I’ll have to add some photographs later, but I wanted to record this experiment for future use.
Brine (for two pork chops)
2 limes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red (or green) jalapeno pepper, very thinly sliced
handful of cilantro, chopped
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
red vinegar
olive oil
Quarter the limes and squeeze the juice into whatever container you plan to use for brining. Add in the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, sugar, vinegar (guessing 1/4 cup) and olive oil (guessing 2 tbsp worth). Mix everything together and then add the pork chops, thoroughly coating them in the mixture. Add in the squeezed lime quarters and put in the fridge for several hours.
To cook:
Pre-heat oven to 400F.
Remove the pork chops from the brine and scrape off as much garlic, cilantro leaves, etc as you can from the meat (scrape back into the container).
Heat a cast iron frying pan until it just starts to smoke, and sear the pork chops for 2 minutes on each side. Pour the brine over and around the chops and put the pan in the oven. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chops (and timing of when you removed from the fridge). For an inch-thick chop, expect it to take 9-12 minutes in the oven.