Every once in awhile I knock dinner out of the park - this meal was one of those times!
I happened to be hanging out on Pinterest one day last week while waiting in line at the BMV and thought this recipe looked worth trying. Plus, I had all the ingredients on hand and if I do the prep work I can usually get Jesse to be the grill master - another win! He really is better at the grilling - it truly is a win for us all when I don't burn everything to a crisp.
Heritage Breed hogs like the ones we raise are known to have super flavorful juicy chops compared to bland conventionally raised grocery store varieties, so they are tasty on their own with some just some salt and pepper added. Using this marinade made them even more amazing though.
I may or not have been gnawing the leftover bits of meat off the bone so not a morsel was wasted - they were that good!
Marinated Pastured Pork Chops
Ingredients
2-4 thick cut Pastured Pork Chops
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard - can be regular, dijon, any kind works!
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 clove garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Combine marinade ingredients in a large shallow pan or food storage bag.
2. Add chops and marinate at least an hour or up to 6 hours. If using a shallow pan, be sure to flip the chops partway through to coat all sides. If using a bag, squish everything around to get all sides of the chops coated.
3. Grill chops over medium high heat for approximately 5 to 7 minutes per side until internal temp reaches 145 degrees. Don't overcook or chops could dry out!
Grill Potatoes & Veggies
The perfect side dish to go with your marinated pork chops!
Ingredients
About 6 medium potatoes cut into 1 inch chunks
1 onion sliced thin
1 pound (about 2 cups) fresh or frozen green beans
2 cloves garlic (can use powdered garlic or garlic salt instead)
4+ tablespoons butter
Few dashes of Worchestershire Sauce
Salt/Pepper
If you want to switch it up a bit, you can also add any combination of sliced zucchini or yellow squash, sweet potatoes, sliced peppers - we have even used cabbage and it's always delicious!
Instructions
1. Lay out a big piece of aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray or coat with butter/coconut oil
2. Spread potatoes, onions and green beans on the foil. Add salt, pepper, garlic then mix together and gather into the middle of the foil, somewhat in a line long ways across the foil. Leave a few inches on each end - you'll need enough room around the outside to seal up the foil into a packet.
3. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce then place pats of butter across the top. Don't be shy about adding butter, 4 tablespoons is a minimum here!
4. Seal up the foil packet and carefully transfer to the grill. Place on a side with low heat. Direct heat will burn the bottom layer.
5. Allow to cook for approximately 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Try not to pierce the foil bag and limit opening the bag to check if potatoes are done - keeping the hot steam in keeps them cooking faster!
My method to pull this meal together was to start marinating the pork chops while completing the prep work and starting to cook the grill potatoes. The last 20 minutes or so of cooking the potatoes we added the chops to the grill so both were ready to eat around the same time.
Hope you enjoy this meal as much as we do!
~ Dana
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