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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Grilled Pork Chops with Mint and Pine Nut Gremolata

As Chris stated after he took a few bites, it was good, but for some reason the flavors of the pork and the gremolata just didn't blend well.  Maybe I should have stuck with using chicken like the original recipe, but I had pork in the fridge and I thought the flavors would still work well.. I mean pork is the other white meat, right?  I also added a tad bit too many pine nuts, so I think that may have had a little bit to do with it... but I still thought it was worth posting.  The gremolata was good, so maybe trying it with chicken ...  or better yet, toss it on some pasta - that would be fantastic!

Grilled Pork Chops with Mint and Pine Nut Gremolata
Adapted from Cooking Light
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
2 boneless pork loin chops
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup loosely packed mint leaves
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Mix together the water, salt, lemon juice, and black pepper.  Place pork in a large resealable bag and pour the brine over.  Seal and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

In a food processor, add the mint, pine nuts, lemon rind, and garlic; process just until combined.  Add the olive oil and salt; process to combine.  Set aside.

Preheat grill to 375 degrees F.  Remove pork from brine and rinse thoroughly under cool water.  Place the pork directly over the fire and grill for 4-6 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F.  Remove from grill and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes.  Serve with gremolata.  Enjoy!

One Year Ago:  The Great Spam Experiment
Two Years Ago:  Chicken Fried Steak

11 comments:

Big Dude said...

I'm with you on the pork internal temp. Good looking the chop and the potatoes look even better.

Mary Bergfeld said...

The pork looks wonderful and the gremolata sounds delicious. Its a shame your guy wasn't fond of the combination. Perhaps the smokiness from grilling didn't meld well with the bright flavors of the topping. I guess we can't win them all. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

StephenC said...

Perfect pork temp. I did go back to last year's Spam thing. It makes my heart sing.

Cranberry Morning said...

What an exotic-sounding post title! Where do you GET these things?? ;-) Love the ingredient list. Sounds good to me, although pine nuts are so expensive these days!

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

I've had this problem before too Jenn. Used pork instead of chicken thinking "It's the other white meat, it'll be great!" only to take a few bite and realize that nope, it's not great at all :( Hate it when that happens! The parts of the recipe sound great, if I can find pine nuts on the cheap I'll give this a try with chicken :)

Yenta Mary said...

I made my Curried Rhubarb Chicken, a favorite tender dish, with pork once. Baaaaad idea - tough, odd flavor. Don't know why they aren't interchangeable, but lesson learned!

Pam said...

I bet it would be on chicken. It's too bad it didn't pair with pork as well as you hoped. I've still never made a gremolata - I need to do it soon!

Pam said...

Ooops - I meant GOOD on chicken. :)

Mary said...

What a pretty plate this was! I initially thought the potatoes were peaches and I was jealous. LOL. I've messed up many a dish with too many pine nuts, so I bet that contributed to the result. :( It does sound good though, definitely worth trying with chicken. I've never made a gremolata.

Bo said...

I've vote for the gremolata and pasta idea.

Chris said...

Well, they can't all be homeruns, right?