Thursday, January 15, 2009

Grilled Pork Chops with Rosemary and Sage

I spoke a little about my hesitance in using rosemary in a post last week. I am glad to say, however, that I am a true convert now. The Rosemary and Mandarin Muffins I made then were a delightful surprise and as I mentioned in that post, I used the remainder of that fresh rosemary to marinate a few pork chops, which also turned out great.

I must admit I was initially inspired by a recipe I read on Epicurious that called for using fresh rosemary, sage, garlic, fennel seeds, white wine and olive oil on a large pork shoulder roast. The end result sounded divine, so I fiddled with the ingredients to make my meager pork chops--leaving out the fennel seeds, I used rosemary, sage, garlic, coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, white wine and olive oil to make a paste, which I rubbed into the pork chops. Having the leisure to, I let the pork chops marinate overnight and then grilled them on a stovetop grill pan. The trick here, of course, is to heat the grill pan really well, get a good sear on the pork chops and shy away from overcooking (I seared them about 7 minutes per side). The flavors were great and the chops turned out pick-the-bones-and-gnaw-at-them good.

I squeezed a bit of lemon on top just before serving and accompanied these flavorful bone-in pork chops with a creamy orzo with peas (much of the goodness of risotto, with a little less TLC required--and a dish I'll post about a little later).





Pork Chops with Rosemary and Sage
Makes 6 Pork Chops

2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 tablespoon olive oil

6 bone-in pork chops


Place the first seven ingredients in a food processor and pulse until paste-like and well combined. Rub the mixture into both sides of the pork chops and set aside for a few minutes (or if marinating, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight).

Heat a grill pan til very hot and sear pork chops over medium-high heat until just cooked through (about 7 minutes per side). Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over and serve.


14 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Fresh herbs liven up the taste so much. These chops sound mouthwatering.

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

I agree with Val...absolutely mouthwatering...so "herbacious!".

Laurie Constantino said...

Great recipe - I'd be right there with you gnawing on thsoe bones. Glad to see you're a rosemary convert!

Mariana Kavroulaki said...

Rosemary,sage,garlic: The ultimate combination of Mediterranean flavors! Great recipe!

gastroanthropologist said...

I think you may be converting me to rosemary too with that mouthwatering porkchop! Plus, I love porkchops and its nice to see it with lemon...everyone seems to go sweet (apple) with porkchops.

Hopie said...

That sounds like a divine combination of flavors, plus the grilled taste of the pork chops...mmmmmm!

Dharm said...

Oh Yumm!! Those chops look simply amazing!

Peter M said...

Maria, great grilling job on the chops and rosemary is wonderful if used sparingly. Again, a little goes a long way.

Maria said...

Thank you all for stopping by. It's always great to hear from you.
Welcome Dharm and History of Greek Food -- hope to see you here more often!

gastroanthropologist said...

Hey Maria - Please check out my blog. I have something for you!

Cakebrain said...

That's a juicy looking pork chop! The combination of herbs sounds wonderful!

Cakebrain said...

That's a juicy looking pork chop! The combination of herbs sounds wonderful!

Anonymous said...

That is one amazing looking pork chop, Maria. I don't even like pork chops all that much but I really want to take a bite out of this one!

Lori Lynn said...

I bet those were delicious. They look like they were cooked to perfection, juicy with great grill markings!
LL