These Grilled Pork Chops are soaked in an easy garlic ginger marinade, then grilled until beautifully browned and juicy. With soy sauce, brown sugar, and a handful of simple ingredients, the marinade brings plenty of flavor without a lot of work.
Pair them with my Creamy Corn Salad and you’ve got a dinner worth firing up the grill for!
I love a recipe that lets me get some of the prep out of the way early. Mix the marinade, add your pork chops, and let them hang out in the fridge while you get on with your day.
Ingredients for Grilled Pork Chops
This pork chop marinade has a savory flavor with a little sweetness, fresh garlic, and ginger. You’ll find the full measurements in the printable recipe card below.
- Bone-in pork chops: Choose chops at least ¾ inch thick. Similar sizes and thicknesses will make it easier to cook them evenly.
- Dry sherry: Adds flavor to the marinade. Chicken or beef broth can be substituted if you prefer.
- Soy sauce: Gives the marinade its salty, savory base.
- Olive oil: Vegetable oil also works.
- Brown sugar: Adds a little sweetness to balance the soy sauce.
- Fresh ginger: Use finely minced ginger so it mixes throughout the marinade.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic adds plenty of flavor.
- Black pepper: Finishes off the seasoning.
How To Make Grilled Pork Chops
A little planning and an instant-read thermometer make this recipe easy to pull off. Here’s how to get those chops ready for dinner.
1. Mix the Marinade
Combine the dry sherry, soy sauce, olive oil, brown sugar, minced ginger, garlic, and black pepper in a large zip-close bag or nonreactive dish.
Mix well to help dissolve the brown sugar.
2. Marinate the Pork Chops
Add the pork chops and turn them to coat all sides. Seal the bag or cover the dish, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
If you’re getting dinner ready ahead of time, you can put these in the marinade the night before.
PRO TIP: Set the bag in a dish before putting it in the refrigerator to catch any leaks.
3. Preheat the Grill
Preheat your grill to medium heat and clean the grates.
Remove the pork chops from the marinade, allowing the excess to drip off. Discard the used marinade.
4. Grill Until Cooked Through
Place the pork chops on the grill and cook on both sides, turning partway through cooking, until the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
Check the thickest part of each chop with an instant-read thermometer, keeping the probe away from the bone.
The brown sugar in the marinade helps the outside brown, so keep an eye on it. If the chops are getting dark before the centers are done, move them to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking.
5. Rest Before Serving
Transfer the cooked pork chops to a clean plate and cover loosely with foil. Let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Then grab your favorite sides and dig in!
How Long Do You Grill Pork Chops?
The recipe allows about 15 minutes of cooking time, but that’s an estimate. Thickness, grill heat, and the starting temperature of the meat all affect how quickly the chops cook.
Start checking before the estimated time is up, especially if your chops are on the thinner side. Thick chops may need longer.
The number to watch is 145°F inside the pork, not a set number of minutes on the grill. That’s the meat’s internal temperature, not the temperature you set your grill to.
Should I Use Bone-In or Boneless Pork Chops?
I prefer thick, bone-in pork chops for this recipe. Look for chops at least ¾ inch thick so you have time to brown the outside without overcooking the center.
You can use boneless pork chops with the same marinade. Adjust the cooking time to their thickness and check the temperature early. Thin boneless chops can finish quickly!
How Do You Keep Grilled Pork Chops From Drying Out?
The biggest thing is to avoid overcooking them. Don’t leave the pork on the grill just because the timer hasn’t gone off yet.
- Choose chops of similar thickness so they cook at roughly the same rate.
- Use a thermometer to check the center of each chop.
- Move chops away from intense heat if the outside is browning too fast.
- Remove individual chops as they reach 145°F. They don’t all have to finish at once.
- Rest before slicing. Give them at least 3 minutes; I allow 5 to 10 minutes for this recipe.
Cooking pork to 145°F doesn’t automatically make it dry. Continuing to cook it well past that point is what you want to avoid.
What Can I Substitute for Dry Sherry?
Chicken or beef broth can replace the dry sherry in the marinade. The flavor will be different, but you’ll still have the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and brown sugar seasoning the pork.
Use broth in place of the sherry, then follow the same marinating and cooking instructions.
Can I Cook These Indoors?
Absolutely! Use an oven-safe grill pan or skillet to brown the pork chops on both sides, then finish them in a 375°F oven until the centers reach 145°F.
If your pan isn’t oven-safe, transfer the seared chops to a baking dish before putting them in the oven.
The oven time will depend on how thick the chops are and how much they cooked on the stove. Check with a thermometer, then let them rest before serving.
Can I Use the Marinade as a Sauce?
The simplest option is to set aside a separate portion of marinade before adding the raw pork if you’d like some for serving.
Discard the marinade that was used to soak the pork chops. Don’t pour it over the finished meat.
What To Serve With Grilled Pork Chops
These savory pork chops pair perfectly with cool, creamy salads and simple vegetable sides.
A few of my favorites are:
- Creamy Corn Salad: A delicious summer pairing with sweet corn and a creamy dressing.
- Macaroni Salad: An easy choice for backyard dinners and cookouts.
- Parmesan Roasted Broccoli: Great when you’re in the mood for a warm vegetable side.
Want another easy pork chop dinner? Try my Garlic Parmesan Pork Chops with their crispy, cheesy coating.
I can’t wait for you to try this marinade! Leave a rating and comment below and let me know how your pork chops turned out.
Grilled Pork Chop Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dry sherry
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 4 bone-in pork chops, at least 3/4″ thick
Instructions
- Combine the dry sherry, soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and pepper in a zip close bag.
- Add the pork chops to the marinade and let sit for at least 30 minutes, up to 24 hours. Let the pork chops sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes prior to grilling.
- Heat the grill to medium heat then add your marinated pork chops. Discard any leftover marinade. Grill until pork chops reach 145 degrees F, flipping halfway. Remove from grill and cover loosely with foil for 10 minutes. Internal temperature should reach 145 degrees. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE
This was delicious! Both the pork chops and the creamy corn salad. The marinade gave the chops a delicious exotic flavor. Will make again
In the last step, it’s confusing when the surface temperature when cooking is 5 degrees less than the internal temperature when cooked and there is no time frame for the grilling process. Refer to below paragraph from the recipe above.
Heat the grill to medium heat then add your marinated pork chops. Discard any leftover marinade. Grill until pork chops reach 140 degrees F, flipping halfway. Remove from grill and cover loosely with foil for 10 minutes. Internal temperature should reach 145 degrees. Enjoy!
Your grill will be much hotter than 140 degrees in order to cook the pork chop to the internal temperature needed. By taking it off the heat and loosely covering it, the temperature of the pork should continue to rise, but not too much. This will allow the juices in the pork to redistribute and keep the pork chops nice and juicy without over cooking.
The best thing you can do is get yourself an instant read thermometer so you know exactly when your pork is ready. I can’t give you an exact time to cook because there are simply too many variables: how big your pork chop is, what was the temperature of it prior to grilling, how hot is your grill, etc. Cooking until it reaches that internal temperature is how you’ll get excellent results.
Can you cook the marinade to make a glaze?
What can you use instead of the sherry?
You can leave it out completely, or just add a little chicken stock to replace.
How long do you cook in the oven if you don’t have a grill?
Here is my Oven Baked Pork Chops Recipe that has all that info for ya! Juicy Oven Baked Pork Chops Recipe
So yummy!
So glad you enjoyed it Angela!
Grilled Pork Chops & Marinade: I loved this. My husband made this last night and used pork steaks instead of chops & it was amazing. We had leftovers tonight on our tossed salad. YUM!!!
Fantastic! Love the idea of throwing the grilled pork on top of a salad! Thanks for the comment Kathryn!