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
This is what a doggie smile looks like!
So good!! Thanks! could this be as good also using chix thigh or breast? thanks.
Wow! 5 stars for sure! I never take the time to comment on recipes, but I had to with this one. These are possibly the best pork chops I’ve ever had! Both my children and I do not care for pork chops. They’re typically dry and too chewy for us. This is the first pork chop recipe that everyone readily ate! And my 10 year old even commented that these are the best pork chops I’ve ever made! No doubt because they were sweet, but also the savory components of garlic and the sauces made it into a truly delicious glaze! I’m saving this recipe for next time!
Made these tonight. I was very impressed how tender and delicious these were. I used very thick. 1.5”, bone in chops. I marinated for only 2 hours cuz got a late start. Can’t imagine how great they are after marinating longer. Next time…
There is now a party in everyone’s mouth! 🥳
This one is a keeper. 24hrs in the fridge did it for me. WOW just WOW!!!
Have made these several times – foolproof, juicy, delicious – won’t make chops anyother way, now! Will try the rosti side, tonight… thanks!
we loved this for camping! I did regular mustard rather than dijon and tasted great!
I normally do note leave comments as I am a very picky seasoned home cook. But this marinade is amazing, followed measurements and directions to the T. Never will I use another marinade for my pork ever again. Those complaining it is to salty, I’m guessing your chops were to thin. Try using loin chops at least inch thick, grill to medium well temp. Trust me. Thank you for this awesome marinade recipe. You have a new follower.
The exact reason I do not eat pork….extremely dry. Tried this recipe EXACTLY as written and YES juicy, tasty succulent pork chops!! Amazing!! A “must” try!
I had some rather dry, boneless pork “chops” from a pork loin that I had sliced up, aomI was looking for a recipe that would juice them up a bit, and this recipe sure did the trick! I followed it exactly, and the chops were very moist, tender, and tasty. Thanks for the great recipe and grilling instructions!
Hi Nagi! I looked up best marinade for boneless pork chops and you came up. WAs going to ask you if boneless cooked the same, but someone already said they worked great, so I’m going ahead. Thanks, Nagi! Give Dozer a hug for me !
Very flavorful marinade. I grilled the pork chops and the garlic fell off. Next time I think I will crush the garlic into a paste and see if that will stay on better.
How would this work on chicken for the grill?
My family wasn’t a big fan of pork chops until I came across this recipe! They raved about them and told me this will be the only way they will eat pork chops from now on!
Reading the reviews I didn’t really believe them. I got a gas grill recently and just wanted to try out some pork chops with a simple marinade. I thought my husband might like this so I gave it a try. I used thick, bone in pork chops and marinated them 24 hours. HOLY CRAP. they were soooo good! My husband was sighing with happiness at his first bite and kept commenting on how good they were the whole meal. He then spent a considerable amount of time licking the platter after they were gone lol. There’s something about the savoriness of the soy sauce and Worcestershire combined with the brown sugar and the caramelization from that + the char and smokiness from the grill that makes this out of this world good! My husband says you have his undying gratitude for this recipe 😆 And mine too!
Fabulous marinade thank you!
Simple and tasty!
I didn’t have W sauce on hand so I added a bit more mustard. Marinated very thin pork steaks for only 1 hr. I cooked longer to get the fat to render. Like I was cooking bacon. The meat stayed juicy and delicious despite longer cook time. It did remind me of a pork stir-fry dish, but in a very good way.
Very good 👍🏻
Wow! I hardly get comments from my husband on a lot of my dishes but he said this is the only way he wants me to prepare pork chops! Thanks Nagi!
It lives up to the name Paula!!! N x
I’ve made this a few times. I love it so much!!!
Woo hoo that’s great Saylor! Enjoy!! N x
While I love to cook/bake and am known for showing my love through my food, I myself never really eat the meats I cook. These pork chops on the other hand… aside from the 3am wakeup of my boyfriend finishing the leftovers from the fridge… I ate a whole chop. Doesn’t sound like much, but for a girl who usually can’t find a protein SHE can’t get enough of… I think I’m hooked. Definitely cannot wait to try this on the grill.
I absolutely love this recipe!! It’s one of those can’t get enough of meals! I was wondering if it would work to freeze the pork chops in the marinade.