21 May 2013



My husband and I always get obsessed with grilling out this time of year.  We've been going through the charcoal like crazy.  We do chicken a lot, but yesterday we mixed it up a little by grilling some thin cut pork chops.  My friend Brenda saw some coffee-marinated something in Food Network magazine and it reminded me that I had tried coffee-marinated pork chops once.  I dug the recipe out and my note on it said that we really liked them.  So I decided to make them again.  This is adapted from a Taste of Home recipe.


Coffee Molasses Grilled Pork Chops

Ingredients
½ cup double-strength brewed coffee
¼ cup molasses
¼ tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground ginger
4 bone-in pork chops

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the coffee, molasses, thyme, vinegar, mustard, salt, and ginger.  Pour the marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the pork chops.  Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Drain and discard marinade. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill chops, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 145°. Let meat stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

This is a super simple recipe, but so tasty.  The pork chops don't come out tasting like coffee.  Really, they don't.  The molasses is more noticeable.  It doesn't make the chops sweet, but it lends a lot of flavor to them, especially along the edges.  The vinegar in the marinade makes them very tender.  I use decaf coffee, so as not to give my kids a post-dinner caffeine rush, although I'm not sure very much of it would transfer to the chops.  Better safe than sorry, I say!  Two hours is plenty of time for thin chops like I used, but if you have thick-cut chops, I would marinate them a little longer.

The original recipe called for boiling the marinade instead of discarding it and making a gravy out of it.  The note I wrote on the recipe the first time I made it (back in February of 2012) said, "Gravy is gross-don't bother."  So I didn't.  They really don't need a gravy anyway.  They are plenty tender and moist and flavorful enough on their own.



We had these with our go-to grilled side dish, Foil Pack Potatoes, and some lima beans.  My almost three-year-old, who doesn't usually touch pork chops, asked for seconds.  That's a winner in my book!

I know we'll be making these several times throughout this grilling season. Thanks so much Brenda, for reminding me about this recipe!

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1 comment:

  1. Wow, these chops look really good! You know, I've heard of coffee rubs for meat, but I've yet to try it. But with the molasses....I can just imagine the scent coming off of your grill. Beautiful! : )

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