Jamaican Pork Chops with Tropical Fruit Salsa

There are tons of ways to prepare and grill pork chops, and this one was quite different, with a Jamaican flavor.  The nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice gave it a distinctive touch and was nicely complemented by the mango-pineapple salsa.

I had some nice looking, thick chops that I wanted to cook on the grill.  And I wanted to try something different, so this seemed like a good recipe to use.

This recipe starts by making the marinade.  The liquid ingredients are Italian salad dressing. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce (which I couldn't find, so I used another hot sauce that I had), and lime juice.

Liquids for the Jamaican Marinade

 

The dry ingredients are brown sugar, thyme, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Spices for the Jamaican Marinade

Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and....

Mixing the Jamaican Marinade

Mix together.

Jamaican Marinade Done

Save out 1/2 cup of marinade for Tropical Fruit Salsa.

Saving Marinade

Put the rest of the marinade with the pork chops into a zip lock plastic bag and put in the fridge for an hour.

Pork Chops in Jamaican Marinade

While the pork chops are marinating, cut up mango, pineapple, and red onion for the salsa (I just realized that I was supposed to add cilantro too!  Whoops 🙁  That would given this an entirely different flavor.  Oh, well, next time.  The recipe below lists the cilantro, so don't forget it like I did!)

Mango Pineapple Onions

 

After the hour is up, take the pork chops out and put them on the grill.  Jamaican Pork Chops On The Grill

 

Cook for a few minute then rotate 45 degrees to get some good grill marks.  Flip over and repeat.

Jamaican Pork Chops Almost Done

The recipe calls for putting on the marinade from the bag while you are grilling.  I don't really like to do that, because if you aren't super careful, it won't get cooked and then you have a big problem.

If you are going to do that, you HAVE to put in on during the first part of the grilling, and not at the end.  Be so careful, though.  Make sure it has had time to cook enough.  Even better is to reserve a little more marinade for basting, so that's what I'll adjust the recipe to do.  In fact, I found that the 1/2 cup for the salsa was way too much, so I'm recommending that you use 1/2 of the reserve for basting.  That should leave plenty for the salsa.

While the pork chops are getting done mix that remaining marinade with the mango, pineapple, and red onion.

Tropical Fruit Salsa

When the pork chops have it at least 145 degrees (that's lower than it used to be, but USDA guidelines are now that pork can be safely consumed when cooked to 145 degrees) remove from the grill, add some salsa and serve!

Jamaican Pork Chops with Tropical Fruit Salsa

Jamaican Pork Chops with Tropical Fruit Salsa
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Jamaican Style Marinaded Pork Chops with a delicious Tropical Fruit Salsa.
Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup Italian salad dressing
  • 1/3 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
  • 1/3 cup lime juice
  • 2 T brown sugar
  • 2 t dried thyme leaves
  • 1 t ground allspice
  • 1/2 t ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 t ground cinnamon
  • 6 loin pork chops, 1" thick (about 2 1/2 lbs)
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
  • 1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
  • 2 T finely chopped red onions
  • 1 T minced fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
  1. Put the dressing, hot sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, thyme, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix with a whip until smooth.
  2. Reserve 1/2 cup of the marinade and put the rest with the pork chops into a zip lock bag, seal, and put in the fridge for 1 hour.
  3. While chops are in the fridge, prepare start preparation for the salsa.
  4. Chop the pineapple, mango, and onion and put into a bowl.
  5. When time is up, put chops on hot grill and grill until internal temperature has reached 145 degrees.
  6. Use half of the reserved marinade to baste the chops as they cook.
  7. Put the other half the reserved marinade with the fruit, onion, and cilantro that was prepared earlier.
  8. When the chops are done, remove from grill and serve with the salsa on the side.

 

I hope you enjoy this different kind of pork chop.  If you try it, let me know what you think in the comments below.  In the meantime, make sure that you have signed up to get my free Outdoor Cooking Magic Tricks ebook.  All you have to do is sign up below.

Scott

 

 

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