Dry brined pork chops

Salt brined pork chops ensure there are no more dry chops at dinner time! I cook my chops on the stock in a cast iron, but the BBQ is also a great option.

In 2013 it became clear to me how difficult it is to understand where our food comes from. I was grocery shopping at a popular grocery chain and picked up a 1lb package of ground beef as I had done many times before. I’m not sure why, but this time I looked closer at the package and noticed it said “Product of USA, Canada and New Zealand.”

Meat Delivery with Grassroots!

I knew that big retailers were driving down prices and forcing producers to import cheaper meat, but I didn’t realize that we couldn’t even track the origin of 1lb of beef. Since then I’ve tried to purchase most of my meat from local, transparent farms, but I’ll admit it’s a challenge.

I recently decided that I should try a meat delivery service that would make it easier to buy the kind of meat I actually wanted to eat. I had 3 simple criteria for this service:

1. Meat must be from the U.S. only
2. Animals should be pasture raised
3. The farms should put animal welfare first and be transparent about their practices  

Grass Roots not only fit all of my criteria, but had even more than I was looking for.

All of the farms they work with are small and independent. Grass Roots includes the name of processor, date it was processed, how many animals were processed in the same batch. They even have a page that features transparent pricing information.

Over the next few months I’ll be bringing you a recipe every few weeks featuring Grass Roots meat. The first recipe is salt brined pork chops. Grass Roots sells big, beautiful center cup chops. I knew I didn’t want to do a lot to them, but just enough to help the natural flavor come out.

There are two ways to do a salt brine. The first and most common is using a combination of water, sugar, and salt. The second, and my preferred method, is a dry salt brine. A dry brine is faster, easier, and cleaner than a wet brine. And for our purposes, provides an even better result.

For two thick cut pork chops, combine 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. You could also add a bit of other spices you like. Cover both sides of the cops with the mixture, then place on an elevated rack in the fridge for about 12 hours. The elevated rack will allow some airflow on each side.

Brining Your Pork Chops

The brine leaches out the moisture in the chops, then gets reabsorbed along with the salt and pepper. This makes for a super moist and flavorful pork chop. Once the brining is done, remove from the fridge and let rest for about 20 minutes before cooking. You can use a cast iron pan to sear chops or grill them.

If you are looking for a new meat delivery services, I highly encourage you to check them out Grass Roots. Right now you can get $50 off your first box with code FarmBox50. And they always offer free shipping for orders over $75.

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This post is part of a partnership with Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative, but all opinions are my own.