Molasses Marinade for Grilled Pork Chops

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The BEST Molasses Marinade for Grilled Pork Chops is thick and sweet from molasses and zesty from cider vinegar and spices! Use this popular recipe for boneless or bone-in pork chops at your next backyard bbq.

This versatile sauce is truly one of the best grilling marinades around and a favorite cookout recipe. It leaves a tasty glaze on the meat.

Freeze uncooked meat in the sauce for no-fuss grilling.

Don't want to pull out the grill? See the directions for baking pork chops. It's also fantastic with pork tenderloin or chicken.

No matter what you cook, it's sure to become your signature sauce!

Molasses Marinade

Molasses? Yes, that super thick, dark syrup you may have used when baking cookies at Grandma's house is also the secret ingredient in this tasty sauce.

This by-product of sugar processing is the star of the show. I typically buy the jar below. But, you'll find many options:

• light vs. dark vs. blackstrap - with each boiling of the sugar syrup, the molasses becomes darker, thicker and has a deeper flavor. 
• sulphered vs. unsulphered - refers to whether sulpher dioxide has been added to clarify and lighten the color.

I use the entire 12-ounce jar of unsulphered, light-colored molasses shown below and double the recipe. Each batch makes more than enough to marinate 6 pork chops.

To make it, combine molasses, brown sugar, cider vinegar, allspice, red pepper flakes, dried onion, salt, and pepper. That's it!

Pork chops turn are moist and juicy with a thin coating of glaze.

Looking for a substitute for molasses? Check out Molasses Substitutes by Food 52 and start experimenting.

How to Freeze Pork Chops

If you want to make the recipe ahead of time and freeze it, place the desired number of uncooked pork chops in a bag that seals, pour in the marinade and turn to coat the meat.

The chops will freeze nicely and the marinade infuses beautifully as it undergoes the freezing and defrosting process. It's the same process we use for The Best London Broil Marinade.

Another method is to freeze the molasses marinade without the meat. Add to containers for lots of flexibility. This marinade is great on pork tenderloin and chicken too.

Cooking Tips

Marinate meat for 2 - 24 hours for a nice deep flavor.

Grill pork chops over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the chop.

Or, use the broiler for about the same length of time with the rack about 3-4 inches from the heating element.

Tip: When raw meat is removed from the molasses marinade, discard it. Alternatively, the leftover marinade can be brought to a full boil for at least 1 minute and then used as a finishing glaze.

More Marinade Recipes

All of these marinades are perfect on pork too!

• Red Wine Marinade
• Blackberry Barbecue Sauce
• Bourbon Marinade 

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📋 Recipe

Molasses Marinade for Grilled Pork Chops

Molasses Marinade for Grilled Pork Chops is thick, sweet and zesty and is sure to become a highly requested signature sauce for cookouts and backyard bbqs.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Marinate time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Marjory Pilley

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Ingredients

• ▢ ⅔ cup molasses
• ▢ ½ cup brown sugar packed
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon allspice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried onion
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 30 ounces Pork chops approximately ¾ inch thick, each

Instructions

• Combine all of the ingredients, except for the pork chops, in a bag that seals.
• Add pork chops to bag and turn to coat all sides. Alternatively, marinate pork chops in glass baking dish.
• Marinate pork chops for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Remove pork chops from marinade and discard excess.
• Grill for approximately 4-5 minutes on each side, depending upon the thickness of the meat. Or broil for about the same amount of time with rack about 3-4 inches from the heating element.

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Notes

Note that the nutritional estimates assumes ALL of the marinade is consumed. 

Make ahead and freeze by adding uncooked pork chops to marinade in a bag that seals. Turn to coat. Store up to 2 months for best quality. Make two batches to use up a 12 ounce bottle of molasses. Another option is to make up the marinade without adding the meat. Nice on pork tenderloin and chicken too.

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Nutrition

Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 284mg | Potassium: 1127mg | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 2.6mg

Nutritional and Food Safety Disclaimer