(Updated May 2008) It's Memorial Day Weekend in the U.S. which is the unofficial start of grilling season! Last night my friends Robin and Ann came for dinner and I made these delicious grilled pork chops, using a recipe I first posted in 2005 (before I entered the digital camera age!) My friends are pretty tolerant about letting me run into my office and snap a few photos, so I'm updating the recipe with a photo. (The photos were taken in a hurry when I was really more interested in enjoying dinner, but I hope you can still tell how delicious these pork chops were!) The marinade includes my beloved trio of ingredients, lime, cilantro, and Chipotle chile powder, so it's definitely one of my Recipe Favorites too.I adapted this recipe from one I found on the Best Foods web site. I did cut the amount of mayo in half, and if the idea of marinating meat in mayo seems odd to you, keep in mind you're actually eating very little mayo, and it really keeps the pork chops juicy when they're grilled. A marinade like this is one of the very few places I would use dried cilantro, but if you use fresh cilantro, be sure it's very finely chopped. I increased the lime juice and also added cumin, which I think really works well with the combination of cilantro, lime, and Chipotle.
Grilled Lime and Chipotle Pork Chops(Makes 8 servings, but can easily be cut in half. Recipe originally adapted from this recipe by Best Foods, and then slightly changed when recipe was reposted in 2008.)
8 pork chops 1/2 inch thick
(I used the giant boneless pork chops from Costco and pounded them to be 1/2 inch thick. You can also use bone-in pork chops.)
Marinade:
1/2 cup mayo (do not use light or fat free)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 T dried cilantro (or use 2 T finely minced fresh cilantro)
1 T finely minced garlic (or use garlic puree in a jar)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. ground Chipotle pepper (or more if you like a lot of heat)
1 tsp. ground cumin
Trim fat from pork chops, and pound slightly until all are about 1/2 inch thick. Arrange pork chops in single layer in ziploc bag.
Mix marinade ingredients and pour over pork chops. Marinate 6 hours or longer in refrigerator. If you're home turn them a few times, but it's not essential.
To cook, spray grill with olive oil or non-stick spray, then preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium high. (You can only hold your hand there a few seconds at that heat.) Grill pork chops about 8 minutes on each side, or until well browned and firm but not hard to the touch. If you'd like criss-cross grill marks, rotate the pork chops 45 degrees after they cook 3-4 minutes on the first side. (I usually life up one and see how the marks look before I turn them, and I always use a digital instant-read meat thermometer
to be sure the pork isn't overcooked, since pork chops like this can quickly become dry on the grill.)
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South Beach Suggestions:
Well-trimmed pork chops like this are a perfect main dish for the South Beach Diet, or any low-glycemic eating plan. The other dish in this photo is My Favorite Summer Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese and Basil Vinaigrette, and I added some fresh oregano. I also served the pork chops to Robin and Ann with Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro and Pinto Bean Salad with Avocado, Tomatoes, Red Onion, and Cilantro.
Mix marinade ingredients and pour over pork chops. Marinate 6 hours or longer in refrigerator. If you're home turn them a few times, but it's not essential.
To cook, spray grill with olive oil or non-stick spray, then preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium high. (You can only hold your hand there a few seconds at that heat.) Grill pork chops about 8 minutes on each side, or until well browned and firm but not hard to the touch. If you'd like criss-cross grill marks, rotate the pork chops 45 degrees after they cook 3-4 minutes on the first side. (I usually life up one and see how the marks look before I turn them, and I always use a digital instant-read meat thermometer
to be sure the pork isn't overcooked, since pork chops like this can quickly become dry on the grill.)South Beach Suggestions:
Well-trimmed pork chops like this are a perfect main dish for the South Beach Diet, or any low-glycemic eating plan. The other dish in this photo is My Favorite Summer Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese and Basil Vinaigrette, and I added some fresh oregano. I also served the pork chops to Robin and Ann with Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro and Pinto Bean Salad with Avocado, Tomatoes, Red Onion, and Cilantro.
More Tasty Pork Chops:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly, check ingredients.)
Grilled Pork Chops with Soy Sauce, Cumin, Lime, and Oregano
Grilled Ginger Soy Pork Chops
Grilled Pork Chops with Lemon, Garlic, and Sage
Kalyn's Souvlaki (all phases)
Grilled Pork Chops Marinated in Mojo from Blake at Serious Eats
Grilled Pork Chops with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce from Feeding Groom
Garlic-Sage Brined Pork Chops from Two Yolks
Pork Chops with Lavender Butter from Daily Bread Journal
Mom's Perfect Pork Chops from Simply Recipes
Pork Chops with Sweet Curried Onion from Blue Kitchen
Want even more pork chop recipes?
I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.
22 comments:
Oh my gosh, this was so good.
Obviously this recipe is yet to be discovered, because that's the only comment from June 2005 to May 2008. Photos really are important! I need to cook this again soon so I can improve this photo, but the pork chops were delicious.
Wow! Great looking recipe. I love a mayo marinade for the same reason you said-it sure keeps the meat juicy! Beautiful photos.
The photo look very good to me. I think I'm hungry for a pork chop - lime and chipotle sound just about right!
Sounds yummy. My favorite Best Foods/Hellmann's recipe is the "Classic Potato Salad." Just substitute cauliflower and Splenda for the potatoes and sugar and it is totally "beachy."
THE ORIGINAL POTATO SALAD
Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 lbs. potatoes (5 to 6 medium), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 C. Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
2 T. vinegar
1-1/2 t. salt
1 t. sugar
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1 C. thinly sliced celery
1/2 C. chopped onion
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
Instructions:
1. In 4-quart saucepot, cover potatoes with water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain and cool slightly.
2. In large bowl, combine Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper. Add potatoes, celery, onion and eggs and toss gently. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
That look good, especially the salad.
This one really is a keeper. I think I'm going to try it on some boneless chicken breasts.
Thanks for sharing.
Lime, chipotle and cilantro are my fave go-to bbq flavours. I never thought to add mayo though, what a great idea. Sort of like adding yogurt for Indian marinades, it must tenderize the meat nicely. I use canned chipotle in adobo, yum.
I just discovered your blog, and I just love all your recipes! This one is definitely one I'll try within the next few weeks. That tomato salad is just gorgeous!
I'm in phase I of South Beach (which is how I found your blog), but looking forward to the time when I can be in the place you are - 40 pounds lighter with healthy eating habits. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love Pork Chops and this is a delicious looking way to serve it.
I love your fresh new blog look, by the way. Just right for summer!
Prudy, thanks.
Tanna, Pork chops are great when they're moist.
Pam, interesting idea to use cauliflower for potatoes in potato salad.
Kevin, need to take a new picture for that salad post too!
Ruth, this would be good on chicken, hope you do try it.
Natashya, exactly same idea as using yogurt. Hmm, I should try this with yogurt.
Anonymous, good luck on South Beach.
Scott, thanks. It's my talented brother who does the design work!
This marinade sounds great and it wil be tried at the next family event! Lime and chipotle, yum..
If you ever have enough notice to do a little advance prepwork, I have found that brining pork chops is a marvelous trick for keeping them flavorful and very moist. There are lots of different recipes, etc for brining but approx. 1 cup salt (plus 1 c sugar if you like, and/or spices) to 1 gallon water is good. For pork chops, keep in fridge overnightish, rinse twice and enjoy tender moist chops! Fun to experiment with!
Vegeturtle, I'd love to find a good brine recipe for pork. Most have sugar, which I don't want, and Splenda in a brine seems just wrong. I tried it once on a pork roast and it was just too salty. I have heard it keeps the meat moist though.
I love the sound of that marinade. We don't have chipotle powder here (or at least it's not easily available) but we do have chipotle chutney which is my new favourite thing to add to any sauce!
Jeanne, Chipotle Chutney sounds fantastic. I'll have to look for that!
As one of the pork chop lover, I cannot even resist this irresistible dishes at all...
With the great looking recipe, I don't even hesitate to try to cook it immediately :)
Hi Kalyn, I just discovered your blog and made the pork chops and they were amazing! My husband raved about them as well.
I didn't have any onion powder on hand, but had a fresh shallot, so I grated that and added it to the marinade. Delish!
I'm new to both blogging and being on the South Beach diet so I really appreciate your work here. Many, many thanks!
Can these porkchops be cooked on a george forman type grill???
Anonymous, absolutely you could cook these on a George Foreman Grill.
Hi Kalyn, love the blog, it's making phase 1 livable! I'm cooking up another batch of tamari chickpeas as I type. I don't know if we did something wrong, but we made these chops tonight and they were totally bland which really surprised me. My guy swears he followed the recipe exactly and marinated the chops overnight but they had no flavor whatsoever. They were pretty thick cut chops, maybe that's the problem? All of your other recipes have been outstanding so far, thank you so much!
Steph, did you follow this part of the instructions: "pound slightly until all are about 1/2 inch thick"? That would be my guess, that if the pork chops were too thick the marinade didn't penetrate, but they were great when I made them.
Noooo, we didn't! That's definitely what the problem was. We're going to do another round in a few days with the extra chops we bought and I'll let you know how they turn out when we do em right this time : ) I'm sure they'll be as awesome as everything else we've made from your recipes. Thanks for the response, Kalyn, and please keep the recipes coming!
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