If bourbon is already a regular ingredient in your intricate cocktail arsenal or something you have on hand just to help melt an ice cube or two, you might consider using it as a flavor-enhancer in your next cooking project. It works great as an acid to deglaze the pan and make an easy sauce from your next sheet pan chicken. And bourbon definitely belongs in your sweet potato pie. The barrel-aged flavor and sweet undertones are perfect in desserts. But a corn-sweet bourbon is also an amazing ingredient for a meat marinade. Add a splash of bourbon to your marinade to take your pork chops from basic to legit restaurant quality.
Not only will bourbon impart some delicious flavor, but it will help tenderize the meat and enhance caramelization, giving the chops a delightfully crispy crust, whether cooked on the grill, in the oven, or in a searing hot skillet. Especially when coupled with other sweet ingredients, like brown sugar, a bourbon marinade also helps with the Maillard reaction — when sugars and the meat’s amino acids are heated together. It will give you a nice exterior browning and more complex flavors and aromas. So, just what do you need to do to upgrade your pork chops with a bourbon marinade?
How to marinade pork chops with bourbon
The main components of almost any marinade are acid, sugar, salt, oil, and aromatics. The acid is covered with your bourbon, but you can add a little vinegar or even some citrus. Just don’t go too heavy, so that it overpowers the flavor. As mentioned, brown sugar is a good sweet base, and it dissolves easily in any liquid, but honey or maple syrup also work well with this technique. For salt, you can dissolve sea salt or table salt, but more liquid, like soy sauce, is another great choice. Depending on the pork chops you’re working with, they’re probably fatty enough that you don’t need to add extra fat (oil), but a little olive oil will impart a bit of flavor and help tenderize them. As for aromatics, garlic is an obvious choice, but a bit of ginger can be nice. Or toss in some herbs, like rosemary, thyme, or a simple mix of dried Italian herbs.
Your chops should marinate for at least an hour, but up to eight hours or so is okay. You just don’t want to leave them in the fridge so long that the proteins begin to fully break down from the acid and salt. You can use the same cooking technique you’d normally use. Although, as with any marinade, you don’t want to cook it too hot (especially in a skillet) because the sugars could get over-caramelized and burn.
When it comes to what whiskey to use, there may be some bourbons you should leave on the shelf (for strictly drinking purposes). With a marinade, however, pretty much anything will work. And, if you’re sipping and marinating simultaneously, there are some bottom-shelf bourbons worth buying that easily and inexpensively cover all your bases.
