Grill

Brined Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple

Name: Brined Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 390 min
Ingredients: 4 cups water; ¼ cup kosher salt; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 2 tablespoons maple syrup; 4 cloves garlic (smashed); 2 tablespoons grated fresh gingerroot; 4 cloves; ½ to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes; 2 cups ice cubes; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 1 tablespoon paprika; ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder; 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper; 4 bone-in pork chops (1-inch thick); 4 slices fresh pineapple (cut in half and core removed); 2 tablespoons maple syrup; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; ¼ teaspoon black pepper

These brined pork chops are juicy and tender because of the brine they sit in for 1 to 6 hours before being grilled. The spice rub gives them a great flavor and the grilled pineapple makes them a perfect summer dish.

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Why Brine Pork Chops?

Before preparing your Grilled Brined Pork Chops, lets talk about why it’s a good idea to bring them first. Brining is a perfect way to infuse seasoning and flavor into pork while also ensuring that the meat remains moist. It works similarly to a marinade and uses the rule of osmosis to allow flavors to penetrate the meat, rather than just seasoning the outside surface. Basically you allow the meat to sit in a very salty solution for a period of time – allowing it to marinate.

The dictionary definition of osmosis is “the movement of water or other solvent through a plasma membrane from a region of low solute concentration to a region of high solute concentration.” This means that if the water outside the meat is higher in sodium than the water in the meat, moisture will be drawn out of the meat in order to dilute the exterior solution. Then, at some point the water in the meat will be higher in sodium than the solution the meat is sitting in and the reverse will happen. Water will start to be drawn into the meat, along with all the flavors that you’ve put into your brine. (If you’re not a science-lover, or just don’t care why brining works, ignore that paragraph except for the first sentence!)

Pork chops sitting in a shallow dish of brine.

How Long to Brine Pork Chops

The pork chops should sit in the brine for 1 to 6 hours in the refrigerator. You do not need to soak them overnight in the brine, six hours is enough time to help break down some of the muscle tissue and draw moisture into the meat. Longer than six hours could result in the pork chops being too salty.

Pork chops on a parchment-lined quarter sheet pan with a spice rub.

Seasoning Brined Pork Chops

The important thing to remember when you do brine meats, is that you rinse the brine off after it has marinated, dry it well and do NOT season the meat again with salt. In this recipe, we rub a spice blend on the pork instead that does not contain salt. The pork chops can sit out for about an hour or so to come to room temperature before you grill. This will allow the chops to cook faster on the grill and it gives you the necessary time to get the grill ready, especially if you are cooking on a charcoal grill like I do.

Spice rubbed pork chops on a charcoal grill grate.

How Long to Grill Pork Chops

The time it takes to cook the to cook the chops depends entirely on how thick they are. Chops that are roughly 1-inch thick with the bone still in will take about 5 minutes per side, give or take a minute. You can mark your chops with cross-hatch marks on the grill if you choose to, but it’s not necessary. A single set of grill marks is just fine.

Internal Temperature of Pork Chops

When you check the internal temperature of the chops with an instant read thermometer – the temperature should be 150ºF. You will know they are cooked through if they feel firm to the touch, but still have a little give. The next step is critical – the pork chops must rest. Remove them to a plate and cover them loosely with foil while you grill the pineapple.

Pineapple slices on a charcoal grill grate.

How to Grill Pineapple

Grilling pineapple is very easy – you just have to cut it to create a flat surface. That means you could slice the pineapple into rings or half moons, or you could cut long wedges of pineapple. Either way, you can opt to leave the hard peel on or take it off. (You can read about how to cut a pineapple here.) The important thing to remember is to brush the pineapple pieces with a little fat and sugar. This recipe calls for a maple syrup mixture that flavors the pineapple perfectly. The pineapple should only take about 5 minutes, which is just about the right time for the chops to rest. All you have left to do is serve everything to your guests.

Grilled pork chops on a wooden board with pineapple slices and parsley.

Fruit and Pork Chops

Pairing pork chops with fruit on the grill gives you a great flavor profile and the fruit and pork compliment each other nicely. Another great recipe made with ripe summer peaches, are Grilled Pork Chops with Peach BBQ Sauce. Of course on a rainy day or when it is too cold to grill, my go to pork chop recipe is my Easy Glazed Pork Chops.

Featured Recipe Techniques

More about the skills used in this recipe.

How to Cut a Pineapple

It can be tricky to know how to prepare it, so here's your lesson on how to cut a pineapple.View Technique

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