The Best Pork Marinade
Years ago, I discovered the tastiest Best Pork Marinade for grilling made with fresh lemon juice, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard. It quickly became our go-to Pork Tenderloin Recipe for company, but it’s delicious on chops, too.
When I found some beautiful frenched pork chops, I turned to this terrific Pork Marinade Recipe to infuse delicious flavor into every morsel.
Why You Must Make
- There’s something about this combination of flavors in this pork chop marinade that works so well. It’s a magical mixture!
- PRO- Tip: Make sure to marinate your pork overnight for the best flavor absorption. Getting this done the night before makes it perfect for company. But getting your pork into this marinade early in the morning, then grilling that evening works well, too.
- If you usually just salt and pepper your pork before cooking, you’ll love how moist and flavorful this marinade makes it.
- If you’re hunting for new pork recipes, I love these Pork Country Style Ribs from Blackberry Babe, too.
Ingredient Notes
Let’s go through each ingredient in this flavor-packed marinade one by one:
- Vegetable oil helps to add moisture and lessen the chance of the pork sticking to the grill.
- Dry White Wine – PRO-Tip: Wine is a flavor enhancer. Like salt, alcohol boosts the taste of a dish. It will also help tenderize the pork due to its acidity. Since the pork will be grilled, almost all of the alcohol will be cooked off. I keep a bottle of dry vermouth in the fridge for when I don’t have a bottle of white wine open.
- Dijon Mustard – Adds wonderful tangy, pungent flavor.
- Soy Sauce – Adds salt and umami, the savory sense of taste.
- Fresh Lemon Juice – Tenderizes plus balances the flavor.
- Onion – Adds flavors but also contains tenderizing enzymes.
- Celery Seed – Adds a unique, yet delicious flavor.
- Black pepper – Provides heat along with an earthy pungency.
- Pork Chops or Tenderloins (If your tenderloins have silverskin on them, ask your butcher to remove it as it will prevent the marinade from infusing).
How to Make
- Mix the marinade ingredients in a large Ziploc bag or a 9 x 13 nonreactive dish like Pyrex.
- Add the pork and turn so all surfaces are coated in the marinade.
- Refrigerate for 6 hours or up to overnight, turning occasionally to allow the marinade to infuse.
- Grill to an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
- Remove from grill to a cutting board, cover with foil for about 10 minutes to allow the juices to reabsorb, then slice and serve.
Recipe Tips
As mentioned above, at first this best pork marinade recipe was primarily used for pork tenderloin and was fed to many sets of dinner guests over the years. During the summer, when the weather is ripe for grilling, we marinate and grill some sort of pork a few times a month. And nine times out of ten, it’s this marinade recipe that’s used.
- Pork is able to take an overnight marinating time so it’s great to make this the night before.
- Always marinate in the refrigerator to prevent food-borne illnesses.
- Use a Ziploc bag for marinating. It makes it easy to flip over to ensure all surfaces absorb the marinade.
- Put the bag on a sheet pan when it’s in the refrigerator in case the bag leaks.
- Flip it at least once so that all sides of the pork are exposed to the marinade.
- If you’re marinating in a Ziploc bag, make sure to remove any excess air when you’re sealing it.
- This recipe is also great for pork tenderloin.
- Many guides recommend marinating pork for just 2-4 hours, but I’ve never had a change in texture from marinating overnight. But if you forget to put this together the night before, a shorter marinating time should work fine.
- The FDA recommends cooking pork chops and pork tenderloin to at least 145° F. It will be slightly pink, juicy, and safe to eat.
Frequently Asked Questions
To marinate is to soak food in a seasoned liquid called a marinade. Meat, chicken, seafood, and vegetables can all be marinated. The time in the marinade depends on the heartiness of the food substance, with beef taking more time and tender seafood less time. Through the process of osmosis, the flavor is absorbed plus marinades containing acid will tenderize.
Most marinades contain an acid like vinegar, citrus juice, or wine to help tenderize, along with herbs and spices, and often a bit of oil. Other flavorful liquids like soy sauce and Worcestershire Sauce can also be included.
Marinating meat too long can result in the breakdown of the muscle fibers and make the meat mushy. Use these guidelines to prevent over-marinating.
Seafood – 15-30 minutes
Boneless Skinless Chicken – 2 hours
Bone-In Chicken – Up to 12 hours
Pork – 4 hours (Overnight will help infuse more flavor into the pork chops or tenderloins)
Lamb – 4-8 hours
Beef – 24 hours
Serving Suggestions
Try some of my favorite side dishes and desserts to round out your meal.
- Tossed Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Summer Panzanella
- Honey Roasted Carrots
- Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Peach Blueberry Galette
- Lemon Pound Cake
You May Also Like:
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork from Fifteen Spatulas
- Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork from Food Charlatan
- Whiskey Marinated Pork Tenderloin
- Pork Chops Dijonnaise
- Glazed Pork Tenderloin
- Slow-Cooked Pork Carnitas
- Another Easy Pork Marinade
- Pork Scaloppine
- More Entree Recipes
The Best Pork Marinade
A delicious marinade that transform pork chops, pork tenderloin or a pork roast into a magnificent, flavorful entree.
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons minced onion
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 pork chops or 3 pork tenderloins (trimmed)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except the pork to a gallon Ziploc bag. Seal and agitate until the mustard is incorporated.
- Add your pork chops, remove excess air from the bag, and seal.
- Refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally.
- Grill pork chops or pork tenderloin to an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
- Place on cutting board and cover with foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving or slicing.
Notes
Adapted from Creme de Colorado cookbook.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1 chopAmount Per Serving: Calories: 463Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 163mgSodium: 809mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 52g
Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.
15 Comments on “The Best Pork Marinade”
This does sound really good! And I’ve got some pork loin waiting on me…..
This sounds wonderful! The soy sauce took me by surprise. Can’t wait to try it.
I’m quite sure that we eat more pork than we should and this marinade will keep us on the same track. Even though summer is behind us I can still make my way to the grill. Thanks for sharing Liz!
Now those are some gorgeous pork chops! I’ve always found pork chops very hard to get right, but marinades help, Normally, I use a coffee brine, but I’ve been looking for something different. I really love your wine based marinade and will be trying soon. Thanks Liz!
Oh yum – I will be printing this marinade recipe! I think if you served this many times to the same guests they wouldn’t mind at all!!! I know I wouldn’t. Hugs …
We have a couple of pork chops in the freezer and were just talking last night about needing a good marinade for them – this one looks perfect, Liz! Trying it this week!
Love the idea of marinating pork chops in wine… drunken pork chops. That has to be good. Wishing you a super weekend.
A very nice combination. I’m not Fond of celery seeds, but that’s my problem! Great looking pork chops!
those chops look fabulous and so juicy, bet those went fast !
Fantastic family dinner recipe – thank you so much! I’m new to cooking pork so I loved the detailed instructions here.
The grill marks and the simple but seductive ingredients are a fantastic combination. My grill marks were not that perfect but the flavor was fantastic!
You nailed it with the grill marks, Liz! We actually eat a lot of pork. These look awesome!
Grilling season is the best. (we just say BBQ in Canada, I have had debates with friends to the South about that LOL) and I do love pork chops. These are all flavors I know I have had with pork but sounds like you hit the right balance. The celery seed is new for me in this marinade, good addition.
I’m a big fan of grilled pork, your marinade sounds like a winner:@)
wow Those pork chops are amazing! Love those grilled marks..so enticing!