This Brown Sugar Bourbon Pork Chop Marinade is the stuff that all your summer grilling dreams are made of! A little sweet. A little boozy (don't worry, it cooks off!). And a whole lot of delicious!
Brown Sugar Bourbon Pork Chop Marinade
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'Tis the season to be marinating! Guys, I am beyond ready for summer and all the grilling that goes with it! I won't lie, we are people who are more than willing to grill in the dead of winter (J actually grilled in the snow just last night!). But we grill so much more often during the winter.
So I've made it my goal to come up with a bunch of marinade recipes this year. This one in particular is a marinade for pork chops. But it would also be a fantastic pork tenderloin marinade or on other meats in general.
Now don't be alarmed by the fact that this contains booze, specifically bourbon. Cooking with booze is different from drinking it because the alcohol cooks off. I fed this to my girls with zero guilt and they happily ate it. I assure you there was no drunkedness happening, just full bellies!
How long can you keep marinated pork chops in the fridge?
Technically, you can keep these marinating in the fridge for up to 2 days, but 4-6 hours up to a day is ideal. You don't want to go too long on the marinating either as it can adversely affect the texture of the meat if it goes really long.
And don't waste your time marinating meat that's frozen, it won't absorb any of the marinade in that state. You want them chilled but not frozen.
Tips for grilling Brown Sugar Pork Chops:
- Bring them closer to room temperature: take them out of the fridge 15-20 minutes before grilling for even cooking.
- Grease the grill: and do this before heating it, for safety reasons.
- Manage the heat: every grill has it's hot spots. Keep your eyes on it and know where your hot spots are so you can manage your meat without charring it completely.
- Don't turn it too early: A sure-fire sign that that it's too early to turn your meat is if it sticks (you greased your grill before heating it, remember?). It should release easily.
- Don't overcook them: Did you know that the safe temperature for pork is 145 degrees (as opposed to the 165 degrees that you're shooting for when cooking poultry)? You guys, don't fear the 145. No one wants to eat a hockey puck. I'd say pull it off are 135/140 so it has time to come to temp while it's resting.
- Rest your meat: because if you cut into it right away, all those delicious juices will drain out. And as mentioned in my last tip, a nice 5-10 minute rest, while tented in foil will allow the meat to do a little crossover cooking.
Helpful tools:
Brown Sugar Bourbon Pork Chop Marinade
Ingredients
- ½ cup good bourbon
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 pork chops, around an inch thick, bone in or boneless works
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together Bourbon, oil, brown sugar, garlic powder, soy sauce, salt and pepper until well combined.
- Place pork chops in a plastic zipper bag (or a bowl) and pour the marinade in.
- Seal and move the chops around a bit to make sure they're fully covered.
- Refrigerate for around 2-4 hours (It won't hurt them to go longer but 2-4 hours is the ideal amount of time).
- Remove from the refrigerator 15-20 minutes prior to grilling.
- Spray the grill with olive oil cooking spray and preheat the grill to medium high heat.
- Place meat on the grill and discard leftover marinade.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes per side, turning once (this time will vary based on your grill and the thickness of the meat so keep an eye on it).
- Remove the meat to a clean plate and tent with foil. Rest for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
If you tried this recipe please comment and rate it 🙂 I love hearing your feedback and answering your questions!
Here are some other great pork chop recipes:
You can find a full index of my recipes here.
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