GRILLED PORK CHOPS WITH SOY SAUCE, CUMIN, LIME, AND OREGANO

yield: 4 SERVINGS; RECIPE CAN EASILY BE DOUBLED

total time: 24-28 MINUTES, PLUS MARINATING TIME

prep time: 15 MINUTES, PLUS MARINATING TIME

cook time: 11-13 MINUTES

These delicious Grilled Pork Chops with Soy Sauce, Cumin, Lime, and Oregano can marinate all day while you’re at work!

INGREDIENTS:

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 thick bone-in or boneless pork chops (1 inch thick)

MARINADE INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I used Tamari Gluten-Free Soy Sauce; for Paleo use Coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce.)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (I used my fresh-frozen lime juice.)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. ground cumin (or a little less if you’re not a big cumin fan)
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano (I used Mexican Oregano. but if you don’t have that regular dried oregano will be fine.)
• pinch of Chipotle chile powder (or use a dash of hot sauce)
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder (or use 1-2 tsp. grated fresh onion)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or use 1-2 tsp. freshly minced garlic)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Trim visible fat from pork chops as much as desired. For thick boneless pork chops I would pound with meat mallet (or anything heavy) until pork chops are about 3/4 inch thick. Bone-in pork chops won’t need that.
2. Combine soy sauce (gluten-free if needed), fresh lime juice, olive oil, ground cumin, dried oregano, Chipotle chile powder, onion powder, and garlic powder to make the marinade.
3. Put pork chops in a heavy Ziploc bag or plastic dish with a lid, then pour marinade over. Let pork chops marinate 4-6 hours in the refrigerator. (They can be marinated all day while you’re at work too.)
4. When you’re ready to cook, take pork chops out of the refrigerator, drain off the marinade, and let them come to room temperature while you preheat the grill. For an outdoor gas or charcoal grill, spray grill grates with non-stick spray or olive oil; then preheat the grill to medium-high before you start to cook. (You can only hold your hand there for a few seconds at that heat.)
5. If you’re using a stove-top grill pan or a George Foreman Grill, heat just for a few minutes and then brush or spray with non-stick spray or olive oil.
6. To get criss-cross grill marks, lay the pork chops at an angle across the grill grates for 3-4 minutes, then lift up the edge to check the grill marks and rotate pork chops the opposite way and cook 3-4 minutes more.
7. When you have good criss-cross marks, turn pork chops over and cook about 3-5 minutes on the other side. Start to check pork after about 3 minutes, I highly recommend using an Instant-Read Meat Thermometer to check that pork has reached the safe temperature of 145F/63C that’s recommended for grilled pork but if you don’t have a meat thermometer, pork should feel firm but not hard to the touch when it’s done. Remember that the George Foreman grill cooks both sides at once, so grilling time is about half as long for that kind of grilling device. Grilled meats continue to cook for a few minutes when you take them off the grill, so don’t overcook.
8. Serve hot and enjoy!

This recipe created by Kalyn. All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn’s Kitchen.

Recipe Permalink: https://kalynskitchen.com/grilled-pork-chops-recipe-with-soy/