Well, that all ended with last night's pork chops from Mastering the Grill: The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking
![Molasses Brined Pork Chop with Roasted Corn Salsa](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/2696567070_380fdeddb4.jpg)
As good as the pork was in this dish the Roasted Corn Salsa was amazing. The sweetness of the fresh corn is enhanced by the time on the grill & matches perfectly with the heat of the chile, tart of the lime juice & bite of the onion. It brought a lot of extra flavor to the pork but I can see making it as a condiment for plenty of other dishes.
Molasses Brined Pork Chops
Molasses Brine
1 3/4 c cold water
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T kosher salt
2 T unsulfured molasses
1 T light brown sugar
1 T ketchup
Mix everything together in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Close the bag & shake until the sugar is dissolved.
4 pork chops 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick(bone-in rib chops or boneless center cut loin chops)
1 T olive oil
1 T paprika
Place the pork chops in the bag with the brine. Seal the bag pressing out any excess air. Massage the meat. Place in a bowl & refrigerate for 4 - 6 hours.
Remove the meat from the brine & dry with a paper towel. Rub the chops with the olive oil & then the paprika. Tent loosely with tin foil & allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Heat the grill to high & grill the chops over direct heat for 2 - 3 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover & grill for another 5 - 6 minutes per side (boneless chops will only need about 2 - 3 more minutes per side). Transfer to a plate, tent with foil & allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Roasted Corn Salsa
1 T olive oil
1 small tomato, seeded & finely chopped
1 jalapeno chile (we used a Freseno red chile instead), seeded & finely chopped
1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
2 T chopped red onion
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 t kosher salt
3 ears of fresh corn, husks removed
oil
Combine the olive oil, tomato, chile, garlic, onion, cilantro, lime & salt in a medium bowl.
Coat the corn all over with oil. Grill the corn over medium-high heat, turning often, until brown all over. This should take about 10 minutes.
Allow the corn to cool to touch & use a knife to cut off the kernels. Add the kernels to the rest of the ingredients.
Makes 4 servings of pork & salsa
12 comments:
I "OINK" along to your love of pork!
The inability to cook a pork-chop at home came up in conversation with some friends a few nights ago... I really do think that brining is the only way to do it.
P.S. Love the corn salsa.
Going to have to make that corn salsa this weekend methinks :)
This looks like an excellent pork brine. We'll have to give this a try. Great photo!
i adore pork chops marinated in orange juice and brown sugar, but i really need to break free of that. it's good to try new things, right? this should be a winner, all the way from the brine to the corn salsa. nicely done. :)
Thanks everyone. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with pork chop issues.
That salsa looks amazing. It's almost dinner time and I wish I were having it instead of what I cooked...
Molasses brine is something I'll have to try in the near future.
Two things you have to remember about pork chops: they must be cut thick, and they should be brined because they're so lean. Molasses brine sounds good. Whatever you do, though, don't do a vanilla brine.
Oh, and watch out for that Sophie from KI. She appears to be spamming a lot of blogs lately. I like Spam, but not spammers.
This looks so delicious! I will have to try.
I wouldn't worry about Sophie from Key Ingredient. I don't believe she is a spammer. I use her website to create widgets often and its another great place to get to know other bloggers. She probably just loved your site as much as I do!
That looks really good!
wow this looks so great. i love the fresh corn on the pork chops, all the flavors are making me so hungry.
Hmmm this does look and sound so good.
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