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Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic & Herbs + VIDEO

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  Video: How to make Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic & Herbs


Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs are as delicious as they sound. The sweet brown sugar sauce is perfectly balanced by garlic and dried herbs, like thyme and oregano. A juicy pork chops dish that comes together in no time at all.

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Brown sugar pork chops with garlic and herbs in a skillet, zucchini noodles on a plate.

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Pork chops in brown sugar sauce are a quick and easy weeknight meal

These Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs is a perfect dish for a quick meal on a busy weekday. It really comes together in just 15 minutes.

However, if you want to make your meat even more tender and juicy, it’s recommended to brine it for at least 1/2 hour, but preferably overnight. With enough foresight, you can brine the meat the night before and the next day you’ll have the best pork chops dish ever. If you ever wondered how to brine pork chops here is an easy brine recipe.

Bone in Brown sugar pork chop with garlic and herbs in a skillet

To brine the pork chops you will need:

  • 3 cups of water;
  • 3 tablespoon of kosher salt;
  • You can also add other ingredients, like 1 teaspoon of sugar, balsamic vinegar, some lemon slices, black peppercorn or garlic.

To make these delicious glazed Brown Sugar Pork Chops you will need:

  • 2 to 4 pork chops on the bone;
  • Ghee or cooking oil for frying;
  • Brown sugar;
  • Chopped garlic cloves;
  • Dried thyme and oregano;
  • Salt and pepper.

Brown sugar pork chops in a skillet with zucchini noodles on a plate

Easy steps to cook perfect Bone-In Brown Sugar Pork Chops

This recipe calls for bone-in pork chops, as they tend to be more juicy and tender. To make this dish you will need one ovenproof skillet. I use my cast iron skillet as it gives me a beautiful sear on my meat, and it can easily be transferred into the oven (remember the color on the meat equals the flavor).

  • I start this dish on the stove by searing seasoned chops on each side until they’re a beautiful golden brown (about 3 minutes on each side). This step gives the pork chops beautiful sear.
  • Then I take the meat out and add brown sugar, garlic and herbs – mix it together so the flavors really infuse the meat.
  • And then smother the chops on both sides with that medley and transfer the pan into the oven for 6-8 minutes to finish cooking. It creates beautifully glazed pork chops. The indirect heat from the oven helps to gently cook the meat inside without drying it out.
  • That’s it. How simple was that?

One thing to keep in mind here is to make sure not to overcook your meat. The internal temperature of the meat should be at 145F. Make sure that your thermometer is in good condition. One time I followed my digital thermometer and I overcooked my meat. I’m not sure what went wrong but maybe the device wasn’t working properly. I would suggest using the tutorial by The Kitchn on How to Cook Tender & Juicy Pork Chops in the Oven.

2 bone-in pork chops with garlic and herbs in a cast iron skillet with towel over handle

What to serve these Brown Sugar Pork Chops with

And the sauce for pork chops is out of this world. You will eat meat but feel like you are actually eating a really good balanced dessert. This will pair beautifully with Homemade Dutch Oven Crusty Bread that you can dunk into the sauce and really indulge.

If you want to temper the sweetness of this dish I would suggest pairing it with this Cacio e Pepe Zucchini Noodles. It would make for a perfect gluten-free or paleo dinner. Alternatively, you can also go a little heavier and serve it with this amazing Potato Leek Casserole. You can also pair them with these Potato Cutlets with Asparagus. To me all of these suggestions to pair with this wonderful Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs are winners….so the choice is yours.

You may also need…

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This set of Cast Iron Skillets is the most used in my kitchen. You can use them to make these Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs as well as this Mushrooms Scallion Frittata with Parmesan Cheese.

Bone-in brown sugar pork chops with garlic and herbs in a skillet

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Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs are as delicious as they sound. The sweet brown sugar sauce is perfectly balanced by garlic and dried herbs like thyme and oregano. Juicy pork chops dish that comes together in no time.

Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs

Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs are as delicious as they sound. The sweet brown sugar sauce is perfectly balanced by garlic and dried herbs, like thyme and oregano. A juicy pork chops dish that comes together in no time at all.
4.96 from 22 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Resting time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 548kcal
Author: Edyta

Ingredients

Brine

  • 3 cups water
  • 3 tbsp Kosher or Himalayan Salt
  • garlic, balsamic vinegar, lemon optional

Pork Chops

  • 2 pork chops - on a bone; about 1 inch thick
  • 2 tbsp oil - cooking oil or ghee
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar - light
  • 4 cloves garlic - chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano - dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme - dried
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

Brine

  • To brine the pork chops dissolve salt in warm water, cool off to room temperature and submerge the pork chops (make sure all meat is covered with brine; you can either use a bowl or ziplock bag)
  • Brine the pork chops in a refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour. The longer the better.

Pork Chops

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F;
  • In the oven proof skillet heat up oil or ghee;
  • Pat dry the the pork chops and season with salt and pepper on each side;
  • Sear the chops on each side for about 3 minutes and then take them out;
  • Remove the skillet from the heat, and add butter, brown sugar, chopped garlic and herbs. Mix it all together; 
  • Return chops to the skillet and smother them with the sauce on each side.
  • Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the pork chops until cooked through (140F to 145F) for about 6 to 8 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat;
  • Once cooked remove the pork chops from the skillet and let rest for 5 minutes;
  • Spoon the sauce on the pork and enjoy.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 548kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 193mg | Potassium: 560mg | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1.2mg
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Reader Interactions

Comments

      • Edyta

        Hi Katherine, I put them in the oven for even cooking. You can cook them entirely on the stove for a little bit longer. Just use the meat thermometer to make sure that you don’t overcook the meat 🙂

        Reply

  8. sharon

    4 stars
    Oh my! I made these last night for dinner and they were really delicious! I made one small addition to spice things up a bit. I added some sriracha along with the brown sugar and garlic. The little kick was perfect ! Thanks for the recipe. I will be making these again!

    Reply

  9. Kelly Moores

    5 stars
    These were delicious! I brined it and added a Tuscan herb mix and lemon Myer white balsamic vinegar over night. Then I seared it in a Tuscan olive oil. Only problem…we both wanted more. My husband says I may need to make this again next week. 😊

    Reply

    • Edyta

      Thank you SO MUCH Kelly! I really love when someone tries my recipe and it comes out delicious! Tuscan olive oil sounds really awesome. I think I saw one in Trader Joe’s. I need to try it 🙂

      Reply

  10. Jeannie Sloop

    5 stars
    These are the best pork chops I have ever eaten!! Made them last week and I’m making them this week as well. YUMMY

    Reply

  13. Beth

    5 stars
    i have to try brining my pork chops, like you’ve suggested. Even if I cook them medium rare, they are tough. I love them but hate that! These looks so juicy and moist!

    Reply

  16. Ginny

    5 stars
    This reminds me of my mother and how she use to cook for us. I love your use of brown sugar! What a great compliment to the food.

    Reply

  18. Ashley

    5 stars
    My husband isn’t a huge pork chop fan so I know this was an awesome recipe when he was telling me how good they were and was disappointed we didn’t have more. I followed this recipe exactly as written, I even let the meat soak in a brine for a couple of hours and the pork came out so tender and flavorful. Don’t be afraid of the brown sugar, I didn’t think these were too sweet at all. I will definitely be making these again. Thank you for such a good recipe!

    Reply

  19. Trish

    Just made these and they were absolutely delicious, hubby says they taste like a top chef’s favorite recipe. Will definitely be making these again soon. Try it you will love them.

    Reply

  20. Lisa

    5 stars
    This is the first time I am leaving a comment, for
    anything I have ever made from Pinterest. So easy and simple to make, but defiantly not in taste. Hands down…..the best pork chops I have ever made. I will defiantly be making them again. Thank you!!

    Reply

    • Edyta

      Hi Kyle, I don’t think you will get the same result. You don’t need to use cast iron pan. Any frying pan that is safe for the oven will do just fine.

      Reply

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