Saturday, March 21, 2009

Griff's Cuban Pork Chops

Cuban cuisine is characterized by the taste of tropical juices, but
often it is less spicy than the food of its neighbors in the
Caribbean. The spices in my Cuban pork chops give this dish a
little extra kick, but are not overpowering.

Ingredients:

4 boneless pork loin chops (about 2 lbs. of meat)
3 tbsp. canola oil
2 cups orange juice (fresh squeezed if possible)
1/2 cup lime juice (fresh squeezed if possible)
1 cup fresh, diced tomato
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
4 tsp. fresh, chopped parsley
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. Lawry's® seasoned pepper (or ground black pepper)
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
1.5 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions:

Set aside 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup white wine and two tbsp. lime juice for later use. Take the orange juice, the lime juice and the wine that you did NOT set aside, and mix in a bowl along with the brown sugar. This is your marinade. Put the meat in a baking dish. Pour in the marinade and cover, and allow the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour, turning the meat over once after the first 30 minutes. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the seasoned pepper, the garlic powder, the onion powder, the ground cumin, the dried oregano and the kosher salt. This is your spice rub. Take the meat out of the refrigerator, pat dry, lay on some aluminum foil, and rub thoroughly on both sides using the entire spice rub that you've mixed. In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Place the chops in the skillet and seer on one side until brown. Flip the meat over and turn down the heat to about medium or a little lower. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic around the meat and sauté for several minutes. Add the 1/4 cup of orange juice, the 1/4 cup wine and the 2 tbsp. lime juice that you set aside, and simmer until the meat is thoroughly cooked and the liquid has begun to thicken and is somewhat reduced. Remove chops and let stand on a platter covered with aluminum foil. Continue to heat the liquid left in the skillet until it reduces a bit more, then spoon on top of each chop. Place the diced tomato evenly on top of the chops for garnish, and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

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Click Here for Jamaican Recipes!