If you want to bring a meal in on a budget, it’s hard to go wrong with pork loin chops. Except they can easily be dry as toast if you’re not careful. Not these Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes (and yeah, I know that title’s a mouthful!) They’re moist, succulent, tender and flavorful.
Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops & Roasted Potato Sheet Pan Tray
Best of all, these are oven roasted on a foil-lined sheet pan, for no fuss, bother and hardly any cleanup. Add a few baby potatoes (I give them a head start) and they’ll roast up nicely (crunchy on the outside, creamy in the center) right alongside the pork chops. Practically a one pan meal – just add a vegetable side and you’re done.
About Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes:
These Pork Chops are brined, up to a day if you can but even 30 minutes makes a difference. That makes them so moist and flavorful, but then the Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes have a bit of a surprise. The pork chops are scored with a knife in a criss-cross pattern then a garlicky, herby rub is added.
The rub flavors the pork chop beautifully but also creates small pockets of deeper flavor here and there in the pork. As you eat, each bite becomes a bit of a surprise/ You’ll find yourself wanting to take the next bite and the next. To add just one more layer of flavor (and a little color) brush just a touch of barbecue sauce across the top of the chops; whatever you have on hand will work.
But let’s not forget the potatoes! Honestly, potatoes are usually my favorite part of every meal! They get a little head start in the oven and the bake up beautifully! Well, you can see that in the photos, right? The potatoes almost steal the show – almost, that is! They really are the perfect foil for the Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops.
Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes
Making Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes:
The recipe is pretty simple, there are just a few steps to it. First the brine, then when you’re ready to cook, start the potatoes in the oven while you rub the pork chops and dab them with barbecue sauce. Then the chops join the pork chops right on the same sheet tray.
The beer brine on these pork chops is fun; I’d use something light, like a Lager, but if you don’t wish to use beer, apple juice or water will be fine. I loved the very subtle flavor the beer left behind, just a whisper of sumpin’ sumpin’ to tantalize your taste buds. Don’t make the rub too far ahead; the onion and garlic can get really strongly flavored if it sits too long. You’ll want to make that in a food processor.
Just had to share a Chance pic, here he is outside enjoying a bit of a treat.
Saving Money on Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes:
I find the best prices on the large whole pork loins. Buy on sale, slice them exactly how you like them (I do an assortment of thick, medium & thin) and pack them in Ziplocs to suit your family size. Don’t fall for those 10 for $10.00 (or any special that works out to a dollar a chop) specials – the average chop weighs about five ounces so that’s $3.30 a pound. And that’s too much to spend.
Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes
Herb Rubbed Beer Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Potatoes
To Brine:
- 4 six-ounce pork loin chops, cut about an inch thick
- 2/3 or so of a bottle of beer, enough to cover chops, preferably a lager
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon salt or about 1 1/4 tablespoons kosher salt *
- 5 to 6 black peppercorns
Add pork chops to a Ziploc bag. In a bowl, mix together brine ingredients, stirring to dissolve salt. Pour the brine over the chops in the Ziploc. If there isn’t enough brine to cover, add a bit more beer.
Seal, squeezing out as much air as possible and make sure that the brine works its way around all the chops. Place bag in a container, place in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably eight hours or overnight. If schedule allows, turn the bag now and then.
Herb Garlic Rub:
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed into a paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- about 1/4 of a red onion, roughly diced
- 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
Add everything but olive oil to a food processor. Pulse until finely broken down. Add enough olive oil to moisten and turn the mixture into a paste.
Put it all together:
- 1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1 1/2″ chunks
- 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Brined Pork Chops, above
- Herb garlic rub, above
- 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Add potatoes to sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper as desired and toss all ingredients together. Spread potatoes out, leaving a space in the center for the pork chops.
Place in the oven and roast potatoes for about 20 minutes while preparing the pork chops.
Remove pork chops from brine, discard brine. Pat dry. Make criss-cross cuts about 1/4 to 3/8ths of an inch thick, about an inch apart on both sides of the chop. If there is a layer of fat along the side, score every inch or so.
Portion out a small amount of the Herb Rub on each pork chop and rub into and across the meat. Turn and do the same to the other side.
Remove potatoes from oven, turn carefully with a spatula. Add the pork chops, and lightly dab the pork chops with barbecue sauce, trying not to remove any of the herb rub.
Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 12 to 15 minutes until pork chops have reached desired temperature and the potatoes are cooked through and nicely browned on the cut edges.
Rest pork chops, tented with foil, for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.
Note: FDA has reduced the recommended temperature from 160 degrees F to 145 degrees F. 145 degrees F will mean the pork chops will be slightly pink in the center.
- Note on Salt: the basic brine ratio is 1 tablespoon salt to 1 cup of liquid. Table salt is fine for short brines of less than 8 hours; Kosher salt is harder to dissolve (the liquid may need to be heated) but works better for brines over 8 hours.
| Nutrition Facts not including brine | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 580 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 30 g | 47 % |
| Saturated Fat 1 g | 7 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 7 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 140 mg | 47 % |
| Sodium 338 mg | 14 % |
| Potassium 554 mg | 16 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 25 g | 8 % |
| Dietary Fiber 3 g | 12 % |
| Sugars 5 g | |
| Protein 48 g | 97 % |
| Vitamin A | 3 % |
| Vitamin C | 21 % |
| Calcium | 5 % |
| Iron | 17 % |
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Today, of course, I’ll be linking to our very own Throwback Thursday Link Party, hosted by Quinn of Dad What’s for Dinner, Meaghan of 4 Sons are Us, Alli of Tornadough, Carlee from Cooking with Carlee and Moi! That’s right – me!
Click over to our latest Throwback Thursday post for links to their blogs and social media, rules and more info or, as always, to see all the links or add your own, click on the little blue frog, below.
And, as I do almost every Friday, I’ll be linking up to Angie’s Fiesta Friday – this is Number131! Many of my fave bloggers hang out there every weekend and this week’s co-hosts are Su @ Su’s Healthy Living and Laura @ Feast Wisely! It’s always a fun line up of bloggers and linkers.
The weekend wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t link up to Saucy Saturdays! Four bloggers, 4x the fun!
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