This Pork Chop Marinade is the best! With a just a few ingredients you’ll be sitting down to the most flavorful juicy pork chops around!
It’s warming up outside which means it’s grilling season! Time to light up the grill and prep all your proteins. I’ve got you covered in the pork department this is the BEST Pork Chop Marinade! It creates pork chops that are flavorful, juicy, and incredibly easy to prep. The love I have for this marinade cannot be matched except for my other favorite Garlic Butter Pork Chops, the name alone makes my mouth water!
PORK CHOP MARINADE
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Pork can often be tough, dry and lack flavor but not with this easy pork chop marinade! Letting the chops sit in this soy sauce based marinade helps pack it with flavor as well as tenderize the meat. Serve it alongside some Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes and 3-Ingredient Roasted Green Beans for a complete meal that is delicious and healthy!
Can you freeze Pork Chops in the marinade?
The quick answer is yes; however, there are pros and cons that you’ll want to keep in mind. Allowing pork chops to marinate serves two purposes- tenderizing and flavoring. While the chops sit in the sauce, the flavors of the sauce soak up into the chops — ingredients in the marinade such as soy sauce and lemon juice help to tenderize the meat. Although, prolonged exposure to the acids and ice crystals could cause the meat to become mushy.
How to do you make a simple marinade for Pork Chops?
You’ll first need to mix up the marinade. It is a simple sauce made up of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, and pepper.
Place the pork and the marinade in a zip-lock bag, removing all excess air and then place in the fridge.
Thin cuts (less than 1/2 inch thick) should marinate for 1-3 hours, and thick cuts (greater than 1 inch) should marinate for 2-6 hours. I tend to prefer this method for my grilled pork chop marinade.
How to Grill Pork Chops
- Remove pork chops from the fridge 15-20 minutes before cooking.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- Brush grates with oil and then place chops on. Do not move them around or flip until they have caramelized and formed a nice crust which typically takes about 5 minutes. After flipping, baste the top with reserved pork chop marinade for grilling, close the grill back up and cook another 5 minutes.
What temperature is pork safe to eat?
Whole cuts of pork, such as pork chops, need to be cooked to an internal temperature reading of 145 degrees F with at least 3 minutes resting period. Please remember that for ground pork, there should be an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, no resting required.
Why should I let my pork rest before cutting?
Letting the pork (or any meat) rest will result in less loss of juice when you cut it. The meat will be juicier and therefore tastier. When meat cooks, the fibers contract and push out water. Allowing them to relax and cool a bit lets the fibers reabsorb the juices they squeeze out.
Resting also allows the meat to finish cooking during carry-over cooking; this is important for food safety.
To prevent your pork from cooling too much, tent it with foil and only rest for 3-5 minutes.
Love a good pork chop? Me too!
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Tools used to make this Pork Chop Marinade
Mixing Bowl: These mixing bowls are perfect for mixing and serving. I love the varied sizes, so I always have the right size bowl for all my mixing needs.
Zip Top Bags: My kitchen drawer is always stocked with zipper top plastic bags. They’re great for storage, but I find myself using them for everything from deviled eggs to frosting too!
Grill: Fire up the grill and get cooking! This propane grill has heat controlled areas so you can cook different foods at the right temp and become the grill master of your backyard!
Meat Thermometer: I love this thermometer for fast and easy readings. Also, it is so easily cleaned and stored.
Ingredients
- 4 Bone-in pork chops
For the Marinade:
- ⅓ cup Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons Brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Instructions
- Mix marinade ingredients in a dish.
- Place pork chops in a large plastic zip-lock bag. Pour in about 3/4 of the marinade. The remaining is for basting the pork chops during cooking. Squeeze out excess air and then place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
- Cook on a grill or in a pan at medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes per side, until internal temperature is 145°F. Baste after flipping the chops and after removing from the grill.
- When done place on a plate and tent with foil. Let rest 3-5 minutes and then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Christie says
Delicious! Our pork chops turned out tender, flavorful and juicy!
Kim says
Absolutely delicious! I baked my porkchops instead of grilling or frying, and they came out just perfect! Recipe is definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
Sally McCullough says
This is an AWESOME marinade but 1/4 CUP??? of pepper? I think that is a misprint. Correct?
Jennifer Kimmel says
Oh my goodness Sally! Thanks for letting us know. The recipe card has been updated. It is 1/4 tsp.