The Chef-Approved Marinade Ingredients You Need For Juicy, Flavorful Pork Chops

Let's be honest for a second. We can all agree that unseasoned pork chops are quite blandand leave much for your tastebuds to desire. Knowing this, we sat down with Porter House chef Michael Lomonaco to pick his brain to uncover the chef-approved marinade ingredients you need for cooking juicy and flavorful pork chops. It turns out, Lomonaco divides this process into two parts. "If I have time, I prefer to dry brine my pork or chicken overnight," he said. "Season with a sugar-salt-seasoning mix and rub and coat the meats for overnight refrigerated brining."

To do this, you'd want to put sugar, salt, and your seasonings of choice into a bowl and give it a good mix. With our easy pork chop recipe, we use paprika, garlic powder, and ground pepper for seasoning. Then, using clean hands, give the pork chops a good rubbing and massage with the dry rub. Overnight, all the flavors will meld and develop further. A few hours before cooking and serving the pork chops is when the chef marinates the meat with a wet, tangy mixture.  "Then the next day, 2-3 hours before pan roasting or grilling, I marinate the chops in a citrus and lime marinade flavored with chilies, garlic, honey for great flavor."

Using Michael Lomonaco's technique featuring a dry brine overnight followed by marinading will ensure you get flavorful pork chops every time. The salty dry rub will also help lock in the pork chop's juices. Now, this may seem counterintuitive because salt draws moisture out of meat. What happens when you salt meat ahead of time is that you give the meat a chance to reabsorb all of that moisture. You'll also see the surface of the meat is dry, ready to form a delicious crust that browns beautifully when you cook it. Hence, you should always salt your steak and pork before cooking them. 

Lomonaco's citrus and lime marinade is acidic and while the acidity lends a good tangy flavor, it also denatures and tenderizes the meat. Who likes chalky pork chops? Not us. We would, however, like to add one more tip. For the juiciest pork, baste the chops like a steak in the pan. You can do this with Lomonaco's flavorful citrus and lime marinade mixed with the hot butter in the pan.