Simple pork chop marinade

This simple pork chop marinade guarantees delicious, juicy pork. This is a salty marinade that sticks to pork chops. We love this recipe and we have confidence!

This marinade brings the best pork, enhancing its natural saltiness. Any time marinating will make your pork taste better, but aim for 4 hours or more for the best results. If you follow us for a while, you will know that we are serious about pork chops (see our highly reviewed juicy skillet pork chops and grilled pork chops for reference). With this marinade, we didn’t play. You will make the most delicious and tender pork chops you can get at home.

We call it a pork chop marinade, but it works well with any chopped pork, especially pork tenderloin. We love grilling pork in this simple marinade, whether it’s on a baking tray or an outdoor grill, but you can cook as much as you like. I’ve shared my favorite cooking method below.

Key Ingredients

• garlic: I like the fresh garlic in this marinade and prefer to fine-tune it so it can be melted into the mixture. We only use a few cloves to make the 4-sized marinade, so we won’t make super-slices of pork.
• soy sauce: This adds umami flavor and makes the pork taste richer and more porky. It also adds some color and helps season the pork. Use tamari or soy sauce. In our favorite steak marinade, I also use soy sauce.
• mayonnaise: I call this the secret ingredient for our pork marinated. Mayo’s meat is thick because it helps the marinade stick to each surface. It also helps tenderize the pork, and thanks to the oil of mayonnaise, it breaks the pork itself while cooking and remains juicy. And, if that’s not enough, it helps brown when cooking. Can you tell me I am a fan? Regular Greek yogurt is a great alternative to mayonnaise, but you might want to add brown sugar with teaspoons to balance the rich flavor of the yogurt. I use yogurt in our Greek chicken marinated.
• mustard: We often use mustard sauce in our marinade recipes (see this Lemon Chicken Marinate as an example). We ended up not using enough to get a strong mustard flavor, but it helps season the pork and bring out the natural flavor. Use Dijon Mustard Sauce or Whole Grain Mustard.
• brown sugar: I’ve seen a lot of pork marinades that require a lot of sugar and I’m happy to report that this only takes a little (1 teaspoon 4 chapters). It balances mustard and soy sauce and helps the pork reach the caramel shell while cooking.
• Pepper and salt: We love Aleppo Pepper, which adds tender, sweet calories. If you don’t have it on hand, use crushed red pepper flakes or black pepper as a last resort. We also add a little salt to the marinade to make sure the pork is seasoned well.

How to Make Our Pork Chop Marinate

This pork chop marinade is very easy to make. You will add all the ingredients to the bowl and mix until combined. Then, add the pork and move it around the marinade until the coating is coated. Since this marinade is so thick, I sometimes rub it onto the pork chops with my hands. We recommend marinating for at least 4 hours, but even 1 hour will make a big difference!

This marinade works well in the grill or barbecue pan. I like to burn the ribs in a grill pan over medium heat to add some color and then finish them in a 375°F (190°C) oven to make it cooked, juicy pork chops. I also provide tips for outdoor grills in the recipe below. Sure, you can cook the ribs as you like, but I like the methods shared in recipes the most.