Marinate Pork In These 3 Ingredients For Hawaiian-Inspired Flavor

Pork cuts, such as chops and loins, have a neutral, slightly sweet taste, making them the perfect proteins for marinating. A few key aspects are needed for a great marinade: acidity, sugar, and salt. For bright and tasty Hawaiian-inspired flavor while covering these bases, use canned pineapple juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Mix these three together to create a marinade that has sugar, spice, and everything nice.

The acidity in canned pineapple juice breaks down the pork's connective tissue, making it much more tender over time. There are other clever ways to tenderize pork, but pineapple is a standout pick for its tangy, fruity flavor. It also contains bromelain — the compound that makes your tongue hurt when you eat it — which usually works well to tenderize meat in marinades, but most of the bromelain is neutralized in canned pineapple juice. So, the juice only slightly tenderizes the pork, meaning you get the benefits of tangy tropical flavor without worrying about your meat turning to mush. Meanwhile, the salt in soy sauce penetrates the surface layer of meat as it marinates, seasoning it all the way through and also helping tenderize it. Finally, the brown sugar helps the meat caramelize during the cooking process.

To make your marinade, combine canned pineapple juice and light soy sauce at a 3:1 ratio. You don't want the soy sauce overpowering the fruity, tangy flavor of the pineapple juice. Once your soy sauce and pineapple juice is sorted, mix in the brown sugar until it dissolves. Around ⅓ cup should work. You can add more if you want your marinade to be sweeter, but be wary of using too much; pineapple juice is already plenty sweet, and the marinade should have a nice balance of flavors.

The smaller the pork cut, the less time it needs to marinate. For thinly cut center-cut pork chops, cutlets, and tenderloins, you only need 30 minutes to two hours for the marinade to work its magic. For thicker-cut chops and rib roasts, you should marinate between two and eight hours. Anything bigger than that needs at least eight hours for the flavors to fully permeate, but the longer, the better.

This Hawaiian-inspired pork is great on its own, but what's a meal without some delicious side dishes? This coconut instant rice we found from Aldi is an ideal pick if you want to lean into the tropical flavors. Mashed potatoes or a bright salad also go nicely with the marinated pork. Try this marinade out for yourself, and it may become a go-to in your weekly culinary roundup.