Celebrate Labor Day by indulging in some guilt-free and lip-smackin' good barbecued pork chops! The double-duty marinade and serving sauce is easy to whip up and tastes better than any bottled sauce you'll find. It's sure to be one you'll conjure up often for whatever you're throwing on the barbeque!
Marinade/Barbecue Sauce Ingredients:
■ 1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted, no salt added, diced tomatoes
■ 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
■ 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
■ 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce (or lemon juice)
■ 6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
■ 2 tablespoons minced garlic
■ 2 tablespoons minced onion
■ 2 tablespoons dry sherry
■ 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
■ 1/4 cup fresh chopped tarragon (or 4 teaspoons dried)
■ 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
■ 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
■ 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly-ground is best)
■ dash red pepper sauce, or to taste
Pork Chops:
■ 8 boneless top loin pork chops, 4 ounces each
■ olive oil spray
■ freshly-ground black pepper
Preparation:
1) Pour fire-roasted tomatoes into a medium non-metal bowl. Mash the tomatoes well with a potato masher or fork. Add remaining marinade/sauce ingredients and stir very well to blend.
2) Place thawed chops in a large glass or stoneware baking dish. Pour marinade over chops and turn chops to coat all sides well. Cover baking dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight) before continuing with the recipe.
3) Spray grill or grillpan with olive oil and preheat on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and allow to heat an additional 2-3 minutes until nice and hot. Remove the chops from marinade (reserve marinade for step 4) and shake excess marinade from chops before placing each on your grill (or grillpan). Grill 4 minutes per side, sprinkling each "up" side with freshly-ground pepper. (Also, it wouldn't hurt to spray the "up" sides with olive oil before flipping the chops over to grill the other side.)
4) Meanwhile, pour reserved marinade into a medium saucepan and bring to boil on stove burner. Reduce heat immediately and simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until sauce is thickened slightly. This is a lovely accompanying barbecue sauce to serve alongside the chops. (Reduced sauce will yield approximately 3 cups, which is about 3 tablespoons per serving.)
Numbers you need to know:
Recipe yields 8 chops and approximately 3 cups of sauce (after reduction):
1 chop and 3 tablespoons reduced sauce per serving.
Per serving info: 179 Calories; 5g Fat (2g Saturated, 2g Monounsaturated, 1g Polyunsaturated); 21g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 51mg Cholesterol; 372mg Sodium (237mg, if additional lemon juice is substituted for soy sauce).
Nita's notes:
■ Great recipe for any grilling holiday menu! (Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day.) But, also great any time your mouth starts watering for good ol' barbecue. Could be done on an outside grill over medium-high heat, be it gas or coals. I just like to do it indoors with a grillpan. Any time can be grilling time. So yummy and really so simple.
■ Don't ever grab ready-made barbecue sauce!! No one needs that high-sugar, high-sodium sauce in a jar, not when you can whip up this easy and delicious version. Store any leftover reduced sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Great on sandwiches using leftover chops! Great marinade and sauce for other grilling/roasting protein like chicken or beef.
Hope you have yourself a wonderful Labor Day!
And, as always, make healthier choices for a happier life.
From my home to yours—Nita
Anita Whittle Peacock
