Glazed and Grilled Pork Chops

It's the middle of May and it's already getting too hot to turn on the oven and heat up the kitchen to cook dinner.  I haven't broken down and turned on the air conditioning in the house yet - much to the dismay of everyone else that has to live in this sweltering house with me.  Seriously, I don't really mind the heat as long as I can have the windows cracked and the kitchen door open.   The kids would argue that 92 degree temperatures in their bedrooms is a little uncomfortable for sleeping at night.  (Makes them tough - that's what I say.)

As for me, I suffer through a little heat just so I can keep the windows and doors open as long as I can.  I've been cooking dinner outside on the Big Green Egg just to keep from having to turn the oven on in the kitchen.  We've actually had some really great meals from the "Egg" recently.  I made glazed and grilled pork chops from Fresh and Fabulous last week and they were fantastic.

The recipe was simple and since they cooked on the Big Green Egg, I didn't even need to turn on the stove.

Glazed and Grilled Pork Chops
Glaze                                                               4 rib chops
1/4 cup fresh lime juice                                   1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup ketchup                                               1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons honey

Brine
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups hot water
6 cups ice water

Combine lime juice, ketchup, 1/4 cup brown sugar and honey in a bowl.

Dissolve salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar in hot water.

Pour into a freezer bag and add ice water.






Add pork chops and refrigerate 1-2 hours.

Remove chops from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper.

Grill chops until nearly done then brush with glaze and continue cooking until internal temperature reaches 145.

Add a side of broccoli and a green salad and viola - a perfect summertime meal.

So as I sit here at my computer, mopping the sweat from my brow because it's nearly 90 degrees in this room, I am thankful that I didn't have to turn on my oven tonight.  I know that it's only a matter of days before I will have to close all the windows and doors because the heat will be absolutely intolerable but until then, I'm going to enjoy the fresh air.

Ciao!