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Grilled Pork Chops With Dill Pickle Butter
Published July 12, 2024
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- Total Time
- About 4½ hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes, plus at least 4 hours' brining
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 4bone-in, 1-inch-thick pork chops
- 2cups dill pickle brine, plus more as needed
- 8tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼cup finely chopped dill pickles
- 2tablespoons thinly sliced chives
- Salt and black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for greasing
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large resealable container, cover the pork chops with pickle brine; if you don’t have enough brine to cover, just flip the pork chops halfway through brining. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mash the butter with a fork until smooth, then add the pickles and chives and stir until fully combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until using.
- Step 3
Heat the grill to medium-high. Take the butter out of the fridge to soften. Pat the pork chops dry, discarding the brine. Drizzle all over with oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Clean the grates, then add the pork chops and cook, flipping often, until 145°F in the thickest part, 14 to 17 minutes. If using a gas grill, cover grill between flips.
- Step 5
Transfer the pork chops to a plate, top with a spoonful of the pickle butter and rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve whole or sliced with more of the butter alongside. (Extra butter can keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.)
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
There were absolutely no reviews when I saw this recipe but because I have undying faith in Ali Slagle and an over-abundance of pickles from last year's garden, I took a chance. The pork chops were tangy and moist with that wonderful grilled flavor. Served with zucchini fritters. I was declared a rock star!
Super simple, and great to use up the pickle brine (makes the chops tender and salty.) The pickle butter was wonderful, but between the butter I used (which was salted) and the brining on the chops, I didn't add any more salt. We will make it again - had it for summer dinner with fresh corn, and cold melon for dessert.
Simple and flavorful. We enjoyed it with grilled sweet corn, garden salad, and watermelon.
Not very pickle-ish. Marinated for 4 hours and then cooked in dry cast iron skillet, turning frequently. Not worth repeating.
Marinated 4 hours, was very disappointed. No real benefit and didn't like the pickle butter. Won't make again.
Followed recipe but cooked to 140°. Very juicy and tasted a little like a Cubano sandwich. Served it with tomatoes Provençal and lots of bread to sop up the juices. Will definitely make again. Used some juice from Grillo dill sandwich slices to marinate in plastic bag, turning it a few times. Great summer grilling recipe.
Added this one to the “Recipes That Slap” Folder! Didn’t have time to marinate in the pickle juice for more than an hour, but still was juicy and delicious! So nice to cook outside and avoid the oven or stove in the heat of the summer. Grilled some broccolini while the grill was still hot and the chops were resting. Sig-O was raving about this pork chop recipe and wants to have it again soon!
Made with sliced medallions of tenderloin as pork cuts are very hard to come by where I am. Seared 4 mins each side on the stovetop with a TBSP oil and then threw corn kernels off the cob in the pan to char - totally delicious! FWIW, I always make “grilled” corn this way now - even char, doesn’t dry out, ready in 5, and it’s coming off the cob anyway when you eat it… For a 1/2lb tenderloin I used 2 TBSP butter, but kept the pickle and chive amounts the same - just like a Big Mac indeed!
I cooked this as written (except 1 large chop for 2 of us, and I halved the other ingredients). Cooking on grill to 145F and resting resulted in over cooked, dry pork. The pickle butter saved it, as it made otherwise dry pork taste moist. But I have read that cooking to 140F avoids the dryness. And of course the internal temp rises as it rests. A BonAppetit article recommends removing from heat at 135F and it will rise to 145F with 5 minute rest
We made this recipe almost as directed, cooked on an outdoor grill, except the pork chops were boneless. The pickle lover of the family thought it was great, me not so much. Maybe bone in will make a difference.
Made with boneless skinless chicken breasts, marinated about 24 hours, and then grilled. Even skipped the butter and it was really good! Looking forward to finishing another jar of pickles. ;-)
Taste like a big mac
Insanely easy and unexpectedly delicious! I was worried it may be too pickley or dilly but I was wrong. Moist and flavorful! Don’t miss out on that butter either. Yum!
These were great! I used boneless chops because it’s what I had in my freezer. Brined them for 8 hours in Grillo’s pickle juice - I pricked them all over with a knife before putting them into the brine. Didn’t have access to a grill, so cooked them in a stainless steel pan on the stove. Pulled them at 140° and let them rest up to 145° - they came out great, juicy and flavorful!
I worried this would be ultra salty. Instead it was moist with a distinct but not overpowering flavor. The butter/chive/pickle topping really added to the presentation and the taste. Served with grilled/roasted vegetables, and everyone had room for some ice cream cake to finish off our summer meal!
Annie Bananie was so right … I went into this recipe with a hope and a dream of excellence … wow. Just wow. The pork chop was so good and shockingly, enjoyed by 4 kiddos. Allie nailed it. The butter was key, and don’t be afraid to go extra on the minced pickles as a garnish.
I was skeptical about the pickle juice marinade and the butter, wondering if the chops were gonna taste like a big pickle. But they were delicious! Tasted great without the butter, but the butter made it amazing. Thanks, Ali.
Where would I find 2 cups of dill pickle brine? Even if I were to buy a jar of dill pickles, it seems unlikely there would be 2 cups of brine in a jar. And then would it be OK to leave the pickles in the jar without the brine? For how long?
David - one can buy pickle juice in most grocery stores, in the pickle section, of course. If you can't find it at your local store, Amazon has it...
I used the liquid in a large Milwaukee pickle jar and got 3 cups of brine. I used one cup from another jar. I used 3 -4 pickles to make the diced topping. Then poured some liquid from the still nearly full jar into the empty one, so pickles wouldn't dry out. Really delish, so worth it, in the estimation of the children and adults at the meal. See the note which says you can use less brine, and just flip the chops during the 4-12 hours of marinating, if you prefer that
I like using pickle brine for a variety of purposes (such as storing chopped vegs for relatively short periods of time), so I don't throw out the brine when I finish a jar of pickles. It will be handy using some of that brine for this recipe!
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