It’s been a hot summer in Canada! And many evenings I don’t feel like cooking supper in the oven. Even with air conditioning, the oven heats up the whole house. So I turn to the barbecue. Hamburgers and sausages are great, and so are chicken steak, but I like more variety than that.

A couple years ago, I encountered a recipe for brined pork chops. Brining is supposed to make meat tender, so I tried it out to very impressive results! Sometimes barbecued pork chops can get a bit dry and tough, but brining the chops made them juicy and tender, not salty (like I had feared). In a way, the success of brining the pork chops shouldn’t surprise me. We have been salting and curing meat for thousands of years—think of bacon, corned beef, salt cod. Brining pork chops is not much different, and it imparts both flavour and moisture to the meat.

Since then, I have played around with the recipe. It is a standard summer supper for us now. You can easily make up the brine and get the chops soaking before work, and then by the time you return home, they are ready for the grill. No need to turn on the oven at all!

The pork chops work well on the barbecue, but they can also be fried in a pan and then finished in the oven.

Brined Pork Chops

4 1 1/2-inch-thick pork rib chops

1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup maple syrup or brown sugar
1-2 star anise
3 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
3 cups water
Pepper to taste

1. To make the brine, place the juice, vinegar, salt, maple syrup, star anise, thyme, bay leaf and water in a large Ziploc bag. Seal the bag, and shake vigorously until the salt has completely dissolved.
2. Place pork chops in Ziploc. Seal and refrigerate for at least 8 hours (12 hours is ideal).
3. To cook the chops, preheat barbecue to medium-high. Cook on each side, about 10-12 minutes, until pork chops are cooked and juices run translucent. If barbecue is taking too long, finish cooking chops in a 375F oven, wrapped in tin foil, until cooked through.
4. Place on a plate to rest for 5 minutes before serving. The pork chops are delicious with barbecue sauce, apple compote, or an au jus.