One trick that I learned a long time ago about cooking pork is that you have to brine it. The brine for this recipe is a sugar-salt solution mixed with apple juice concentrate (you will need 2 cans of frozen juice) for the brine and spiced apples. With its sweet apple flavor, this is an intense marinade that works miracles on pork chops. Trust me—once you taste a thick pork chop that’s been flavored in a brine, you will never go back. Cozy up to your butcher to get the pork chops cut to your liking. Thin pork chops—no way! Serve this with Corn Pudding (page 236).

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　

Pork Chops

1 gallon water

　　1 cup brown sugar

　　1 cup sea salt

　　1 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

　　1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

　　2 fresh thyme sprigs

　　4 double-cut bone-in loin pork chops,1 pound each

　　Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　Extra-virgin olive oil

　　

Spiced Apples and Raisins

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

　　3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced in 1/2-inch-thick wedges

　　Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs

　　1/4 cup raisins

　　3/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

　　3 tablespoons brown sugar

　　1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

　　Pinch of cardamom

　　Pinch of dry mustard

　　Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　Juice of 1/2 lemon

　　

Step 1

Combine the water, brown sugar, sea salt, apple juice, peppercorns, and thyme in an extra-large plastic bag. Give it a stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Submerge the pork chops in the brine, seal up the bag, and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours to tenderize the meat. Do not brine longer than that or the meat will break down too much and get mushy.

　　

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the pork chops from the brine and pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides of the meat with salt and pepper. Put a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add a 3-count drizzle of olive oil and get it hot. Lay 2 pork chops in the pan (most likely only 2 of these massive pork chops will fit comfortably) and brown 4 minutes per side. Remove the pork chops to a large baking pan; brown the remaining 2 chops and add them to the others in the pan. Put the baking pan in the oven and roast the chops for 30 minutes. The pork is done when the center is still rosy and the internal temperature reads 140° to 145°F. when tested with an instant-read thermometer.

　　

Step 3

While the chops cook, melt the butter in a clean skillet over medium-low heat. Add the apples and thyme and coat in the butter; cook and stir for 8 minutes to give them some color. Toss in the raisins and add the apple juice, stirring to scrape up the brown bits. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and dry mustard; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze in the lemon juice to wake up the flavor and simmer for 10 minutes or until the apples break down and soften. Spoon the spiced apples over the pork chops.

　　Reprinted with permission from Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen by Tyler Florence. © 2003 Clarkson Potter