Grilled Pork Chops With Balsamic Marinade

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 12/16/21
Grilled pork chop with vegetables

gbh007/Getty Images

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 22 mins
Total: 37 mins
Servings: 4 servings

A flavorful balsamic marinade with rosemary gives pork chops fabulous flavor in this easy recipe for the grill. It's a perfect way to change up your backyard barbecue menu. Definitely different than barbecue sauce-slathered meat, these pork chops will go perfectly with your favorite cookout sides, from corn on the cob to potato salad and beyond.

The marinade is an interesting array of flavors. Its balsamic vinegar base gives it a perfectly sweet and acidic richness, while Dijon mustard and garlic add a nice spice. It's rounded out with brown sugar for sweetness, green onions, and black pepper, and the most interesting ingredient is rosemary. It's a great herb for seasoning pork and gives the marinade a floral-piney undertone that's really enjoyable.

For best results, use thick, bone-in pork chops and marinate them for at least eight hours. You'll get even more flavor if you let them rest for eight hours. Though not necessary with such a short cooking time, if you want to baste the chops on the grill, make a double batch of marinade and reserve half in the fridge for cooking. Marinades that touch raw meat may have picked up bacteria and are not safe to cook with.

Ingredients

For the Pork Chops:

  • 4 bone-in pork chops, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Marinade:

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

  • 1/4 cup loosely packed rosemary leaves

  • 2 green onions, coarsely chopped

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper.

  3. In a blender, combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, ground black pepper, garlic, rosemary, and green onions. Blend until smooth.

  4. Put the pork chops in a heavy-duty food storage bag or nonreactive container. Add the marinade mixture and turn to coat the pork thoroughly. Refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.

  5. Remove the pork from the marinade. Discard the marinade.

  6. Heat the grill to medium heat of about 375 F. Grill the pork chops over direct heat for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side to sear. Then move the pork chops to indirect heat and continue grilling until they are cooked through, about 15 minutes. They should register at least 145 F on a food thermometer.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
265 Calories
19g Fat
13g Carbs
11g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 265
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 24%
Saturated Fat 4g 18%
Cholesterol 33mg 11%
Sodium 381mg 17%
Total Carbohydrate 13g 5%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 11g
Vitamin C 4mg 22%
Calcium 85mg 7%
Iron 2mg 11%
Potassium 264mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)