Evelyn and I both enjoy pork chops. Thicker ones with bones are usually tastier, but a nice boneless loin cut into thin cutlets makes an easy to defrost and cook meal. The problem is that so much of today’s pork, especially the less-fatty loin, is tasteless. There’s little good porky flavor, and the meat ends up dry and tasteless.

There is an easy solution to this problem: Brining. Simply soak the meat in a salt-water solution for at least a 1/2 hour. The ratio is typically 1/4 cup of salt to 1 quart of water. While these simple salt-and-water brines are pretty good, sometimes I’m looking for a bigger flavor boost.

I recently came across this marinate / brine in Rosengarten’s “It’s All American Food” book. It’s a bit of a pain if you don’t have the spices on hand, but it results in very tasty flavored chops. He recommends four 3/4 inch center-cut pork loin rib chops, but I’ve had luck with thin little cutlets, too. (Just don’t overcook.)

• 4 cups cold water
• 4 TB salt
• 2 TB sugar
• 10 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp celery seeds
• 1/2 orange (squeezed, with skin)

Just combine the above in a bowl, add the pork chops, and let them marinate for about an hour in the refrigerator. (You can use 1/4 prepared orange juice if you don’t have a fresh orange available.) Then drain the chops, shake in a flour/salt/pepper mixture, and fry in some shortening (Crisco works well).

I’m not sure what it is, but that clove/bay/oregano/celery mixture really brings out some interesting flavors in the meat. Give it a try sometime. It’s a good use for the celery seeds and cloves you never know what to do with.