A great pork chop marinade that will make your pork extra juicy with a terrific savoury flavour and a gorgeous caramelised crust without overpowering the natural flavour of pork. Even 1 hour of marinating makes a remarkable difference!
Just a great pork chop marinade
You know when something hits the pan and it smells so great than even if it’s the first time you’ve made that recipe, you know it’s going to be a winner? This is one of those. 🙂
Plus, the added bonus is that there is a very good chance that all the ingredients are already in your pantry. Checklist:
soy sauce
brown sugar
mustard
garlic
pepper
Worcestershire Sauce (I never spell that right first go! Thank you auto correct).
Soy sauce is the secret ingredient
“Soy sauce?”, I hear some of you think, dubiously.
YES. Soy sauce. NO it doesn’t make this the least bit Asiany (no matter how I spell it, auto correct does not like that word!). It’s a brine that injects the pork with juiciness and it’s better than the basic salt + water brine because it’s got more flavour to it.
If you’ve never tried a soy sauce based brine for a protein before, I think you’re going to be very pleasantly surprised. Watch the video below the recipe – the end when I press down on the pork chop to show how juicy it is. That’s courtesy of the soy sauce!
I’m sharing this Pork Chop Marinade because I got all excited that I finally got a new BBQ. Living by the ocean means that anything that resides outdoors has a limited life and my current BBQ looks like an abandoned burnt out car.
While it’s terrific seared on the grill, it is of course great pan fried as well which is how I usually make it.
If you’re BBQ-ing, try it this Lemon Potato Salad and a garden salad with French Dressing, and have a browse for more Grilling Ideas.
If it’s winter where you are, try this One Pan BAKED Vegetables and Rice – you’ll love the seasoned rice! – Nagi xx
More great pork chop marinades & rubs
Or use the marinades from these recipes for pork: Lime Chicken, Greek Chicken Gyros, Chicken Shawarma
Try these on the side
My favourite back-pocket marinades
These are the ones I use over and over again, made with pantry staples with lots of sub options!
Watch how to make it
Recipe video for this great Pork Chop Marinade! Don’t miss the end when I show how juicy the chops are…
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A Great Pork Chop Marinade
Ingredients
- 4 bone in pork chops, 2 cm / 4/5″ thick about 280g/9 oz each (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp oil
Marinade:
- 1/3 cup (85 ml) soy sauce (light or all purpose, not dark)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Place Marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag. Massage to combine.
- Add chops. Massage to coat in the Marinade. Marinate for 1 – 24 hours. (Note 2)
- Take the chops out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.
- Brush BBQ grill or drizzle oil in pan, heat on medium high. Add pork and cook for 4 minutes or until the underside is caramelised and the pork releases from the grill, then turn the chops and cook for 3 minutes (Note 2 for thin chops).
- Baste both sides with residual marinade in ziplock bag, then cook the basted side for 30 seconds before serving. The chops should have a great crust
- Transfer chops to a plate, cover loosely with foil. Rest for 3 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
* Thin chops: 1.25 cm/ 1/2″ thick – 1 hr+
* Thick chops 2 cm / 4/5″ thick – 3 hrs+ COOK TIME for just white (juicy, no pink, reduce by 1 min for hint of blush):
* Thin chops – 3 minutes first side, 2 minutes second side, then 30 seconds on each side for basting.
* Thick chops – 4 minutes first side, 3 minutes second side, then 45 seconds on each side. If your chops are thicker than the Thick Chops, then I’d recommend starting on the stove and finishing in the oven at 180C/350F until the internal temperature is 145F / 63C. 3. Troubleshooting / tips: Once you put the chops on the BBQ, DON’T TOUCH IT! Once it is cooked, it will release naturally from the grills. If it sticks, it’s not ready to turn. If your chops are cooking too quickly and start to burn because of the sugar in the marinade, turn the heat down. Remember, these chops are meant to have a gorgeous chargrilled crust! 4. CRISPY POTATO ROSTI recipe (pictured on the side of the chops) – by reader request, here’s an abbreviated form of the recipe: 2 large brushed (Sebago) potatoes (US: use russet), peeled and grated using a box grater. Grab handfuls and squeeze out excess liquid or do this using a dish towel (clean!). Place in bowl, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tbsp butter + 1 1/2 tbsp oil (I use olive) in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add dollops of potato, spread into pancake shape about 12 cm / 4.5″ wide, 0.75 cm / 1/4″ thick. Press down to compact into rosti, cook for 3 minutes or until deep golden brown. Flip and repeat. Drain on paper towels, repeat with remaining potato, should make 8. Originally posted August 2017, photos replaced in May 2018, some tidying up done in February 2019, no change to recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
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This was sooo good! It’s hard to get pork chops juicy but this did the trick. Will definitely make this again.
I absolutely love this recipe! I use pork chops or chicken thighs and they are amazing!
I marinated 3/4 chops for maybe 2 hrs.. a little too salty for me, husband disagreed.. I think for me , thicker chops or a tenderloin would be better.. I plan to use leftover marinade and pork for stir fry /refried rice..
Delicious! Followed the cooking instructions and got some juicy tender pork chops. We had no leftovers!
Finishing my review: the chops were bland. Maybe some salt and more pepper. I’m not sure but they needed something!
We were disappointed with this marinade. I had 1 inch chops and marinaded them for 4 hours. My hus
This recipe was fantastic. Two of our family members are not pork chop fans and they LOVED them. Thank you for a great marinade!
This is an awesome marinade, especially for the grill. I use it on chops and loins. I’ve even injected into some big pork loins. It really is delicious.
I’ve marinated pork chops much like this for years, very flavorful and moist. Two suggestions: thick chops stay tender, and Basil. Dice fresh basil into the marinade, really adds a lot.
Made these tonight not really expecting anything much. Boy was I wrong. If you haven’t tried this it it fabulous. Even my really picky husband said we should do these again. Used normal pork chops which I marinated for 24 hours then cooked as usual. They were exactly as described, tender and moist. Yum yum
Used this marinade on a pork loin then put it in a rotisserie basket on the BBQ. Everyone was blown away by the flavor. Restaurant quality!!
Great!
The recipe calls for Worcestershire-sauce (no soy), but the intro to the recipe refers to soy sauce
I’m confused… did I read it wrong?
You read it wrong haha it has both
We’ve made this multiple times, each with a delicious outcome.
We BBQ bone-in 1″ pork chops. Easy peasy!
Second time with bone-in half inch chops and for the second time a five star rating. The short grill time and the terrific marinade….well mom’s pork chops never tasted this good nor so juicy. This is probably the tenth recipe from your site that I have used and you are still batting 1000.
We subbed broad bean paste with chili (same qty) for the mustard (hubby’s not a fan). Marinated 4 – 1/2 lb boneless chops for 3 hrs, Smoked for 15 minutes, then pan-seared on very high heat for 4-5 on each side. Hands down, the juiciest and most tender and incredibly flavorful, easy-to-make pork chops we’ve EVER HAD!!! Bravo and thank you for an incredible recipe. Looking forward to the next time and we’ll cook them a little less.
This recipe is so delicious! I make pork stir fry with small strips of pork. It was so tender and perfectly seasoned. Thank you!
This was soooo good! I’m always afraid of cooking pork because it dries out easily, but I can safely say, this was the best pork chop I’ve ever eaten. Ever!
The sound is so good and I followed the directions.
But all I taste is soya sauce.
Which is okay I guess but kind of was hoping for something more.
Where has this recipe been for the last twenty-five years of dry, sort of meh pork chops. Never had a tastier grilled chop and the grilling instructions were spot on, loved the crispy bits. Served with au gratin potatoes and fresh corn. I will likely do again this week. Yum.