Grilled Cuban Style Pork Chops

I have to admit to a certain affinity for the sight, sounds and flavors of the Caribbean and Latin America likely due to some long, cold and dark winter nights spent dreaming of the sun, sand and sea. When I worked for the hockey club, many's the midnight I'd spend clearing the snow and frost off my car before driving home on slick roads after a game and believe me when I say I cherish the memories but I don't miss it one bit. Living in Tucson now kinda' takes the bite out of winter as it's grill season year round here which is a good thing.

Last night's dinner took mere minutes to cook after the gargantuan porterhouse style pork chops marinated for two hours. The marinade's the key to the Island flavors and it is composed of fresh orange and lime juice along with lots of garlic, oregano, cumin and oil of course and infuses the meat with all those lovely flavors. Just be careful not to over soak the pork or it will have a spongy texture as it almost "cooks" in the acidic juices so longer is not better in this case.

Grilled for 4 to 5 minutes a side the chops are topped with sliced ham slices that I warmed slightly on the grill, and Swiss cheese slices. With the grill cover down for a few minutes, the cheese melts all nice and gooey and the sour dill pickle slices hit the chops just before they hit the plate. 

The results are different and delicious - perfectly cooked to a lovely moist barely pink inside, the flavor's like the Cuban Sandwich we've enjoyed here before sans the bread of course. We had our chops with a salad of black beans, corn, sweet onion and jalapeno peppers in a citrus vinaigrette but fried plantains or a baked sweet potato would be wonderful too.

We can thank Bobby Flay for this creation. I changed it up by necessity as I didn't like the looks of the pork loin chops that were available at the supermarket so rather than butterfly and stuff the chops with the ham/cheese/pickle mixture, I topped them instead. Hit the link here to Food Network's site for Bobby's original recipe so you can check it out. Otherwise, you'll find my version below. 

Grilled Cuban Style Pork Chops (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Bobby Flay via Foodnetwork.com)

2 large 8 ounce porterhouse style pork chops

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon dried oregano

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk marinade ingredients together until well blended. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the mixture and set aside. Place the remainder into a large zip bag along with the pork chops and refrigerate for a maximum of 2 hours.

Salt & pepper

4 ounces thin sliced deli ham

4 ounces Swiss cheese cut into quarter inch slices

Sour Dill pickle chips

Vegetable Oil.  

To cook – Brush oil on grill and preheat grill to medium hot. Remove chops from marinade and discard marinade. Pat chops dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place chops on grill and cook for 4 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Flips chops over and cook for additional 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile heat ham slightly on grill until barely warm. Top chops with ham followed by Swiss cheese slices. Cover grill and cook additional minute or two until cheese is melted and chops are barely pink inside. Remove from grill to serving plate and drizzle chops with reserved marinade mixture.  Garnish with dill pickle chips. Serves 2.

A year ago - Grilled Lamb Chops with Wheatberry Salad

Two year's ago - Pasta in Vodka Sauce with Sausage

Comments

[Lea]

Was your deli ham smoked or regular? This is just calling my name for sure!

[June]

Lea - I just used regular honey ham. Good old Bobby Flay always seems to please!

[Lorraine]

Now that is a "man meal" for sure. I am liking Bobby more and more, and like you have found some recent inspiration from him.

[June]

Yes, Bobby is pretty popular in this house too especially since we share a love of spice; however, this dish was very subtle now that I think about it.