Bring one cup of water with the coarse salt to a boil to dissolve it, add the additional three cups of cold water and remove the pan from the stove. Let the brine temperature come down to room temperature. Place the pork chops in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan and cover completely with the brine. Cover with foil and put the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 6 hours.

When ready to cook, remove the pork chops from the cold pan and pat dry. Coat them with olive oil and seasonings. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with your cast iron skillet in the oven. We need the skillet hot to sear the chops. Use some good hot pads to remove the hot skillet from the oven and place it on the stove over a medium-high heat. You will now add the pork chops one at a time into the hot skillet. They will sizzle. Sear them on one side for three minutes.

I turned on my oven/microwave vent because it got a bit smoky in the kitchen. Not too much, just a little. It's worth it, trust me. Now flip the pork chops over and put them back in the hot oven. Bake another 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick your meat is. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the temperature in the thickest part of the meat is 140-145 degrees after baking. Mine got up to 165 degrees but they tasted great.