Pork... Well, let me start with a BEEF... About BEEF PRICES!Seriously, have you noticed? It's been about two years and beef prices have doubled. Rarely does beef go on sale, and even more rarely does those sale prices really make it affordable for a weeknight meal. "Beef, it's what's for dinner", at least for me, simply is no longer true.
So, pork, chicken and occasionally sea food have become "What's for Dinner".
It's also time to look at how chicken and especially pork are being engineered. Lean... VERY VERY Lean is the way pork shows up at grocery stores now. Which is fine, as long as you know the tricks to cooking a lean piece of meat...
First TIP... Internal Cooking Temperature of 140 degrees. Cook pork with a meat thermometer. You can get a fancy electronic one or a simple dial type, but it is very important that you use one. The old standard of 165 was designed for pork with more fat. A pork loin (where pork chops come from) is very lean and is becoming leaner every year as pigs are being raised to mature faster and have less waste during butchering. Measure the temperature in several spots, be sure that the temperature reaches 140 degrees in all spots and then remove from heat. this is true on the grill or in the oven or even pan frying. Do not overcook your pork. 140 is just fine.
Second TIP... Brining your meat is easy, important and will make your finished product moist and fork tender. The process of brining is very easy. You can hunt for recipes and formulas that have several ingredients and spices, but a simple 3 ingredient brine is all I use... 1 Cup Salt, 1 Cup Sugar, 2 Cups Water, 2 Cups Ice... Bring water to a gentle simmer, add sugar and salt and stir to desolve. Remove from heat, add ice to cool. Add your meat, cover and refrigerate for 1-3 hours. Rinse the meat and dry with a paper towel before seasoning and cooking. That's it, it literally takes less than 5 minutes of hands on work and the process... Makes cooked meat hydrated by a process called Osmosis. Also by the process called Denaturation, the cells in the meat hold on to their moisture longer. there are plenty of long winded websites that will go into detail if you want more information, but bottom line... BRINING WORKS! BTW, Brining for as little as 30 minutes will still make a difference... BRINING WORKS!
And Third TIP... Rest your meat before cutting and serving. The 140 degree target temperature will have a slight pink tinge to the center. This does not mean the pork is under cooked, in fact, just the opposite. By resting the meat for 10 minutes before cutting you allow the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat. It also allows the temperature to even out. The outside of the meat is always a higher temp than the center. Resting allows that hotter outside to continue to cook internally during the rest. If you have ever seen that pool of pink blood on a plate you can be sure the cook did not rest his meat before serving.
I want no part of running a food truck... BUT, if I ever do slip and fall into owning a food truck, this sandwich is on the menu...
Make your own Hamburger Buns. Store bought is fine, but doesn't these make for a more inviting sandwich?
Brine the Pork (See TIP #2 above).
Grill some Pineapple Slices along with the pork.
Make a simple Pineapple Jerk Spice glaze, in a mini chopper, cut up 1/2 Cup pineapple, combine with 2 TBS of Jerk Spice Mix and blend until liquid.
Grill your pork on one side, when you flip the pork to cook the other side, brush the glaze on the finished side. Cook until internal temp reaches 140 degrees, flip and brush this side with the glaze...
Remove from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Prepare your sandwich, top with a little creamy green onion, garlic and blue cheese salad dressing (That post will come soon)
Pair it up with a Kale Salad, even top that salad with a slice of pineapple and whoop dee doo, you have a fantastic Pineapple Jerk Glazed PORK CHOP Sandwich!!!
And once again you have proven yourself to be a Master Of The Grill!
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Well over 52 recipes actually as I just can't stop... Over 100 in one grilling season (I love to grill!). But not just leat... Drinks, Condiments (LOTS of different BBQ sauces), Drinks, Desserts... even specialty items like GRILLED Pizza, and fun shaped Watermelons. Easy and these ideas will make you the MASTER of your Backyard Domain!
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