Coffee-brined pork chops with hot sweet potatoes from Simple: Effortless Food, Big Flavours (page 186) by Diana Henry

  • thyme
  • pork chops
  • Show all ingredients...

  • EYB Comments

    Will need to start eight to ten hours in advance of cooking.

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Notes about this recipe

  • Eat Your Books

    Will need to start eight to ten hours in advance of cooking.

  • ellwell on January 28, 2026

    I thought this was an okay preparation of a pork chop. I did not notice any coffee flavor—maybe it was intended to tenderize rather than flavor? We did really like the chili butter for the sweet potatoes, which of course take more like an hour to cook rather than 30 minutes

  • bernalgirl on February 16, 2025

    This is such an easy and memorable preparation. Thick-cut pork loin chops bathe for a good part of the day in a coffee-infused brine, and then are cooked in a screaming hot pan. I made a pan sauce from the drippings and didn’t make the sweet potatoes in the same recipe.

  • Skamper on September 02, 2021

    I only made the pork chops and not the sweet potato. They were absolutely delicious. The brine gave the boneless chops a smoky, spicy flavor and they were very juicy. Will definitely make again.

  • mcvl on February 05, 2021

    Divine! Instead of roasting the sweet potatoes whole, I chunked them and fried them in the same pan as the pork. Didn't have any chiles of any color, so used urfa biber instead. I will make this again and again.

  • FJT on October 28, 2017

    The coffee gave the chops a nice colour and flavour. As others have noted, the sweet potato took a lot longer to roast than 30 minutes; loved the chilli / thyme butter that went over them.

  • baking4two on April 24, 2017

    Loved the coffee subtle flavor. I paired it with the broccoli with harissa & cilantro gremolata (pg 239).

  • Zosia on April 23, 2017

    The brine gave my usually pale boneless loin chops a beautiful colour and a noticeable coffee flavour. The slight bitterness was nicely offset by the sweetness and heat of the potato and its topping. I will definitely make this again.

  • bching on April 17, 2017

    I pan-fried as per instructions but will probably grill next time--and there will be a next time since my husband liked the marinade a lot. I needed to make 1.5 x the marinade to cover 4 chops.

  • TrishaCP on January 27, 2017

    We brined first thing in the morning before work with freshly brewed coffee (we use a darker roast), and the coffee was discernible and tasty in its bitter note. I agree the sweet potatoes were very good- the thyme and red chile are delicious together and with the sweet potato. But with the size sweet potatoes that we get, which are enormous, the cooking time of 30 minutes is obviously insufficient. Ours took more than an hour to bake.

  • L.Nightshade on January 24, 2017

    This meal was quite the hit at the Nightshade home. Since the big windstorm had died down, Mr. NS was eager to grill outside, so the brining and drying were completed as written, but the chops were grilled on the big egg. I think my coffee wasn’t strong enough (and I didn’t even add the additional plain water), as I could only faintly detect the taste and aroma of coffee. I’d make stronger coffee next time, or even add a few crystals of Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso. I have to say, I’ll be tempted to always make sweet potatoes this way. Just the bit of chiles and thyme, cooked in butter, was the perfect addition, and as easy as can be.

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