Reverse-Seared Brined Pork Chops with Peach BBQ Sauce (AIP, Paleo)
These Reverse-Seared Pork Chops with Peach BBQ Sauce are everything I want a pork chop to be: juicy and tender inside, deeply browned around the edges, and finished with a sticky, sweet-and-tangy glaze. A simple brine gives the chops plenty of flavor and helps keep them from drying out, while the reverse-sear method takes a lot of the guesswork out of cooking a thick pork chop. They’re finished with my homemade Peach BBQ Sauce, made without tomatoes, nightshades or refined sugar, for all that smoky-sweet barbecue flavor with a summery peach twist. The whole recipe is AIP and Paleo, but mostly, it’s just a really good pork chop.
How this recipe fits AIP & Paleo
These pork chops are both AIP and Paleo. The brine is simple, with no refined sugar, and the Peach BBQ Sauce is naturally sweetened and made without tomatoes, peppers or other nightshades. That means you still get the sweet, tangy, sticky barbecue glaze without any substitutions needed to make the recipe fit either protocol.
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My tried-and-true method for a juicy, tender pork chop is an 8-hour brine. A good brine is equal parts sugar and kosher salt, and for this AIP-compliant brine, I’m using brown coconut sugar. (Blonde or golden coconut sugar works, too.) Heat two cups of water over low heat and stir in the sugar and salt until just dissolved. Throw in a few sprigs of fresh thyme and garlic cloves. As soon as everything is dissolved, remove the brine from the heat and cool it down with a few ice cubes. Or, refrigerate to cool, if you have time. Either way, you don’t want to pour a hot brine over the chops – room temperature is cool enough.
Nestle the chops snuggly into a small baking dish. Here, I have two pork chops cut at 1¼-inches thick. Pour the brine over until the pork chops are fully submerged. Make sure the garlic and the thyme also get tucked into the brine, then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
How to Reverse Sear pork chops
Remove the pork chops from the brine and give them a pat dry. The brining process will season the inside of the chop and make it juicy and tender once it’s cooked. You’ll still want to season the outside with just a pinch of salt. Not nearly as much as you would have used if you hadn’t brined. Place them on a roasting rack and set the oven to 275°. We’re going to roast them low and slow first. This is called the Reverse Sear method, and it ensures that the chop will cook up to the right temperature in the oven gently. A meat thermometer is necessary to nail this method. For medium pork, target an internal temperature of 140°, since the chop will come up 5 to 10 degrees in the finishing sear and rest. Target 145° for medium-well.
Once the chops have reached the target temperature, remove them from the oven and baste with a bit of the peach bbq sauce on all sides. You’ll find the recipe for my nightshade-free Peach & Ginger barbecue sauce here.
Then, sear the chops in a cast iron pan with a little olive oil or avocado oil until they are just caramelized. Caramelization will happen very quickly — you’ll need only a minute or so for each side, since the sauce has quite a bit of sugar. But since the chops cooked fully in the oven, you’re only searing them to add a delicious layer of flavor with the sauce and that perfect browned exterior.
Remove them from the heat and let the chops rest for a few minutes. Spoon some Peach & Ginger Barbecue sauce over the top and serve. This is summer cooking at its best: juicy pork chops and plenty of peach BBQ sauce brushed over the top. Add some grilled vegetables or a big summer salad, and dinner is done. And if you happen to make extra peach BBQ sauce, you’ll definitely find another excuse to use it.
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Don’t miss this recipe for my nightshade-free Peach & Ginger Barbecue Sauce.
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Reverse-Seared Brined Pork Chops with Peach BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- ⅓ cup Kosher salt, plus more as needed
- ⅓ cup brown coconut sugar
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- Ice cubes
- 2 1¼- inch thick bone-in pork chops
- 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
- Peach & Ginger Barbecue Sauce
Instructions
- Warm the water in a small saucepan over low heat and add the salt, coconut sugar, thyme and garlic.
- Stir until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved, then cool the brine with a few ice cubes.
- Place the pork chops in a small baking dish and pour the brine over until the chops are submerged. Nestle in the thyme and garlic.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least eight hours.
- Remove the pork chops from the brine, pat dry and season lightly with salt.
- Roast on a rack in a 275° oven until the internal temperature reaches 140° for medium or 145° for medium-well, about 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and glaze the chops generously with the peach & ginger barbecue sauce.
- Heat olive oil or avocado oil in a cast-iron pan over high heat and sear the pork chops for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until caramelized.
- Remove to a platter and rest the chops for up to 10 minutes before slicing and serving with extra sauce on the side.
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Taking the time to brine the pork chops is soooo worth it!