Thursday 7 June 2012

GRILLED LEMON AND THYME CHOPS


It is good to connect. My father was one to nurture old connections, as in he was still in touch with his high school friends from 63 years back up to the last of his days.

On my last home visit, I got to meet up with my high school classmates whom I haven't seen for several decades (I won't be exact). Some of them were my classmates since kindergarten. Meeting up with them brought back such warm familiar feelings. Despite the lapse of time, meeting up awakened that old bond and we just found ourselves chatting and laughing like old times.



We met up at a local Greek restaurant and we shared several dishes that were still appreciated despite the busy conversation. One of them was simple but excellently prepared grilled pork chops. To remember my friends, I made these chops with lemon and thyme. This is my own version of the pork chops we had for dinner.

Pork chops can be on the dry side if not prepared properly. I find that brining for half an hour brings out the best in them. The brine I used here is flavoured with garlic, lemon and thyme. They were grilled on the barbecue and were just so succulent and tasty. They go equally well with potatoes, rice or couscous. A mixed salad on the side provides the perfect complement.




Ingredients: 

4 pcs. 1/2" thick bone-in pork chops
2 c. water
grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 big garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsps. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp. of dried thyme)
2 tbsps. olive oil
2 tbsps. honey

Method:

Put the water into a rectangular dish that's big enough to accommodate the chops. Add in the lemon rind and juice, crushed garlic, salt, brown sugar and thyme. Stir until the salt and sugar are melted. Add in the pork chops and leave to brine for half an hour.

Meanwhile pre-heat your barbecue, grill or grill pan. Brush the pork chops with olive oil and grill for 10 minutes on each side on medium high heat. When done, brush with honey. Serve with potatoes, rice or couscous and some side salad.

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5 comments:

  1. These look really juicy I can almost taste it. Great job Adora! :)

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  2. Hi there! I'm new to your blog and I'm enjoying what I see so far! We make pork chops quite often in my house and we tend to make the same recipe over and over again. Your lemon/brown sugar/thyme recipe looks fantastic! I'll try your version next time we make pork!

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  3. Honey makes your pork chops so shiny and looks very tasty! I wanna give it a try sometime!

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  4. Don’t you just love it when you meet old friends and it feels like no time has past at all? It’s like finding something you totally forgot you lost, but so happy to have back.

    I normally marinate my meats over night and it seems to work out ok. I’ve never brine any meat before, maybe it’s a good time to give it a go. Your chops look amazing!

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  5. yeah, brushing with honey is indeed a good idea.....

    ReplyDelete

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