Molasses Brined Pork Chops

I did this two ways -- one with a short brine (because I couldn't wait another day) and one with an overnight brine. Definitely worth the wait! The chops were juicy and delicious!

These were amazing! I had center cut, boneless chops from the supermarket (maybe 1" thick) that I brined for 6 hours. I grilled for a few minutes on each side until they reached 145. My kids don't like barbecue sauce, so I did half plain & the other half I basted with Sticky Fingers Carolina Classic barbecue sauce. Both turned out fabulous.! Just watch your temperature it would be a shame to overcook.

Loved these chops! I cut the salt to 1/4c (would use 1/8c next time), but otherwise followed recipe. Deeelicious! So moist, juicy & tender. Cut a bnls pork loin into 1" chops & they came out perfect. Try this with his Carolina BBQ sauce - excellent! Thank you Chef John - I love your videos & all the recipes I've made so far!

Beautiful color but very little added in the way of flavor or juiciness. There was absolutely NO clove flavor whatsoever. I will try again and maybe brush the chops with a molasses and ground clove mixture. These also cry out for pepper.

I LOVED this! i grew up on molasses so was obvious i would like this, but being in a brine it does become quite salty, so try to pair with a sweet salad, or sweet potato, if salads scared you! Will make again!

These are great! I only had about 2.5lbs of chops so I cut the salt down to 1/4 cup and only used about 4 cups of cold water. We grilled these and they were pefect! Lots of great flavor! I also made a Carolina style BBQ sauce on the side which added just the right amount of mustard/vinegar base to complement the molasses.

Chef John, Thank you thank you thank you! These are truly the best pork chops I have ever grilled and I have grilled quite a few. They are fantastic!

Very good! Rainy night so ended up cooking in the oven. They turned out very juicy. By the way, if you omit the salt, you are marinating your pork chops, not brining them.

Best pork chops I've had in ages.

You can make this without the salt. Just leave out the salt. The pork chops turn out nice and moist with out the salt.

Good and tender. Not something that I would crave often.

The color was beautiful, and they were tender, but all I could taste was salt. I followed the recipe as written and did use kosher salt. Even my son, who loves salty things and loves pork chops was put off by these. I'll try again, but will cut the salt and perhaps increase molasses.

Just not anything special but not BAD, probably will not make again.

Great recipe! Very easy and the chops tastes great. Nice blend of salt and sweet.

I just finished grilling these pork chops after marinating them in the brine about 5 hours. They were so tender and moist and I had one thinner pork chop and one thicker which didn't matter- both were super tender. The Carolina barbecue sauce was the bomb- most excellent. This recipe is a keeper!

This was a little salty. And i even rinsed the chops before grilling.Will cut the salt next time. Used with his bar b q suggestion. Also had high quality Duroc pork so hope I didn't ruin them by brining them. But had a lot of compliments.

Too salty! I used half the brine and one Tablespoon less salt than the recipe called for. No more moist than a regular chop.

Made half recipe of brine. Used four loin chops, each one-inch thick (two pounds). Chops two and a half inches thick would be a small roast to me! Used 7 X 11 Pyrex to brine; chops just fit. Have half of the brine left over. (I poured the brine over the chops; when the pan was full I had half the brine left over...about two cups. The brine I saved did not come into contact with the pork.) Poked each chop four times with a fork. Did not use cloves. Cooked chops on the stovetop using a meat thermometer. Still I overcooked them a bit. They were much better than the pork chops I usually make! I would use this recipe again.

I actually made this twice. I saw someone's review where they marinated for 2 days and it was very good and not salty. I had some boneless sirloin chops that were very thick that I bought on sale. We had cooked some on the grill first without marinating them and they were very tough. I knew I had to find something since I had bought 30 lbs (They were .99 lb sale). I marinated the first batch 6 or 8 hours and they were good. More tender, but delicious and did not taste overly salty to us and we use very little salt here. I, at the same time, marinated some for 2 days like the reviewer I read. OMG, so much better. Super tender and juicy. Could practically cut with a fork. Not salty at all. Even leftovers right out of the refridge were tender and still juicy. This is my go to marinade for pork to be grilled now. We used no other sauce or spices. Love it! Edit - I forgot. I did not use cloves. I did not have any, but I did add sage leaves, which gave it a subtle, but good flavor. I did not measure, I just dropped some in.

i normally do not make pork chops as they get too dry on the grill but these stayed juicy. :) really nice with the recommended carolina mustard sauce.

We thought it was excellent. We used 2 thick & 2 regular chops. We brined them with extra cloves overnight & they turned out great. Watching the temperature I think made a lot of difference on the grill. Thanks Chef John.

Hesitant about a molasses based brining solution but tried it anyway. The whole family loved the chops. Wife put recipe right into her binder.

These were a little salty for us but tasted very good. Served with Carolina Barbecue Sauce as suggested

I too thought this was too salty ( and I love salt!), but it still gets five stars! I brined for six hours and it was delicious and juicy. I will brine even longer next time. I also really love the flavor of cloves so I added twice the whole cloves plus 1/4 teaspoon of powdered cloves to the brine. I grilled the chops a little too long, but they were still very juicy and flavorful. I am not a fan of vinegar so the Carolina bbq sauce was not for me, but my husband loved it. This recipe is a keeper!

Very good brine, my family really loves it, and pork stays very moist. Good even without a sauce.

Made these pork chops. I baked them instead of grilled. Came out great.

The pork chops were juicy but needed some extra flavor which is probably why chef John adds bbq sauce. It was good but not great. Pork chops were brined for 48 hours

I made half of the recipe except 3 whole cloves and 1/8 Cup of the salt. I rinsed off the meat and then patted it dry. To test the brine I didn't use any additional BBQ sauce just grilled them as is. They were fabulous!

I made this with a ten oz. pork tenderloin. I only made half the brine, and next time I will halve it again. I kept it in the fridge overnight, and then, turning it once, cooked it in my gas BBQ at 400 degrees until the center read 145 degrees (about sixteen minutes). It was pretty good, nice and tender with an even brown color, but I hardly (if at all) tasted any molasses, clove or garlic flavor, Maybe I will cut down the water still more next time.

Fantastic! This was the juiciest grilled pork I have ever tasted (& I'm not a pork fan, I only make it because Hubby likes it)!! I did feel the pork was a tad bit to salty, next time I am going to reduce the salt. I did make the Carolina sauce to accompany the pork and felt it really did not need it. I followed the recipe exactly and let the pork soak in the brine for about 10 hours. Will absolutely be using this method again & again for grilled pork!

This is my favorite brine. I love molasses and have found this is good with both pork and chicken. I am going to try it with steak next.

Tasty but too salty. I cut the brining recipe in half because I had 4 3/4" chops. Next time I would either decrease the salt or rinse the chops before grilling. Tender and juicy.

Because life got in the way of our dinner plans, the pork chops sat in the brine for two and half days. The chops were very tender and full of flavor!

Made it just as written. My husband liked it so much he wants to try it on pork ribs.

I used this recipe for pork chops and let them sit in fridge overnight. They were flavorful and almost fork tender.

Mmmm, such juicy and flavorful chops! I left them in the brine for about 4 hours and the flavor really penetrated and brought the chops to the next level! This is my method from now on; thanks, Chef John! YUM!

really easy and tasty i did find the chops salty

I followed the recipe without any changes. It was excellent. The favor was delicious and the pork chops were perfectly tender. I have already had requests to make it again.

I make several brines for fish, poultry and pork. This was not that great. Went exactly by the directions to ensure the right taste per the recipe. I

Best pork chops ever! Followed the recipe exactly for the brine. Have used it many times on different cuts of chops and even pork tenderloin. Soooo goood! Thanks Chef John.

Chef John, this is a perfect brine recipe. I marinated my center cut chops for 24 hours in this and, oh man, the best moist and delicious chops ever. Thank you very much once again Chef John.

The chops were very good but nothing great . Don't think the marination made much difference.

Made it just like recipe stated. It was amazing. Best chops I had made in a long time. Tender and juicy which is hard to do with pork I have a 3 burner grill and i did the outside grates at high to warm up and seared them for 2-3 minutes, then moved them into the middle and cooked them with the indirect heat of the outsides for a 5 minutes each side basting as I flipped them. delish.

I had purchased a large quantity of very thick pork chops and the first time I grilled a few, they were dried out by the time they were done. After using this recipe, they were moist and delicious and the brine was unassuming - it didn't take away from the flavour of the chops. Everyone requested the recipe. Yum. Thank you!

Put chops in brine overnight. They were juicy and delicious! Just like Chef John said, I'll never not brine chops again!

This one wow'd my meat loving friends. I won!

Followed all directions as provided. Cooked perfectly. Chops were juicy.

Although I strictly followed the recipe, we weren't very impressed. It was good, but nothing special.

Perfect pork chops!! Family loved them!! Will try Chef John’s BBQ sauce next time! Love your recipes!!!

Yummy and easy....I get raves when I make this recipe!

Thank you C. John. Chops grilled on the Barbie were fab. Would like to BBQ again, but as I am in Canada I would have to wade through 5 feet of snow to get to the Barbie. Will the brined chops be as good baked in the oven?

The molasses and cloves really don't dominate the flavour of these chops but instead adds a very subtle flavour that is delicious. I had thick boneless pork loin chops and put them in my quick marinator for a total of 1 hour. I didn't oil the chops, totally forgot, and it wasn't missed. Another great recipe Chef John, thanks!! 31-5-16

Excellent.

Whenever I tell my husband we're having pork chops for dinner, I see his shoulders sag. The pork chops he envisions are those of his childhood: chops you could pound nails with! What a pleasure to eat these chops, so moist. I followed the written recipe and also jaccarded the chops before putting them in the brine. Rather than grilling (14 degrees outside), I used my trusty cast iron pan. Next time I make these for dinner I'll increase the cloves and include a bit of liquid smoke.

Our barbeque gave up the ghost so I had to use my George Foreman grill. The flavor of the chops was good, but they weren't as tender as I had hoped they would be. I'll try it again and change the cooking time, or maybe try them in the oven.

Just not anything special but not BAD, probably will not make again.

I would totally use this brine for pork chops again! I added a little dash of garlic to make things interesting...SO GOOD!

My go to brine . Results in juicy and tender pork chops. Watch the temperature not the time and shoot for 145 degrees. In my case, they hit 145 much sooner than the suggested cooking time. I found that using a few shakes of ground cloves spice works well versus actual cloves.

This brine was awesome. One point - you must use a thick chop or it will be too salty for you!! If you are concerned about too much salt, cut it back by 2 TBSP. These were a big hit with teenage boys who are super picky eaters!!

Followed all the steps as written, came out moist and juicy, even after grilling for longer than recommended (my wife will not touch meat that is not cooked all the way, what a shame). Chef John's Carolina BBQ sauce paired deliciously well with it.

last weeks dinner was a hit! only modification was clove powder vs cloves .(is what I had on hand) I made this with thin and 1.5 inch chops and only brined for 5.5hrs. Obviously I cooked the small one less time.....anywho totally delish, juicy, all kids 2, 4, and 12 gobbled it up and we will be doing this again and hopefully I will get longer time to brine.

These chops turned out great. Basted with a homemade sauce, the juices were sealed in. Chef John nails it again!!

Outstanding flavor, juiciness, and texture. I will absolutely make these chops again, but with 1.5 inch chops, as these were just too much meat. Great recipe!

Great for thick chops that tend to get tough. I cut the brine in half for 6 pork chops, and it was perfect, marinated about 18 hours. They were so tasty we didn't even need to baste them with barbecue sauce on the grill, just served it on the side.

Loved these pork chops! I tried this method for the first time with guests and I'm so happy that they turned out awesome. The only modification...I used 1/4 c. kosher salt vs the 1/2 c. cause I got nervous with that much salt. Everyone loved them...grilled them on charcoal, so juicy and full of flavor. I also made the Carolina-Style Barbecue Sauce and that was a match made in heaven! Beautiful parring. I even made extra to try with some smoked pulled pork I'll be doing later in the week. Will do again...thanks for sharing!

Very tasty and juicy. I did use a mustard based Carolina BBQ sauce part way through grilling and I think that took it to another level! Will make again for sure. Paired with grilled veggies

I have used this recipe multiple times and I NEVER get tired of it! I typically don't deviate from recipes but I do add about a half cup of honey to this to smooth out the saltiness. I have never had anything less than rave reviews using this recipe and don't hesitate to show it to anybody that asks!

Poorfectic I usually Molasses Brine My Baby Backs ! Came out Great