Grilled Pork Chops

I stand before you today, a woman reformed.  I used to be in the marinade camp when it came to grilled meat.  I would come up with these elaborate marinades that went on and on with ingredients.  When we sat down to eat, we ate marinade with a side of meat.  I am now proud to be in the less is more camp.


The transition came last year when some friends cooked a steak dinner for Matt and I that ended with both Matt and I holding the t-bones up to our mouths gnawing at the bits of meat left on bone.  I cannot believe I am admitting that here but it is true.  We are proud meatatarians.  Matt even has the shirt to prove it.

I immediately needed to know every step he had taken in preparing the t-bones.  What was his marinade?  How long did the steaks stay in the marinade?

His answer:  salt, pepper, and a touch of red pepper.  His method is to press the salt, pepper, and red pepper (optional) into the meat and let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.  The idea being that letting it sit in the fridge uncovered serves to draw the seasoning into the meat.

Here are the players:

Ingredients:

Thin cut, bone-in pork chops
Freshly ground peppercorns
Mrs. Dash Grilling Blends (we are trying to cut our sodium intake so this entire meal had no added sodium)
alternative to the Mrs. Dash is of course to just use sea salt.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves of fresh minced garlic finely diced or 1 tablespoon of prepared mince garlic
Heavy duty aluminum foil

Directions:

1.  Line a platter with heavy duty foil and place the naked pork chops out.  Generously sprinkle the Mrs. Dash (or salt) and fresh ground pepper.  Place uncovered in the fridge for several hours or overnight.  I use massive amounts of foil because I hate to do dishes.  If you stick around  this blog you will learn that foil will become a very common character in my cooking.

3.  Set out the platter of chops about 20 minutes before grilling to allow it to get to room temperature.  Soften the butter in the microwave and mix in the minced garlic.  Put in the freezer to let it reset while you grill.   Meanwhile, heat up your grill.  We prefer thin cut pork chops which take about 6 minutes per side at low-medium heat.  To get pretty grill marks rotate a quarter turn every two minutes on the first side of the meat at a slightly higher temperature. I only focus on getting the grill marks on one side of the meat and then flip in to let it finish cooking on the other side at the lower heat setting.

4.  Be sure to toss the first layer of foil and replace a fresh piece of heavy duty foil on the platter.  No one wants a plate full of food poisoning.  Bring in the pork chops on the foil.

5.  Place a pat of the garlic butter on each pork chop. 

6.  This step is so critical and so often skipped.  You must let the meat rest.  I usually let it sit wrapped in heavy foil for about 10 minutes while I get the other food finished.  

8.  Tonight I served it with left over green beans and some frozen couscous we had left over from a meal about a month ago.  All in all, from cranking the grill until sitting down to eat was 25 minutes.  Not too shabby if you ask me.

Other tips:

My friend Stephanie and I attended a cooking demonstration several months ago in Mooresville, Alabama presented by Nathalie Dupree.  Besides the giggles we got from being the youngest women there by a good 25 years (we are 68 year old women in 37 year old bodies), and a few concerns about salmonella/food contamination (Stephanie and I may have a slight germ and food contamination obsession, our friend Keri can certainly attest to this), we also came away with some good tips.  The best being the use of freezer bags rather than plastic containers.  I have two freezers full of ziploc containers of left over foods.  But Mrs. Dupree suggested using quart size ziplog freezer bags filled with leftovers that you let freeze on laying flat.  Talk about a room saver.  Now I have stacks and stacks of flattened ziploc bags in the freezer rather than bulky plastic containers.  Tonight I used couscous, breaking off enough for Matt and I, refreezing the rest.  In a minute and a half (with a bit of water added to freshen it up along with some grated parmesan cheese) in the microwave we had a nice side for our pork chops.  

 I don't have a tip on the green beans other than don't serve left over green bean for six meals in a row just because you want to use them up.  Even I felt a little sorry for Matt having to eat them again tonight.