably simple technique for achieving succulent pork chops — soaking them in salted water, known as brining, prior to cooking. She explained: “The brine in this recipe will season the meat perfectly without making it overly salty.

“A brine not only adds flavour but also keeps the meat tender and juicy. No sauce needed.”

A brine is essentially a combination of salt, water and additional seasonings that helps tenderise the pork chops considerably, reducing the likelihood of them drying out during cooking.

It may seem counterintuitive to submerge pork chops in a generous amount of salt, but it dissolves into the water and penetrates the meat, altering the way muscle proteins interact with moisture.

As a result, the pork chop retains far more of its natural juices during cooking, rather than releasing them, leaving you with a wonderfully tender cut of meat. A brine takes just around 10 minutes to prepare and won’t leave a pork chop excessively salty, provided you don’t leave the meat soaking for hours, as the salt requires considerable time to penetrate deeply into the flesh.

Instead, you’ll be rewarded with perfectly seasoned pork chops that will simply melt in your mouth, while boasting a beautifully seared, golden exterior.

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How to make juicier pork chops

Ingredients

• Four pork chops (around 2.5cm thick)
• Two tbsp of olive oil
• 700ml of cold water
• 50g of brown sugar
• 70g of kosher salt
• Two cloves of garlic
• Black pepper
• Paprika (optional)
• Parsley (optional)

Method

To start, pour 240ml of cold water, salt and brown sugar into a saucepan. Allow the liquid to heat until it begins to simmer, then remove from the heat.

Stir the mixture until both the salt and brown sugar have fully dissolved, then introduce the remaining water and garlic cloves.

Arrange the pork chops in a shallow dish and carefully pour the brine over them until they are entirely submerged. Transfer to the fridge for approximately 30 minutes to an hour before cooking.

While pork chops can be left in brine for a longer period, it is inadvisable to exceed two hours, as further salt will penetrate the meat and may result in an overpoweringly salty flavour.

When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C and remove the pork chops from the brine. Pat the meat thoroughly dry using kitchen paper.

Season with salt and pepper, then heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the pork chops. Allow them sufficient time to crisp up and achieve a good sear (approximately three minutes).

Then, turn the pork chops over, transfer them onto a tray and pop into the preheated oven. Allow them to cook for approximately five to 10 minutes until thoroughly cooked.

It’s advised to pan-fry pork chops initially to achieve a crispy, golden exterior, before finishing them in the oven to preserve moisture and ensure the meat is properly cooked throughout.

Once the pork chops are ready, drizzle the pan juices over them and allow them to rest for roughly five minutes. Cutting into them immediately can cause the juices to escape, resulting in drier meat.

Add paprika and parsley for seasoning (if desired) and the pork chops should be among the most succulent you’ve ever tasted.