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Gourmet

Grilled Giant Pork Chops with Adobo Paste

4.4

(33)

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Photo by Romulo Yanes

The flavors of Mexico enliven this very adaptable spice paste, which is excellent on grilled beef and chicken as well as pork. If you want to make the flavor even more complex, substitute crushed chile de árbol, dried pasilla, or New Mexico chiles for the red-pepper flakes.

Cooks' notes:

•Pork can be grilled on a gas grill. Preheat all burners on high, covered, 10 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately high and brown chops, covered, turning over occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off 1 burner (middle one if there are 3) and put chops above shut-off burner, then grill, covered, without turning, until thermometer registers 145°F, 12 to 15 minutes.
•Pork chops, rubbed with spice paste, can marinate, covered and chilled, up to 4 hours before grilling.
•Spice paste keeps, covered and chilled, up to 1 week.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    35 min

  • Yield

    Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons paprika (not hot)
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried hot red-pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lime zest
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (1 1/2-inch-thick) bone-in loin pork chops (about 3/4 pound each)

Special Equipment

a 17- by 12- by 3-inch disposable aluminum roasting pan (if using charcoal); an instant-read thermometer

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking with medium-hot charcoal.

    Step 2

    Stir together all ingredients except pork chops in a bowl to form spice paste, then rub paste all over pork chops.

    Step 3

    Oil grill rack, then grill chops over coals, turning over occasionally and moving around if flare-ups occur, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes total.

    Step 4

    Move chops to area with no coals underneath, then cover with inverted roasting pan and grill, turning chops over once, until thermometer inserted horizontally into center of a chop (do not touch bone) registers 145°F, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

TagsMexicanLatin AmericanBeefMeatChickenPoultryChile de ÁrbolChileVegetablePasilla ChileNew Mexico ChilePork ChopPorkPaprikaHerbs & SpicesOreganoMainDinnerGluten FreeDairy FreeNut FreeKetoEasyQuickWeeknight MealsGrillingGourmet

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