Grilled Pork Chops

Grilled pork chops

In every backyard in America you have a good chance of finding a grill. Though some traditionalists still cook with hardwood charcoal, gas grills have always been popular items. They’re increasing in popularity now. They’re convenient, cook more evenly, easier to maintain, less hassle, and they’re a bit more stylish. But with anything like a grill in your yard, you’ll also need some recipes. How many times can you possibly feed your family hot dogs and hamburgers? Chicken is good also, but even that gets boring after a while. We need something that we haven’t had before. We need the other white meat – pork.

Pork chops on the grill work out absolutely fantastic. They don’t stick as much as poultry or fish, they cook really fast and pick up that grilled flavor, and there are endless ways you can enhance the flavor. This recipe is one of my all-time favorites when it comes to pork chops. They’re nice and thick-cut chops with a little Asian inspired flavor. These juicy chops are out of this world. The flavors will dance around on your tongue.

Marinated Pork Chops:

We don’t need to go all out at the grocery store, just pick up a few items that really drive the flavor home. First, we want some nice, thick pork chops. The butcher in a mega-mart will gladly cut your chops to 1 ½ inch thick. Grab as many chops as you need. Next, we want a bottle of soy sauce, a bottle of honey, a bulb of garlic, a good piece of fresh ginger and some sesame oil. Sesame oil is optional if you can’t find it. Also, you don’t need a huge piece of ginger if you’re only planning to use it for this recipe.

To make our marinade we’ll start by pouring ½ cup of the soy sauce into a bowl or a plastic zip top bag. Next, squirt a few tablespoons of honey in there, followed by 2 tablespoons of the oil. (Just use vegetable if you didn’t get the sesame) Chop a few tablespoons of ginger and a few cloves of garlic and add them to the marinade. Finish it off with some salt and pepper to taste, mix everything up and add your pork chops. They should marinade for 4 hours minimum, overnight would be ideal.

When it’s time to cook, turn your grill to medium heat. Make sure your racks are well oiled and allow the grill to heat up for a few minutes. Take your chops out and make sure no pieces of garlic or ginger are stuck to them. The small pieces can burn and leave your chops tasting bitter. Place your chops on the grill and close the lid. They should cook for around 10-12 minutes on each side. When you do turn your pork chops over, place the uncooked side on an unused portion of the grill if at all possible. This will ensure that they do not stick on the opposite side.

This recipe is really something different. The flavors these pork chops pick up is outstanding. The honey and the ginger really play well together and the soy sauce is a nice compliment. This dish is great sliced up and placed over rice. But I suggest putting a few chops on your plate and digging in as is.

Richard Myers
www.TheGrillingCoach.com