Brine & Bake Pork Chops (the TF guide to never eating dry chops again!)

Brine

1. Stir salt and optional sugar into water until dissolved. Add any flavoring extras you’d like.
2. Submerge chops completely (I like using a ziplock bag). Refrigerate 2-4 hours for thick-cut chops. (For regular cut chops 30min-2hr and for loin roasts 6-8hours with a rinse of the outside, is ideal). 
   1. Note: Don’t overdo it! If you brine chops longer than 8 hours the meat will start to lose its texture (will get mushy) and get too salty.
3. Remove chops from brine, pat dry and let rest at room temp 15 minutes before cooking. (Toss the brine, don't reuse it for anything.)

Cook (Oven Method)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat tallow (or lard or ghee) in an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Sear chops 2-3 minutes per side until golden. Transfer skillet to oven and bake 6-10 minutes or until the center hits 140°F (use a thermometer!).
2. Let rest 5 min before cutting so they finish around 145°F (the USDA temp) and still stay juicy. Season to your liking. 
   1. If you prefer your beef steaks medium-rare, think of chops the same way and cook to 130°F with a rest to get to 135°F (but be forewarned, you are no longer following the government's cooking temp advice).

---------------------------------------------------------------

Why Brine Pork? (The Science Made Simple)

Lean pork chops don’t have much internal fat. That means they dry out fast. When you brine, the salty water moves into the meat via osmosis (moving from high concentration area (the brine) to the area of low concentration (inside the chop)). The salt not only brings extra moisture in via the water it's with but the salt also changes the protein structures of the meat so they can hold onto that moisture during cooking.

It also helps the proteins relax so your chop stays tender instead of tightening into a dry beige hockey puck. Brining doesn’t make pork salty. It just makes it juicy.

Brining = built-in insurance for a delicious dinner.

Together Farms Standard Brine

• 3 cups water (710 g)
• 40 g salt (1.4 oz)
• Optional for flavor: 1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar, a crushed garlic clove, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme or a splash of apple juice
• Do NOT add any acids (no vinegar, citrus, etc)

This brine works for:
✔ thick-cut pork chops
✔ thin chops
✔ boneless or bone-in pork chops
✔ pork steaks
✔ pork loin: whole or medallions

How Much Brine Do You Need?

Use this simple rule and you’ll never come up short:

Plan on 1½ cups of brine per ½ pound of meat.

For the Together Farms thick-cut chops (about 1.2 lbs total meat), 3 cups of brine is perfect.

If you’re brining more meat, just scale up the water and multiply the salt by the same factor.

Why Different Salts Need Different Measurements

Salt crystals come in different sizes. Really different. Which means 1 tablespoon of table salt weighs way more than 1 tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher.

The water doesn’t care about volume. It cares about weight.

• Table salt: dense, tiny crystals
  
• Morton kosher: medium flakes
• Diamond Crystal kosher: big fluffy flakes
• Fine sea salt: similar to table salt

If you want consistent results, use weight when possible:

40 grams salt = correct brine strength every time.

If you need to measure by spoons instead:

• Table salt: 2¼ Tbsp
  
• Morton kosher: 3 Tbsp
  
• Diamond Crystal kosher: 4½ Tbsp
  
• Fine sea salt: 2 1/2 Tbsp

But you should really get a scale. You can see the scale we always use here - for the restaurant, the skincare business and personal cooking. It's a sturdy little workhorse that we love so much we have them all over the place here! 

Why We Use a 5 to 6 Percent Brine (Not Higher or Lower)

You’ll see brines anywhere from 3 percent to 10 percent. Here’s why we chose this range:

3 to 4 percent brines

• Too weak for lean pork
• Not enough moisture retention
  
• Better suited for poultry or long brines

7 to 10 percent brines

• Very strong

• Work for thick roasts or quick brines
  
• Can make chops firmer and “hammy” if left too long

5 to 6 percent

• Adds moisture
  
• Enhances flavor
  
• Keeps texture soft and juicy
• Works for short and longer brines
• Hard to mess up

For a “reference recipe” that anyone can succeed with, 5 to 6 percent is the safest and most universal choice.

Which Pork Cuts Should Be Brined?

Brine These Cuts (Highly Recommended)

• Thick-cut chops (bone-in or boneless)

• Thin chops

• Pork steaks

• Pork loin

Do NOT Brine These Cuts

• Pulled pork cuts: shoulder or butt (they cook long and slow so they stay juicy without brining)

• Ribs: totally different technique

• Bacon or cured meats: already salted

• Ground pork: brining doesn’t benefit it

If it looks like a steak, or if you slice it before cooking, brine it.
If it cooks for hours, skip it.

Note that beef and lamb are not typically brined because they already have flavor and moisture, so brining can actually dilute the flavor and negatively impact your eating experience. 

Brine Times (Reference Guide)

• Thin chops: 30 min to 2 hrs

• Thick-cut chops: 2 to 4 hrs

• Roasts: 6 to 8 hrs with a light rinse

Note: Avoid brining pork chops longer than 8 hours (texture gets mushy (too tender) and salty).

Why a Thermometer is Your Best Friend

Lean pork doesn’t give you much wiggle room. A thermometer fixes that.

Pull chops at 140°F and let them rest to 145°F.

They’ll stay juicy, hit the USDA-approved temp and never drift into well-done sadness.

If you prefer pork more like medium-rare beef, cook to 130°F and rest to 135°F (only if you’re confident and comfortable).

We include a free thermometer and cooking temp magnet with your first order of meat, if you need a new one or (aghast!) you haven't purchased meat from us yet, you can see what we recommend here. 

Common Brining Mistakes (and How To Avoid Them)

Brining isn’t complicated but there are a few spots where people get tripped up. Thankfully, they’re easy to avoid. I just really want you to try brining and do this so I don't want you to feel intimidated in any way!

1. Using the wrong amount of salt

This is the most common mistake. Every salt measures differently by volume so two tablespoons of one salt can be twice as salty as another.

Avoid it:
Use weight when possible.
40 g salt per 3 cups water = perfect pork chop brine every time.

2. Brining too long

Past about 8 hours pork starts to change texture. It gets a little mushy or "hammy" (if an acid was added especially) and it can get too salty.

Avoid it:
Stick to:

• 30 min to 2 hrs for thin chops

• 2 to 4 hrs for thick chops

• 6 to 8 hrs for roasts only (then rinse lightly)

3. Not using enough brine

If the chops aren’t fully submerged they won’t brine evenly and the texture will be inconsistent.

Avoid it:
Use this rule:
1½ cups brine per ½ lb of meat.

4. Forgetting to pat the chops dry

Wet pork can’t brown. It just steams and turns gray.

Avoid it:
Pat dry like you mean it before searing.

5. Skipping the rest after cooking

Resting lets the juices redistribute internally. If you cut into the meat too soon the juices run out and the chop dries out.

Avoid it:
Rest chops at least 5 minutes.

Do this (pull a few degrees early and let rest) with all meat though. :) 

6. Not using a thermometer

Pork is lean so it goes from perfect to overdone fast.

Avoid it:
Pull at 140°F, rest to 145°F (or better yet: pull at 130°F)

Troubleshooting Brined Pork

Did you try it but something must've gone sideways? Here’s what potentially happened so you can try again! 

“My pork chop seems salty.”

This usually means one of four things happened:

• The brine was too strong

• The chops were brined too long

• It wasn’t patted dry before cooking which concentrates surface salt

• You bought crap pork from the grocery store that contains a saline solution which essentially means you bought pre-brined pork. (And "they" LOVE that you are willing to pay them the same $/lb price for water as you are for their tasteless, mushy pork....happens with chicken a lot too.) 

Fix it next time:

• Stick to 40 g salt per 3 cups water

• Shorten the brine time

• Rinse lightly if using strong brine with add-ins like apple juice or mustard

• Dry well

• Buy your pork directly from a farmer. The benefits this will bring are innumerable but suffice to say, for the purposes here, your pork eating experience will improve by a magnitude you didn't even know was possible. Grocery store pork might be the other white meat but our pork is in a league all its own and can be compared to nothing....especially poultry. (Gotta be one of the most ridiculous marketing tactics I've ever heard.)

“Why is my pork chop firm or bouncy?”

That’s the beginning of the “hammy” texture.
It means the brine was too strong or the chop soaked too long.

Fix it next time:
Shorter brine time or reduce salt by 25 percent if brining overnight.

“The middle is still pink. Is it safe?”

Yes. Pink doesn’t mean raw when it comes to pork (think of it like a beef steak). Brining also helps the meat retain color.

Safe temps:

• Pull at 140°F, rest to 145°F

• Medium-rare pork lovers can go 130°F → rest to 135°F if comfortable

“My chops didn’t brown well.”

They were either still damp or the pan wasn’t hot enough.

Fix it next time:

• Dry thoroughly

• Heat fat until shimmering

• Don’t overcrowd the pan

“The outside got too dark before the inside cooked.”

Pan was too hot.

Fix it:
Lower heat a little or transfer to the oven sooner.

----------------------------------------------------------------

So there you've got it! 

Pork chops can indeed be juicy! If you tried brining for the first time or if you've always known it and loved it and have your own tips and tricks to share, post them below! 

But what I'm really dying to know is if you've now gone from feeling ho-hum about chops to actually looking forward to them! 

Happy cooking! 

Steph