
08/08/2025
Thinking of making some grilled pork chops sometime soon, well, do I have a recipe for you. "Vanilla Brined Pork Chops with Hot-Sweet Rub". I prepared this today for "Cookin' with Kaye", my weekly cooking show heard Friday's at 8:20am on AM1370 KDTH. They were delicious! And, even better, whole boneless porkloins are on sale at Cremer's Grocery on Rhomberg avenue in Dubuque. $2.49lb! Yep, you read right, $2.49lb, and they run 8-10lbs. on average. Do the math, that's about $25 for a whole boneless porkloin, which Jeff Cremer will cut to your desired thickness, and wrap in freezer wrap for you. I'm big on brining as it makes the pork chops so moist and tender. And, you could pick up the flavors of the vanilla and anise. Don't let the title of the rub fool you, it's not hot at all. You could kick it up if you want, I liked it as is. After brining overnight in the fridge, these cook up pretty quickly on the grill. Make sure you use the one side hot, one side cool on your grill settings. And, letting them rest 5 minutes after grilling is important. Don't forget to check out the weekly Dubuque Advertiser for more great specials at Cremer's and all kinds of beverage specials to stock up on at Van's Liquor Store in East Dubuque. I'm thrilled with this weeks recipe, and I'm even happier that there's a couple of leftover chops! Hmmm, what you think I'm having for dinner tonight!
Vanilla Brined Pork Chops with Hot-Sweet Rub
Chops:
4-6 Boneless Pork Chops (1-1 ¼” thick)
Brine:
4 cups water
¼ cup Kosher salt
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. Vanilla extract
1 star anise, broken into pieces
Spice Rub:
1 tbsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. dried thyme
Combine all the brine ingredients together in a large mix bowl and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
Place the pork chops in a large container, or gallon size ziplock bag.
Add the brine to the container or bag, coat the pork chops, and refrigerate 6-8 hours, or overnight.
Combine all dry rub ingredients in a bowl, stir well, set aside.
Remove the chops from the brine and dry them well with paper towels. Sprinkle each chop liberally on both sides with the dry rub, and let rest a few minutes at room temperature while you heat one side of your grill to medium-high heat, the other burners on the cool side of the grill should be off.
Before heating grill, spray gill grate with cooking spray. Add chops to the hot side of the grill and cook 2 minutes a side. Move chops to cool side of the grill and grill 5-6 minutes per side, or until internal temperature of the chops comes to 145-degrees F. Remove from grill and rest 5 minutes before serving.