Brined Pork Chops

Thanks for the recipe Mom! This turned out so great. For the two of us, I made two chops in half the brine and used less oil to brown them. The sauce was used to soak the rice (leftover from Chinese take-out).

Brined Pork Chops

2 liters water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup mustard seed*
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons pickling spice*
6 cloves garlic, smashed
6 pork chops (rib), 1.5" thick
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth

In a large pot combine water, kosher salt, mustard seeds, sugar, pickling spice and garlic. Simmer for 15 minutes. Let it cool completely. Add pork chops, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 days.

Heat oven to 400.

Dry pork chops off. In a heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil until very hot, but not smoking. Brown chops, turning after 3-4 minutes to brown the other side. Use rest of the oil and brown the rest of the chops. Place browned chops in the oven until a meat thermometer reaches 150 F, about 15-20 minutes.

Take pork chops out of the oven and place on a warm platter, covering with aluminum foil to keep them warm.

Take the pan and place on the stove top. Add wine, and chicken broth, plus any accumulated juice from the platter. Reduce pan juice to 1/2. Season with salt and pepper. Place chops into the pan to warm up and serve with pan juices.

*Found these ingredients at Whole Foods in the bulk section


Last night I finally made the pompom for my baby hat. Oh, and Holly - I have a heel! I knitted the foot while watching figure skating.