Description
Grilled Boneless Pork Chops with Apple Cider Brine and Apple Butter Glaze. A taste of fall from the grill, pork chops with an apple cider brine.
Ingredients
- 4 thick cut pork chops (1¼ inches thick, about 10 ounces per chop)
Apple cider brine pork chops
- 2 cups apple cider
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup kosher salt
Apple butter glaze
- ½ cup apple butter
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Brine the pork chops: Stir the apple cider, water, and kosher salt in a large bowl until the salt dissolves. Submerge the chops in this brine, cover, and refrigerate for one to eight hours.
- Simmer the glaze: Put the apple butter and mustard in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Set this glaze aside for later.
Note: I simmer the glaze on the grill, in a grill safe pot, while I cook the chops. - Set the grill for two zone medium-high heat grilling: Prepare a medium-high heat fire on one side of your grill. On my Weber Summit, I preheat the grill for ten minutes with all the burners set to high. Then I brush the grate clean with my grill brush, turn burners #1 and #2 down to medium-high, and turn off all the other burners.
- Grill the pork chops: Remove the pork chops from the brine and pat them dry with paper towels. Set the pork chops on the grill directly over the medium-high heat fire. Grill the chops, with the lid closed as much as possible, until they have browned grill marks on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip the chops and grill until they have browned grill marks on the other side, about 2 more minutes. Flip the chops and rotate 90 degrees, and grill until the chops have a browned crosshatch of grill marks, about 2 more minutes. Brush both sides of the chops with the apple butter glaze, then move the chops to the indirect heat side of the grill, crosshatched side up, and close the lid. Cook over indirect heat until the chops reach 145°F in their thickest part for medium-rare, about 10 minutes. (Medium-well is 160°F, about 12 minutes over indirect heat.) Brush the chops with another layer of glaze, then remove to a platter, and let them rest for at least three minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
These are big chops. If you have big eaters (like me), one chop per person is good; if you have normal eaters (like my wife and kids), a half a chop per person is a more reasonable serving.
I grill an extra chop for leftover lunch; sliced pork chop sandwiches with a little extra apple butter are a great midweek treat.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: American