- 6
Ingredients
- For the Brine:
- 6 center-cut bone-in pork chops, about 1-inch thick
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 handful peppercorns
- 8 bay leaves
- For the Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, chopped roughly with a heavy knife
- 1 teaspoon minced rosemary leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon halved
Preparation
Step 1
Brine Pork Chops:
In a saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add salt and sugar and reduce heat to low, stirring until salt and sugar dissolve. Pour into a deep bowl or large pot and add peppercorns, bay leaves and 4 cups cold water. Add pork chops, making sure they are completely submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Remove chops from brine and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Place on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan.
Marinate Pork Chops:
In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper and fennel with herbs and garlic. Rub chops with olive oil and juice of half a lemon. Massage in salt-herb mixture and let sit at room temperature 1 hour.
Preheat a gas grill or prepare a charcoal grill. (You can also do this in an iron skillet on the stove, over medium-high heat.)
Place chops on hottest part of grill and leave for 3 minutes. With tongs, rotate chops to create some nice grill marks and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes more. Turn chops and cook 3 minutes more, or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of meat registers 140-145 degrees.
Return chops to cookie sheet, squeeze remaining lemon half over them and let rest at least 5 minutes before serving.