This Is the Secret to the Best, Juiciest Pork Chops Ever

Let's face it. Pork is delicious in any and all forms. It's pretty damn hard to mess up a pork chop, but when it's done, the poor quality generally has far more to do with laziness and lack of know-how than with the meat's quality or anything else.

But that's no reason not to escalate your cooking if you quickly and easily can. And you so can. Brining is the way to do it, and Cara Nicoletti—a butcher, baker, and author (does she make candlesticks too?)—most certainly knows her way around a brine.

Don't believe us on the importance of proper brining? Nicoletti says, "I think a lot of people think that brining is this chefy, secret thing, but actually, all it is is salt water. Meat is muscle. Muscles are made up of these long fibers, and when we cook meat, those fibers tense up and they squeeze all the moisture out of the meat that we're cooking. The goal of brining is to add moisture back into the meat so that it's not lost when it's cooking. It's also meant to season the meat fully into the muscle."

Here, we present you with Nicoletti's recipe for a simple brined pork chop, which—aside from the actual pork chops and a bit of oil—is nothing but three ingredients. Just three ingredients guide the way to pork perfection.

Simply cover a chop or two with the brine and refrigerate. Then, the next day, cook the chops on low heat, followed by a few minutes in a hot cast-iron skillet. When you put a bite of the fabulously savory fatty, juicy result in your mouth, you will be transported to the porky equivalent of Shangri-La

We suggest you get to brining.