The Best Pork Chop You’ve Ever Cooked

I recently took a group of Wine-Knows clients to dinner at Richard Sanford’s winery in the Santa Rita Hills near Santa Barbara.  I hired a chef to wave his magical wand and create a dinner worthy of Sanford’s award-winning Pinots.  The chef exceeded my expectations (very hard to do) and cooked one of the top pork dishes I’ve ever tasted.

I am often disappointed with pork, especially chops.  They’re often dry and/or tough.   After one bite of these seriously over-the-top chops I knew there had to be a secret.  There was---it was the brine.  Those of you thinking “That’s too much work for me” STOP RIGHT THERE.  I’ve timed it and the brine takes all of 2 minutes to assemble.  The chops marinate for 3-4 hours.  No big deal.

We grill these morsels of heaven over mesquite, but the chops are so amazing that even a gas grill would do the trick.  Think juicy, flavor-chocked, and melt-in-your-mouth tender.  Here’s the magic brine:

1 Quart water

4 Tablespoon kosher salt

4 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 Tablespoon crushed juniper berries

2 cloves garlic

Marinate at least 2 hours.

Thank you, Kurt Alldredge, owner of the Chef’s Touch!