Modern Notebook

One of my favorite summer meals is pork chops with pineapple salsa. I don’t make homemade salsa often, but I love this recipe. It’s straightforward and always tastes great.

The marinade for the pork makes it tender and flavorful. I love that both the marinade and the salsa are spicy and sweet.

We had some extra salsa and just half a pork chop leftover the next day that I ended up adding to salad. It inspired a salad recipe that I hope to share here soon.

This recipe for pan grilled pork chops with roasted pineapple salsa is adapted from a combination between My Recipes and Muy Bueno Cookbook

Pan grilled pork chops with roasted pineapple salsa

Yield: 4 servings

4 (4-ounce) boneless, center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

Marinade
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus 2 tbsp of the canning sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 red onion, roughly chopped
4 (1/2 inch thick) slices pineapple
1 tbsp minced jalapeño pepper
1/4 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried cumin
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Roasted pineapple salsa
6 (1/2 inch thick) slices pineapple, roughly chopped
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1/2 jalapeño, minced (optional)
2 tbsp lime juice
Salt to taste

In a blender, combine all marinade ingredients and blend until smooth. Place the pork chops in a large gallon re-sealable bag and pour the marinade over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

for the salsa: Grill pineapple slices by turning once, until lightly charred, about 3 minutes per side. Chop it up and mix with red onion, jalapeño, lime juice, salt and pepper.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Add one or two pork chops to the pan at a time, being careful not to crowd the pan. Add 1/4 cup of marinade; cook about 3 to 44 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat until all pork chops are cooked thoroughly.