when brining small pieces of pork such as thick chops I will use spice in the brine such as garlic clove and thyme. it imparts some nice flavor and does not impede the brining process. instead of buying thick chops buy a whole loin for around $25 and cut your own. I can usually get it down to $1 a chop that way cut 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick. I chunk the ends up to use in a stir fry. That will get me 5-6 meals of pork off of one big strap. at an average of less than $1.50 per lb it is much cheaper than the $4 average you pay to have someone cut them for you.