Thin pork chops are an idea I learned from from John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger in Gourmet magazine. They suggest you think thin, crispy and flavorful, instead of the usual thick and juicy. For a quick weeknight meal on the grill, thin is good - it cooks quickly, and gets dinner on the table that much faster.
Even though we're going for thin and crispy, be careful to not overcook lean pork loin, or it will dry out. The brinerade gives us a little cushion, but the real trick is to only cook the chops on one side. The pork chops are thin enough to cook through, and they'll be nicely browned on the one side that's always facing the grill.
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Equipment
- A grill. (I use a Weber Summit, which is overkill for this recipe.)
Inspired by: "Doc" Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger: Grill It!
Grilled Thin Pork Chops, Quick Brinerated
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
Grilled Thin Pork Chops, Quick Brinerated. My recipe for thin-cut pork chops, grilled quickly on only one side.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds thin cut pork chops (¼-inch to ½-inch thick, preferably rib chops)
Brinerade
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Brinerate the pork chops: Whisk the brinerade ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Put the pork chops in a large bowl or a baking dish, reserve 2 tablespoons of the brinerade for later, and pour the rest of the brinerade over the chops. Flip the pork chops a few times to evenly cover with the marinade, then let them rest while the grill preheats. (Or, put the chops in the refrigerator and brinerate for up to 4 hours, turning occasionally to coat with the brinerade.)
- Set the grill for direct medium heat (350°F to 400°F): Preheat the grill, then set it for grilling on direct medium heat. For my Weber Summit, I preheat with all burners on high for 10 minutes, brush the grill grates clean, then turn the burners down to medium.
- Cook the chops: Flip the chops one more time in the baking dish to coat with the brinerade, then put them on the grill over direct medium heat. (Keep the lid closed as much as possible while cooking.) Grill the chops until they have good grill marks on the bottom, about 2 minutes, then rotate them 90 degrees (don't flip the chops - just rotate them) and grill until they have a good crosshatch of grill marks on the bottom, about 2 more minutes. At this point, the chops should be cooked through - they'll have gone from pink to white on the side that's been facing up the whole time. Remove them from the grill. (If you have thicker chops, and the top is not cooked through, flip them over and cook them for another minute.)
- Glaze and serve: Remove the chops to a platter and pour the reserved brinerade over the chops. Let rest for five minutes, then serve.
Equipment
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: American
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1-2 pork chops
Variations
- Asian style: the soy sauce is already giving them a little bit of an asian flavor; you can play this up by replacing the balsamic vinegar with seasoned asian rice vinegar, and the olive oil with peanut or sesame oil.
- Barbecued pork chops: When done, brush the chops with barbecue sauce instead of the reserved brinerade.
- Don't forget to gnaw on the bones...it's my favorite part!
What do you think?
Questions? Comments? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
This recipe is part of Quick Grilling Week
Grilled Boneless Pork Loin Chops, Brined and Honey Glazed recipe
Grilled Corn recipe
Rotisserie Pineapple
My other Grilling Recipes
Inspired by:
"Doc" Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger: Grill It!
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Shelly Simons says
Love, love, love this recipe!
Janis says
These were delicious!!! Thank you for the instructions, they came out perfect! 🙂
JohnnyFRX says
WINNER WINNER Pork Chop Dinner! I cooked up a batch of these bad boys last night and was truly BLOWN AWAY by how good they turned out. We followed your original recipe to the letter, let them brinerade in the fridge for about 5 hours, flipping them every hour and a half or so. This little masterpiece will be saved to my arsenal of cooking goodness! Thank you sir for sharing it!
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Len says
Perfect recipe for perfect, perfect, perfect thin grilled chops!!! I use this recipe over and over. Thank you Mike!
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
George K says
This is a great use of thin chops. As my son said "These are the best pork chops I've ever had." I will use this every time I have grilled thin chops. Thanks for the recipe.
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Paula Bender says
I did this last night on the grill and my husband and daughter complimented me on how tender the meat was. That's a very good trick to remember --- not turning the thin pork chops. Mahalo!
Jordan says
Absolutely loved this recipe! It was so simple and very tasty! I agree with someone else that said the brine smelled good enough to drink. I also added salt, pepper, and about 1.5 tablespoons of minced garlic to the brine. The family loved it and so did I, thank you!
gonna try+these+.+the+brinerate+smells+good+enough+to+drink.. says
Shocked! These were incredible. Moist and tasty even when cooked one minute longer than suggested.
Carla says
This recipe saved the day. I already had the chops and company was coming. The short "brinerating" time was perfect for me and everyone loved them.
Mike V says
Thanks! Glad it worked for you.
Chris A. says
Just made these, found it in a google search. Amazing! Thank you for this! Thanks to two tired and fussy toddlers it sat in the brine for almost 2 hours so I was a bit worried how they would turn out, still tastes great!
Mike V says
Great! I'm glad it worked so well for you.
Carey says
Would this work with boneless chops also?
Mike V says
Yes, it will work - but they'll cook even quicker.
Tommy jones says
Looks good licking my lips going to try it tonight thank you
Morgan says
Could I use this recipe on a pork loin? We made the chops last night and my family LOVED it so much. Pork loins were on sale this week so I wanted to try it? Thoughts?
Kathleen says
This is an excellent plan for grilling this thin cut of meat. And you are 100% right! Modern pork does mean it has almost no fat. I always prefer thin cut pork chops when I cook; the thick ones tend to come out tasting dry. I love the idea of not grilling on both sides. Never would've thought of that, so thank you Mike!
Sean says
Great quick recipe. I did it on my kettle grill (a Coleman, not a Weber, sorry) and it turned out fantastic.
Thanks for all your tips, tricks and recipes. This is the only website I recommend to friends.
Mike V says
You're welcome!