Grilled Boneless Pork Chops with Chimichurri

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The National Pork Board and the #GrillPork campaign. As always, all opinions are mine alone.

If you’ve been around for a while you could probably guess that I prefer boneless meats to bone-in. I’m aware that the bone-in meats tend to be juicier and tastier, but for me I like to cut into my meat without a bone getting in the way and having to cut fat out. I know I have issues, but judging by the popularity of my first boneless pork chop recipe it seems I’m in good company with a lot of you, just don’t judge my picture taking abilities back then – embarrassing!

Boneless pork chops, or New York Chops, are my absolute favorite cut of pork. I love the versatility of them, and they are delicious with minimal effort. Don’t believe me? Check out these Sugar & Spice New York Pork Chops or these Bacon BBQ New York Pork Chops on the PorkBeInspired.com site, both super simple recipes that don’t require tons of time or and ingredient list a mile long. I love that!

Matter of fact, now that it’s summertime I know we are all tempted to throw the usual suspects on the grill. Why not add some pork too? I know I’ve been talking a lot about grilling lately, but it’s just so convenient! I typically season the meats and Mr. Harris goes to work on the grill while I prepare our sides. It’s a great way for us to be a team and create our family meal, and also enjoy some fresh air and the kids aren’t in our way since they’re outside playing nearby. It’s a total win! We don’t even limit it to the weekend, lately we’ve been grilling almost nightly. I’ve been playing with different recipes and my husband has no problem perfecting his barbecue skills.

Speaking of Mr. Harris and his grilling skills, have you heard of the latest “movement?” The National Pork Board is crashing grills this summer to bring new and exciting flavors to your ordinary cookouts and weeknight meals. Even though boneless is my favorite cut, I have no problem experimenting with the many varieties of pork available. Pork lends an almost effortless boost of flavor to the grilling experience with a tender and juicy meat.

Want to be a part of the movement? Share your own grill crash experience! Whether it’s a weeknight meal like this one or a big cookout, share a selfie, or “grillfie”, of yourself with your special pork creation from the grill and share it on your favorite social media platform. Be sure to use the hashtag #GrillPork and tag @porkbeinspired on Instagram or @allaboutpork on Twitter. Be sure to follow along on my accounts too, as I’ll be sharing my own grillfies over the summer!
Now for my own recipe, I knew I wanted to serve the boneless pork chops with a Chimichurri sauce. This sauce is perfect for summer, it’s so light and fresh in addition to adding such flavor to every kind of meat. I wanted something simple and fresh for the pork chops too, so I decided I wanted a combination of my favorite flavors – lemon pepper and smoked paprika. I knew the paprika would give the chop a lovely color, and the lemon pepper would compliment the lemon in the Chimichurri sauce. At the last minute I added a few sprinkles of salt and brown sugar to the chops and I think it was the perfect addition. Because my seasonings were so minimal, I decided to brine the meat for an hour or so prior to grilling it. I just put it in a bowl of water with some sugar and salt. Nothing fancy at all. Brining is popular because it helps the meat retain moisture which was important to me since we’d be grilling it. You can bypass this step if you like, but I feel like it added a bit to the success of this recipe. Although this was a weeknight meal, I actually had one of my best friends join us for dinner and she declared that this was the best meal she’s had in a long time. I’d call that a success, wouldn’t you?

Ingredients for Boneless Pork Chops:

• 5 cups water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 3 New York cut boneless pork chops (about 1 lb)
• smoked paprika
• lemon pepper
• salt
• brown sugar

Ingredients for Chimichurri Sauce:

• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 medium red onion
• 1 bundle Italian parsley, stems removed
• 1 bundle cilantro, stems removed
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• juice from one small lemon
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Begin by adding the garlic and red onion to a food processor. Pulse on low until ground.

Next add the Italian parsley and cilantro and pulse on low until chopped.

Lastly, add the vinegar, spices and lemon juice. Pulse a few times until well blended, then slowly pour in the olive oil about 1/4 cup at a time while blending, then turn off food processor immediately once the last of the oil is poured in. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

1-2 hours before you are ready to start the grill, get a bowl and fill it with the water, sugar and salt. Add the pork chops to the water mixture and brine in the bowl for 1-2 hours.

Begin to heat your grill when you’re ready to begin. While the grill is heating, season the pork chops with the paprika and lemon pepper on both sides, then adding a few sprinkles of salt and brown sugar to one side. Gently rub the seasonings in.

Brush the racks with canola oil, then add the pork chops to the grill directly over the hottest area to get a good sear.

Sear both sides so you get some nice lines, only about 2 minutes on each side. Move the chops to another area with more indirect heat, cooking for about 4 minutes or so on each side. Using a meat thermometer, once the temperature reaches 145 you can remove the chops from the heat. Let them cool, they will continue to cook internally for a few minutes.

I also prepared some vegetable kabobs and brushed them with a basil and oregano mixture with a bit of salt and pepper and olive oil (be sure to soak the skewers at least 20 minutes in water so they don’t burn!). Place these on the top rack as you’re cooking the chops and they’ll be perfect once the chops are done.

The chops should have a beautiful golden color.

I love how colorful this meal ended up being.

Just before serving, spoon some of the chimichurri onto the pork chops. You can be generous, this stuff is so good!

This is the perfect outdoor meal, the fresh taste of the chimichurri sauce matches so well with the veggie kabobs and the pork chops are so simple yet delicious.

Enjoy!

Which cut of pork is your favorite to work with?

Here’s a handy way of identifying the various pork cuts, since the names were updated for each cut back in April of 2013 so the updated names should now be what you see in supermarkets nationwide. For more pork recipe inspiration and more than 2,000 recipes check out PorkBeInspired.com or check them out on Pinterest.