Cooking Lesson #367: Ed’s Pork Chop Marinade & Grillin’ Procedure

… from the California Kitchen

How you doin’? At the time of this writing the cost of protein has been skyrocketing. I saw prime ribeye steaks for $54 per pound last week. Though all protein prices are rising, pork has not (yet) increased as much as beef.

Chops are the most popular cut of pork. They come from the loin… the meat that runs from the pig's hip to its shoulder. While there are a variety of names for pork chops like loin, rib, sirloin, top loin and blade chops, it's important to remember that they all cook the same.
 
The popularity of the pig is rooted in Asia and progressed through the Near East,  and eventually to Europe, where sus scrofa domesticus (Latin for pig) really took off. We owe the Spanish for the introduction of this valuable source of protein. Old Chris Columbus gets credit for bringing the first pigs to Europe.
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Cool time:  1 hour
Grill time:  10 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients 
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Eight 1/2-inch bone-in pork chops (about 3 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
 
Directions

1. Begin by making the marinade. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, vinegar, cumin and red pepper flakes. Easy, right? Keep going.
2. Sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper and place in a re-sealable plastic bag with the marinade.
3. Let the chops rest on the counter for 1 hour. That's easy. 
4. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium heat. Remove the pork chops from the bag and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Place on the grill and cook until the pork chop releases from the grill, about 4 minutes.
6. Flip and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes. If using a grill pan, be sure to do this in batches so you don't steam the chops. And don't worry if you have neither; you can do this in a sauté or sheet pan. See, I told you this was easy.

ChefSecret:  Be careful not to overcook the pork as it gets dry when cooked too long. It’s done when the internal temperature reaches 145⁰ F when measured with an instant read thermometer.

Quip of the Day:  “The irony of human kind is that your computer program asks you to prove you’re not a robot.”
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

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                                            ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

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