Pork Chop

One hundred and fifty years ago, home cooks and commercial food processors relied on brining (along with salting and smoking) to prevent meats, fish, and vegetables from spoiling. Today, brining is making a comeback. Brined chicken and pork dishes appear on upscale restaurant menus. Cooks are rediscovering that brining is a simple way of improving texture and flavor. Since brining causes meat to absorb liquid, a seasoned brining solution makes meat juicier and tastier than it would be otherwise, a godsend for ultra-lean American pork and even for turkey. My friend Nancy Oakes, chef-owner of the San Francisco restaurant Boulevard, gave me her recipe for brining , which I've adapted for this easy dish. I like to serve these pork chops with Versatile Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes and Fiery Garlicky Greens. If there are leftovers, cooked chops will keep for several days in the refrigerator. Their low fat content makes it too easy to dry them out during reheating, so I prefer to use them cold. Trim the meat off the bone, remove any fat remaining along the outer edge, and then slice the meat as thin as possible. Use in a sandwich or a salad, or as part of a cold meat plate, with Roasted Pear Chutney or Herbal Mayonnaise. (All these recipes mentioned can be found in the book). Twelve hours is the optimal time for brining the chops, so plan on making the brine and marinating the chops the night before you intend to grill them. Brining them for slightly less time is fine, but longer than 12 hours, and the chops will start to take on the texture and flavor of ham. Once brined, however, they can be refrigerated for several days before cooking.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 50 min

If you don't happen to have any day-old corn bread on hand, just follow our recipe — fresh regular corn bread may be too moist. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 hr (includes making corn bread)

Try the braised escarole with apples and the herbed spaetzle alongside these juicy chops.

Look for chili-garlic sauce in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.

Serve with: Spinach salad topped with toasted almonds, and sesame breadsticks.

Brining ensures a moist grilled chop. What to drink: Pale ale.

We don't recommend doubling the sauce ingredients if you're cooking for more than two people — the sauce will lose its intensity. Instead, you may want to make two batches. Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 45 min

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

The sauce in this recipe is also good with chicken and ham. Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Kale with Sautéed Apple and Onion makes the perfect side dish for these chops Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 25 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Brining these pork chops for 2 days results in succulent, tender meat. The brine in this recipe is based on one that appears in Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton's Food of Campanile.