Pork chops

Ready in 20 mins | makes 6 portions

The way us Indians cook meat is to cook the life out of it until it's dry and chewy. Here's a pork chop recipe that's the exact opposite... it's pork chops, done right.

(Canada day landed up in the middle of the week in this terrible 2020, so seeing as most of us will party on the weekend, I'm posting this today... and happy Independence day to our wonderful neighbours down south:)

chop chop in motion

Ingredients

• 6 pork chops (mine were 1/2" thick)

• 5 whole cloves

• 1.5 tsp whole fennel

• 1 tsp whole mustard seeds

• 1.5 tsp whole black pepper

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 tbsp raw sugar

• Generous thyme

• Generous rosemary

• 2 large garlic cloves

• 2 tbsp chopped ginger

• Drizzle of EVOO

• About 1 1/4 cup butter

Directions

Check out the video at the bottom if you need to!

1. Add all of the above whole spices in a spice grinder and grind until fine.

2. Finely chop ginger and garlic, or use a microplane to get a pasty consistency.

3. Add fresh ground spices, paprika, ginger and garlic, olive oil, and aromatics (herbs - thyme and rosemary) to a bowl. Mix well. Optional: waft the aromatics and be sure to not drool in the food.

4. Trim any extra fat off the edges of the chops, but not all - you'll need fat to keep it moist and tender.

5. Pat the chops completely dry. Any moisture will not let the spices stick to the meat and when you put it on the grill, it will just boil. No one likes boiled meat.

6. Spread about 1 tsp of the spice blend to each side of the chops. Massage it in a bit so the meat takes the flavours in.

7. Preheat grill to kill any potential corona. No one likes being sick. Lower flames to 400ºF, or on medium-high flame. I like to use grill mats to prevent major flare-ups, and it's just safer for the cooker, the cleaner, and the eater.

8. Place chops on the grill facing away from you do not lay them towards you or else hot oil will sputter on you and your arm will be itching for days without any visible burn marks so just trust me and Gordon Ramsay on this one please thanks.

9. Scrape any seasoning left behind in the bowl onto the chops - waste not, want not! (what the heck does that mean anyways waste not want not)

10. Close the grill and let sit for approximately 5 minutes or until golden brown.

11. Flip the chops and let sit for 6 more minutes or until golden brown.

12. Render the fat!!! Any visible white fat is uncooked, so hold the chop on its side, fat cap down, and let it sizzle on the grizzle until it's nice and melty and soft.

13. Gather the chops in the middle of the bbq and turn off the middle flames, leaving only the most extreme, opposite end flames on. This will keep the chops off direct heat to prevent them from browning further, while allowing it to cook thoroughly.

14. Place 1 tbsp of butter on each chop. Let it melt a little and spread it as evenly as possible over the surface of the chop. Close the grill 2 mins and let it melt into the chop.

15. Flip them over and put another knob of butter on like you did 2 minutes ago. Close and let melt in for about 1-2 minutes, depending on how thick the chops are (thicker = more time)

16. At this point you can test out doneness by taking out the ugliest chop and cutting it straight in half. The inside should be white and glistening... or at least white. Make sure there is no pink. Pink = raw = poison. If you're unsure, or don't want to cut the chop so soon, insert a thermometer until it's halfway through the chop to measure the internal temperature is at least 145ºF. See temperature chart for details.

17. Take out chops when finished and let rest on a pan before cutting into them = this will prevent all that good moisture from seeping out of them.