Search This Blog

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Grilled Pork Chops with Tarragon Mustard Butter

****October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, don't forget to stop by and check out my Pink Ribbon Giveaway.  And remember, early detection saves lives!****
_________________________________________________________
Once again I found myself not in the mood to make what I had planned to make.  Once again I ventured into the kitchen to see what kind of an idea I could come up with.  I had really thin, boneless pork loin chops just begging to be used, so I thought back to my Spicy Thai Pork Chops and the light bulb went off.  How about doing that same thing but with a different flavored butter.  BINGO!  So I mixed together a little mustard, a little tarragon...and this is what we had.  It was DEEEEEE-LICIOUS!!  I will admit I liked the spicy Thai ones better, but this was a very close second.  I guess the biggest point of posting this recipe is to show you all that you too can be creative in the kitchen... you CAN think passed a recipe and mix your own flavors together to create your own masterpiece!  Seriously, if I can, anyone can!

Grilled Pork Chops with Tarragon Mustard Butter
Recipe inspired by America's Test Kitchen 
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
4 boneless pork loin chops (mine were about a 1/2 inch thick)
salt and pepper
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
Pat the chops dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.  Arrange on a wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and freeze until chops are firm, at least 30 minutes but no longer then 1 hour.

Combine 2 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.  Mix remaining butter, Dijon, tarragon, and the lemon juice in another small bowl and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. (Tarragon butter can be made and refrigerated 1 day prior to use)

Preheat your grill to medium.  Remove chops from freezer and pat dry.  Spread softened butter-brown sugar mixture evenly over both sides of each chop.  Grill, covered, over hot fire until well browned and the meat registers 145 degrees, 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Transfer chops to platter and top with chilled butter-cilantro mixture.  Tent with foil and let rest 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

9 comments:

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Yum! These look really good! The sauce queen strikes again! I dig the brown sugar on the chop too, a touch of sweetness & it helps with browning, win!

Cranberry Morning said...

Love it that you always give me the yummiest ideas!!

StephenC said...

If I use tarragon and don't tell Peter, he likes what I make. If you ask him about tarragon, he'll say he doesn't like it. Go figure. This gives me an idea for dinner.

Pam said...

I love this recipe... I don't use enough tarragon in my cooking. The chops look tasty!

Katrina (Betty Ray) said...

These look delicious. And thank you for saying we can all be creative in the kitchen. Sometimes, with all the blogs I visit and all the recipe sites out there, I forget that hey, I can make something without a recipe!! I mean isn't that what we did before all this internet stuff anyway? LOL But I do love everything you gals come up with. And pork chops are my favs - enjoying all your variations to change it up a bit! :)

Unknown said...

fantastic looking, yum

Chris said...

Compound butters rock! I like what you did with these chops. The flavor being drizzled down from above just puts them over the top.

Mary Bergfeld said...

This is as close to perfect as a recipe can get.
I love tarragon and use it more than most folks do. This is a great dish for me and mine. I hope all is well and that you are having a good day. Blessings...Mary

Yenta Mary said...

I absolutely LOVE mustard in almost anything! I make a pork chop recipe mixing mustard and sour cream to make a gravy of sorts; and I stirres some Dijon mustard into butter and cream yesterday for a pasta dish. These look SO amazing!!!