How to Brine Pork Chops ....... Too Brine or Not Too Brine?

TO BRINE OR NOT TO BRINE?

Why Reach for Plain Salt When Cook With Jax All-Purpose Can Do More?

A great pork chop shouldn't need a rescue mission of sauce once it hits the plate.

It should be juicy, tender, deeply seasoned, and packed with enough flavor to make somebody at the table reach for another one.

Brining can help get you there. But here's the question:

Why brine with a bunch of plain salt when you can brine with flavor?

Our answer?

BRINE IT WITH COOK WITH JAX ALL-PURPOSE.

Cook With Jax All-Purpose brings salt along with garlic, spices, and that signature smoky flavor. That means you're not starting with a heavy salt bomb and trying to add flavor later.

You're building flavor from the beginning.

It's another reason we believe you don't need 30 bottles crowding your cabinet.

Start with the Core 3—All-Purpose, Gar-Lick, and Rub U Right—and you've got a complete flavor system ready for just about anything you want to cook.

Life is too short for dry pork—and flavor shouldn't whisper.

WHY BRINE PORK CHOPS?

Pork chops are lean, particularly boneless center-cut chops. That's great for an easy dinner, but lean meat can go from juicy to dry quickly.

Brining gives you a little insurance.

As pork rests in a properly seasoned brine, salt penetrates beyond the surface and changes how the meat holds moisture during cooking. The result is a pork chop that's seasoned deeper and has a better chance of staying juicy over high heat.

Traditional brining usually starts with a significant amount of kosher salt dissolved in water.

It works.

But we think there's a better way.

THE COOK WITH JAX WAY

Instead of reaching for a quarter cup of plain salt, reach for Cook With Jax All-Purpose.

You're still getting salt—but you're also introducing flavor from the start.

For four pork chops, start with:

• 4 cups cold water

• 3–4 tablespoons Cook With Jax All-Purpose Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey, optional

• 4 pork chops, approximately ¾ to 1½ inches thick

Important: Cook With Jax All-Purpose isn't pure salt, so this is intentionally a lighter, flavor-forward brine rather than a traditional high-salinity brine. That's the point.

We aren't trying to turn your pork into ham.

We're giving it some moisture protection while starting the flavor-building process.

Want more flavor?

Add a little Cook With Jax Gar-Lick to the brine.

That's it.

No chemistry set.

No twelve-ingredient brine.

No spice-cabinet scavenger hunt.

Keep it simple.

STEP 1: BUILD THE BRINE

Add the Cook With Jax All-Purpose to cold water and stir thoroughly.

Because All-Purpose contains more than salt, don't expect everything to disappear like plain kosher salt. Those spices are supposed to be there.

If using brown sugar or honey, dissolve it in a small amount of warm water first, then add enough cold water to bring the total to four cups.

The brine must be cold before adding raw pork.

STEP 2: GIVE IT SOME TIME

Place the pork chops in a food-safe container or resealable bag and pour the cold brine over them.

Keep them refrigerated the entire time.

A good starting point:

• ½-inch chops: 20–30 minutes

• ¾- to 1-inch chops: 45–90 minutes

• 1¼- to 1½-inch chops: 1½–2 hours

• Very thick bone-in chops: Up to 3 hours

For most pork chops, about an hour is plenty.

More isn't automatically better.

We're cooking pork—not curing it.

STEP 3: DRY THEM WELL

Remove the pork from the brine and discard the brining liquid.

Never reuse brine that's been in contact with raw pork.

Pat every surface of the chops thoroughly dry with paper towels.

This matters.

Wet meat steams. Dry meat sears.

And we want that beautiful crust.

NOW BRING IN THE REST OF THE CORE 3

Here's where the Cook With Jax system really starts working.

The All-Purpose has already started building flavor during the brine.

Now lightly season the outside with Gar-Lick for another layer of savory garlic flavor.

Then finish with a light coating of Rub U Right before grilling or roasting when you want that signature sweet-savory crust.

ALL-PURPOSE → BRINE & FOUNDATION

GAR-LICK → SAVORY PUNCH

RUB U RIGHT → FINISH & CRUST

Three bottles. One complete cooking system.

You don't need 30 different seasonings that each have one job.

The Core 3 is all you need.

SKILLET OR GRILL?

CAST IRON

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat with a small amount of oil.

Add the dried and seasoned chops and let them develop a deep crust before flipping.

For thick-cut chops, sear both sides and finish them in a 400°F oven until they reach temperature.

GRILL

Set up your grill with direct and indirect heat.

Sear the pork over the hotter section to develop color and crust, then move thicker chops to the cooler side to finish.

If you're using Rub U Right, remember that its sweetness helps build an incredible crust—but sugar and high heat require attention.

Color is flavor. Black isn't.

THE THERMOMETER WINS

Don't cook pork by color.

Don't cook it by the clock.

And definitely don't cook it until it's gray and begging for barbecue sauce.

Cook pork chops to an internal temperature of 145°F, followed by at least a 3-minute rest.

A little blush in the center can be perfectly normal.

Use a good instant-read thermometer and let temperature—not guesswork—make the call.

WHEN NOT TO BRINE

Before doing anything, read the package.

If your pork says it's enhanced with a solution, contains added broth or water, has been pre-seasoned, or has already been marinated, skip the brine.

It's already carrying additional sodium and moisture.

Adding another brine can take a great pork chop straight into way-too-salty territory.

Instead, pat it dry and use your Cook With Jax seasonings with a lighter hand.

That's cooking—not blindly following a recipe.

SO...TO BRINE OR NOT TO BRINE?

For a thick, natural pork chop?

We're Team Brine.

But we're not interested in drowning good pork in a bucket of salt.

Use Cook With Jax All-Purpose and start building flavor before the pork ever hits the fire.

Then let Gar-Lick and Rub U Right finish the job.

That's the philosophy behind the Cook With Jax Core 3:

YOU DON'T NEED MORE SEASONINGS.

YOU NEED SEASONINGS THAT DO MORE.

ALL-PURPOSE. GAR-LICK. RUB U RIGHT.

Three seasonings.

Endless possibilities.

From pork chops and chicken to burgers, steaks, vegetables, potatoes, eggs, ribs, and just about anything else headed toward the kitchen, grill, or smoker.

Keep it simple.

Cook great food.

Bring everybody to the table.

Because at the end of the day, it really is about faith, family, friends, and great food shared together.

COOK WITH JAX

UNLEASH FLAVOR IN EVERY BITE!