Though these pork chops require overnight brining, they make dinner the next night a breeze. Brine these chops up to two days beforehand. Just remove from brine after an overnight soak, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Buttermilk-Brined Pork Chops

buttermilk

salt

sugar

lemon rind

rosemary

sage

pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

black pepper

Cooking spray

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; shake well to dissolve salt and sugar. Add pork; seal and refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally. Remove pork from bag; discard brine. Pat pork dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle pork with pepper.


Heat a large nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add pork; cook 3 1/2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.


I did not have kosher salt, so I used 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt.  That might have made the difference from the reviewers who said it was too salty.  Next time we will make one change and not grill it on the stove top - too much greasy smoke in the kitchen - we will use the outdoor gas grill, other than that we will not change a thing.

Really easy to prep. The buttermilk is a great balance to the saltiness. I increased the herbs to 1 tbl. Wiped off the brine before cooking. I grilled the chops 4 mins on each side and it came out perfect.

For people who think this is too salty, I recommend just giving the chops a rinse when taking them out of the brine. You have to use the salt though. Otherwise, it's just a marinade. The salt is an essential component of the brine (salt+liquid) that works its magic on the proteins in the meat and makes it more tender and moist.

These were good, but a bit too salty for my taste. My husband really liked them, so I will make them again.

I used this recipe several years ago for thick Iowa chops and remembered it as being a bit salty. Today I used it on a pork tenderloin but only used one cup buttermilk, 2 teas. kosher salt and 2 teas. sugar - I used a a good amount of fresh rosemary and fresh sage. I put it in the brine at 8:30 AM and took it out at 5 PM, wiped it off and used Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper all over, then sprayed it lightly with Pam olive oil spray before I put it on a charcoal fire; seared it on both sides and then covered the grill and let it cook until the temperature was 155 F, letting it set for about 10 minutes. I've cooked a lot of pork tenderloins but my husband raved about this one :) (I wanted to be as detailed as possible for when I make it next time)

This is one of the best recipes by far from CL!  This is a huge winner with our family!

Wow!  The chops were so moist and flavorful!  I didn't get to marinate them overnight b/c I decided to do them the next morning, but even with a short 8 hour stay in the marinade they were still great.  I used orange mint and lemon balm instead of the sage and rosemary b/c of my family's preferences, and along with the lemon peel, it gave the chops a nice light citrusy flavor.  I didn't have kosher salt so I used sea salt instead.  I also rinsed them before cooking and I think that kept them from being too salty.  I may use a little less salt next time, but will definitely do again.

Very juicy! I made this without the salt and with boneless pork chops.  I was amazed at how much flavor they had.

i have always hated pork until i had this recipe. absolutely delicious!

Made these for the first time last night when I had company coming over and everyone loved them. So tender!

These were good but I'm not sure I'd bother making them again.  I was looking for a recipe to use up some leftover buttermilk and this sounded interesting.  I enjoyed the chops.  They were very moist and the brine did impart a refreshing, slightly lemony flavor.  But overall it was still just plain old pork chops.  They  were tasty and if you don't already have a go-to pork chop recipe this is a good one to hang on to.  But I already have several recipes for pork chops and this just didn't stand out from the crowd.

I have made this many, many times, though sometimes I've used a thicker boneless chop and sometimes it's just brined around 10 hours. I've found that half the amount of brine works perfectly well and you don't wind up wasting all that buttermilk.  In short, these are fabulous.  They look dry from the outside, but so tender inside!  Use kosher salt and just wipe them off unless you're unusually sensitive to salt. I'd hate to rinse off all that good flavor.

Wonderful recipe. A success every time. Great flavor.

This is a great recipe.  You just have to prep the night before and then cooking is a breeze.  The pork is so moist and you can really taste the herbs and lemon zest.  Made it for a dinner party and everyone loved it.  Served it with some rice and steamed Brussels sprouts.

Nice, light flavor.  Used little less salt, 1 TB rosemary, 1 TB sage and 2 TB lemon rind; marinated overnight. Used thick, boneless porkchops. Would definitley make again. Baked in 425 oven 20 mins. Served with spice sweet potato wedges and brussel sprouts.

I have made this recipe multiple times and it always comes out great...if you rinse the pork off before cooking to remove the excess salt.  I've cooked it exactly like the recipes states, I've used it with thicker pork chops, grilled indoors and out, and even dredged the pork in a mixture of breadcrumbs and pecans and fried it.  Of course, the last method is definitely not "cooking light", but my husband loves it!

This recipe has been a regular favorite in our house for years now.  The brining makes the pork so tender and juicy.  The only thing we do differently is to grill it on our outdoor gas grill instead of on the stovetop.  Also, if you are not ready to cook at the time the brining period has ended, simply remove chops from the brine, pat dry with paper towels, wrap in plastic wrap and return to the frig until ready to cook.  Kids love these as well as adults.  I do not believe they are "fancy" enough for company, but they are a great dish for the family.

This recipe was absolutely delicious. I'm always altering recipes, but not this time. It's perfect as is: Not too salty, as brine can be. The buttermilk kept the chops so juicy and moist. And e-a-s-y. This is a keeper!

These were really good!  I could only get thin-cut bone-in chops from our commissary, but I marinated them for over 24 hours and grilled them in the grill pan.  It was a great weeknight dinner when we have two kids in baseball and have to be out the door before 6:00!

This is an excellent recipe. The brine gives the chops a very subtle lemony flavir and they were very tender. We grilled them on a gas grill and it was a great summer meal. Will make it again.

This was delicious! It's what you always hope a pork chop will taste like, but doesn't because it's too dry. We had no problem with the salt. I'll definitely make this again. We served it with rice and sauted zucchini.

This is a great recipe for pork chops. I'm always looking for different recipes for chops and this definitely broke out of the mold for me. I loved the easy marinade/brine. We got just the right hint of herbs when we ate it. Not overpowering but not absent either. Served with crispy rosemary-garlic skillet fries and a leafy salad. Very good.

This is mine and my husband's favorite recipe!  We just made it last night as a matter of fact!  The only change I made is that I actually add a whole tablespoon of the rosemary and the sage...  And I let them brine for as long as possible.  Super easy and FANTASTIC!!!

Pork has gotten so lean it is often dry, but these were wonderfully moist &amp; tasty.  For the people who stated it was too salty, be sure you use kosher salt as the recipe directs, as it is less salty measure for measure than table salt.  If you use table salt, cut it down by about 1/4.

amazing flavors- the buttermilk, sage &amp; tangy lemon are amazing together.  definately a keeper- we'll try the brine with chicken too &amp; other types of meat.

This recipe is so easy and so delicious! The chops were so juicy and flavorful, definately one of my favorite preperations of pork from now on!

I thought that the sage and rosemary seasonings were too strong for the pork chop.  The brine did make the chop tender, but if I were to make this again I would choose a different seasoning other than sage and rosemary.

buttermilk-brined pork chops

Servings: 2.5

Cost: $7.45 /serving

Author : Bruce Aidells

Ingredients

Instructions

Top Similar Recipes from Across the Web

Brined Pork Chops

Beer-Brined Pork Chops

Smokehouse Maple-Brined Pork Chops

Brined Pork Chops With Fennel

Apple Cider Brined Pork Chops

Grilled Apple Brined Pork Chops

Buttermilk-Mushroom Pork Chops

Juicy Buttermilk Pork Chops

Buttermilk-Brined Turkey

Buttermilk-Brined Chicken

Buttermilk Brined Turkey

Easy Dry-Brined Pork Loin Chops

Brined Pork Chops with Apple Compot...

Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken

Buttermilk-Brined Roast Turkey

Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Breast

Buttermilk-Brined Fried Chicken

Buttermilk Brined Cornish Hens

Pork Chops with Dijon-Buttermilk Sa...