Beer and Sugar Cured Pork Recipe

Beer and sugar cured pork is a meaty BBQ (opens in new tab) dish that is packed with flavour. This simple dish only takes a few ingredients, but will soon become a family favourite. Curing meat in a wet brine makes it tender and ensures it won’t dry out when cooked. We’ve served this pork with a simple green bean and courgette salad, but you could add some potatoes to make it a more substantial meal. Pork chops are tender, versatile, and inexpensive. They work so well with a marinade, and cooking them on the BBQ is so easy but gives great flavour. Try this beer and sugar cured pork as a delicious alternative to a typical BBQ chicken dish.

Ingredients

• 6 pork loin chops
• 500ml beer, preferably IPA
• 85g ground sea salt
• 65g light soft brown sugar
• a little olive oil

To serve

• 250g green beans, blanched
• 200g baby courgettes, halved
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• micro herbs or mustard and cress

Method

1. Put the pork chops into a bowl or ziplock bag. Stir together the beer, salt and sugar until fully dissolved. Pour this brine over the pork, then cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
2. When you are ready to cook, take the pork out of the brine and pat dry. Rub olive oil into the pork and grind over some black pepper. Cook for a few mins on each side on the barbecue or a griddle pan – exact timing will depend on the thickness of your pork chops.
3. To make the salad, mix together the beans, courgettes, lemon juice and olive oil with plenty of seasoning. Serve the gilled pork with the salad and scatter over the micro herbs to serve.