Whether it’s a weeknight dinner, comfort food or movie snack, the ever humble pork chop will fill you up in all the best ways.
Jerk grilled pork chops
Serves 4 (As a snack)
Marinated in a classic Jamaican jerk spice, these pork chops are fabulous with a side of rice or braaied garlic bread.
Ingredients
For the jerk seasoning
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice
½ tsp each ground cumin, nutmeg and cinnamon
2 Tbsp brown sugar
For the pork
4 (about 1kg) pork loin chops
¼ cup canola oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp minced ginger
2 jalapeno or serrano chillies, sliced
For the salsa
1 avocado, finely cubed
½ mango, finely cubed
½ small red onion, finely chopped
½ tsp ground cumin
10g coriander, chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 jalapeno chillies, coarsely chopped
Method
- Combine jerk spice ingredients in a bowl.
- Pat pork dry, drizzle with half the oil and 2 Tbsp of the jerk seasoning. Massage remaining ingredients, except jalapenos, into chops. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
- Combine salsa ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.
- Remove pork from marinade, discarding excess liquid.
- Heat a griddle pan or place a braai grid over hot coals.
- Grill or braai chops for 5-6 minutes a side, turning often until charred and cooked through. Rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve chops topped with salsa.
Also read: Pork & prawn wontons recipe
Fried smoked paprika pork bites
Serves 4 (As a snack)
Bring the pub grub home with these cubes of crispiness.
Ingredients
4 (700-800g) boneless pork chops
4 potatoes, peeled
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
¼ cup cornflour
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp fine salt
1 tsp white pepper oil, for deep frying
Deep-fried jalapeno slices, for serving
For the chilli-lime salt
¼ jalapeno pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
2 limes, zested
2 Tbsp Maldon salt
Method
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Cut potatoes into thin, even fries. Arrange on a baking tray, cook until dried out, about 20 minutes.
- Pat pork dry using paper towel. Slice into 3cm cubes.
- Combine paprika, cornflour and garlic powder.
- Coat pork in oil, salt and pepper, then toss through half of the cornflour mixture. Set aside.
- Combine chilli-lime salt ingredients.
- Heat a pot of oil and deep-fry chips in batches until golden, about 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle immediately with chilli-lime salt and keep warm.
- Toss pork in remaining cornflour mixture. 9. Deep-fry in batches for 4-5 minutes until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
- Arrange pork and chips on a platter and serve with deep-fried jalapeno slices for a pop of heat.
Tonkatsu pork chops
Serves 4
Tonkatsu is a Japanese barbecue sauce made even more delicious when paired with the double-crumbed pork!
Ingredients
4 (700-800g) boneless pork sirloin chops
Salt and milled pepper
1 cup flour
5 eggs, whisked
3 cups panko breadcrumbs (regular breadcrumbs work too)
For the tonkatsu sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
5 Tbsp tomato sauce
For serving
¼ cup finely shredded green cabbage
¼ cup finely shredded purple cabbage
Lemon wedges
Pickled red onion
4 tsp of each black and white sesame seeds, toasted
Method
- Pat pork dry using paper towel. Season.
- Place flour, eggs and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls.
- Coat a chop in flour, dip in egg, then coat in panko breadcrumbs. Repeat to create second coating.
- Repeat with remaining three chops.
- Heat oil in a deep pan for shallow frying.
- Fry chops one or two at a time, careful not to overcrowd the pan, for about 4-5 minutes a side or until cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Stir tonkatsu ingredients in a pot over medium-high heat until almost simmering, then remove and decant into a condiment bowl.
- Arrange chops on a platter with sides of cabbage, tonkatsu sauce, lemon and onion. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Good to know
Double crumbing the chops creates a well-structured outer layer, but is not essential. If crumbing only once, use 2 cups of panko and 3 eggs instead.
Pan-fried brown butter chops
Serves 4
Brining the pork ensures it holds onto as much tenderness as possible, decreasing the risk of drying out. Repeated flipping also keeps moisture in.
Ingredients
For the chops in brine
4 (1kg) bone-in pork rib chops
3 cups water
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup coarse salt
7 cloves garlic
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 sprig thyme, leaves picked
1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked
For the mashed potato
4 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 Tbsp butter
¼ cup milk
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp canola oil
Milled pepper
4 baby onions, halved
3 Tbsp butter
3 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs sage
Method
- Prick pork chops with a fork.
- Combine remaining brine ingredients in a pot over high heat and stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
- Remove from the heat and add 1 cup cold water. Decant into a large container. Set aside to cool completely.
- Submerge chops in liquid, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight for best flavour.
- Place potatoes in a large pot of salted, boiling water and cook until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
- Return potatoes to the pot and add butter and milk. Mash mixture until smooth. Season with salt.
- Remove chops from the brine and pat dry with kitchen paper. Set aside for 15 minutes to come to room temperature.
- Heat a cast-iron pan on high heat. Drizzle steaks liberally with oil and pepper.
- Add steaks to the hot pan and cook for 10 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes until they reach a deep caramel colour all over.
- Halfway through cooking chops, add the onions to the pan.
- About 1 minute before the pork is done, add butter and fresh herbs to the pan. Swirl around pan or use a spoon to coat the pork in bubbling butter as it finishes cooking.
- Remove pork and rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve with mash and charred onions.
Recipes & styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photography by: Zhann Solomons
Also read: Pork belly bahn mi recipe
