The Best Marinated Grilled Pork Chops

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This truly is the Best Marinated Grilled Pork Chops. And the marinade has all pantry ingredients so you can easily whip it up any time you have some nice, thick pork chops.

I’ve been trying to get the hubs to create content for my blog. We both cook. And he is a kick ass cook. He makes the best chicken piccata, he’s trying to master lasagna with bechamel, he can throw together stuff that just tastes amazing. So, it would be in my best interest to show off his work.

Yes, I have a few older recipes on my blog from him. All the S’s recipes are his. Like the breakfast scramble and garlic mushroom marinara.  I really should make those again and photograph them. He has some great recipes. But he hasn’t really created anything lately. He’s been working off other recipes trying to perfect his own. I keep telling him, “Just get to a point where you think it’s mastered and I’ll write the recipe and photograph it!” He said he’s pretty much to that place with the piccata. Maybe it will pop on the blog in the near future.

The hubs typically has Wednesdays off. Not this week because of inventory, but most weeks. For whatever reason, pork usually is the Wednesday meal when I plan the dinners for the week. Now, when he’s off he will usually make whatever he wants on that day. I’ll be at work and get the “your order has been delivered” notification. No. I don’t look to see what it is. I actually like to be surprised.

And almost every Wednesday, it’s a pork dish of some description. I don’t know how that works out. Maybe it’s a subconscious thing. Maybe we’re just sympatico. I have no idea. It just cracks me up that’s how Wednesday dinner goes. This dinner is no exception.

What ingredients are in the best marinated grilled pork chops?

Such simple ingredients. All straight from our pantry. I’m pretty sure you have all these ingredients in your pantry, too. He put olive oil and soy sauce in there along with some Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. There’s spicy brown mustard and apple cider vinegar. For a little kick there’s some hot sauce, chili flakes, and black pepper.

Marinades always sound so weird when you make them, but they all make meat taste delicious. I’ve made a few marinades in my day where I was like, “This just doesn’t sound good. And it doesn’t really taste that great by itself.” But I’m here to tell you, once you marinate meat in there, that weird combination of flavors transforms meat into something absolutely delicious! Just like these marinated grilled pork chops.

How do you make the best marinated grilled pork chops?

They are so simple to make. He combined all the ingredients except the chops in a mixing bowl with a whisk. Then he poured the marinade into a plastic zip top bag and added the chops. He put them in for a couple of hours. And remembered to turn them over halfway through the marinade time. That’s important to get even flavor throughout the meat.

Then he took them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before he started up the grill. I think that makes the meat cook more evenly. If you take them straight from the fridge to the grill, then they might not be done in the middle and the outsides will get all dry. At least in my head that’s how that works.

He is the grill master in the house. I used to be really good at grilling, but he’s much better at it than I am. So, I make sure he’s home when I want to grill something. And it makes him feel needed. That’s always a good thing with a spouse. I mean, if I didn’t need him, then why would I keep him around? I mean, other than he’s so handsome. And funny. And really nice to me. Okay. I’ll keep him!

He grilled them for about 5 to 7 minutes a side. And we both turn the meat a quarter turn to get those perfect grill marks. In fact, as we were plating for dinner he said to me, “If I was going to photograph one, I’d photograph that one. It has perfect grill marks.” And he’s right. They really are perfect. To that I said, “Well, if you give me the recipe then I’ll make sure to put it on the blog!” So, he did!

I stood in the kitchen writing down his recipe. When he was finished, I grabbed a plate other than the one I was eating dinner off of, and plated it up with the creamy pasta salad me made to go with it. That needs a little work. It was good, but not quite blog worthy yet. It will get there. We just have to toss around some improvements for that recipe.

I grabbed the camera and went to the “studio” to photograph the chop. And not the one I ate for dinner, either. That plate waited along with the hubs and the dogs until I was finished photographing the best marinated grilled pork chop. Just look at those grill marks and that caramelization around the edges. Those are my favorite parts. Sort of like burnt ends.

What do the best marinated grilled pork chops taste like?

Tender and juicy. They’re packed with umami flavor from the soy and Worcestershire sauces. Then you get the hint of garlic and the kick of spice. I agree that they should marinate at least 4 hours like he said. He had them in there for 2 maybe 3 hours. I think 4 is the bare minimum marinade time. But I’m thinking overnight might be too much. After a while the marinade just starts to cook the meat. I’m afraid that might happen with this marinade.

But this recipe is easily one you could make ahead of time for a backyard barbecue or party. This marinade is enough for 8 chops. Maybe 10 if you do a really good job at closing up the zip top bag. And we used thick chops. They were at least 1 1/2 inches thick. I love me a thick chop.

And I love these chops! They truly are the best marinated grilled chops we’ve made. And I’ve had. We used to marinate all kinds of meat growing up. There’s a few that are close contenders, but this is the best marinade and it’s super simple to make. One that anyone can whip up. You could also use this for chicken. Maybe steak, but I think a few stronger flavors might be needed for steak. Or a longer marinade time might work, too.

You could flip it into an Asian style marinade with some ginger. Or an Italian style with some basil and oregano. Tex-Mex with some chili powder or chipotle in adobo. But in all honesty, this marinade is perfect as it is. It gives the pork great flavor and is super simple to make and make ahead.

Welcome to #BBQWeek where we celebrate all things barbecue related! From slow cooked pulled pork to grilled chicken, salsa and sides, and delicious pies there’s a recipe that’s perfect for your summer cookout parties.

Monday’s #BBQWeek Recipes

• Grilled Chicken and Peach Mixed Green Salad from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Teriyaki Grilled Pork Steaks from Palatable Pastime
• The Best Marinated Grilled Pork Chops from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures