Brined Grilled Pork Chops with Skillet Apples
Mains · Serves 4 · Prep 15 min · Cook 25 min · Total 40 min
A quick brine is the difference between a dry chop and a juicy one, and pulling them off at 140°F does the rest. Buttery apples and shallots cooked in a skillet on the grill make it feel like Sunday dinner.
Ingredients
Brine and Chops
- 4 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 4 bone-in pork chops, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches thick
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tsp coarse-ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Skillet Apples
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 firm, tart-sweet apples (such as Honeycrisp), cored and diced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Steps
Brine and Chops
- Stir the water, salt, brown sugar and peppercorns until dissolved. Submerge the chops and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours, but no longer or they turn ham-like.
- Set up the grill for two-zone cooking, hot on one side. Pat the chops dry, rub with oil and season with pepper and garlic powder. Skip the salt; the brine took care of it.
- Sear the chops over direct heat until well marked, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Move them to the cool side, close the lid and cook until the center reads 140°F, 6 to 10 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes; they will climb to 145°F.
Skillet Apples
- While the chops cook, melt the butter in a cast-iron skillet set over the hot side of the grill (or on the stove). Cook the shallot for 1 minute, add the apples and cook, stirring now and then, until golden and just tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in the brown sugar, vinegar and thyme and cook until glossy, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and spoon the apples over the chops.