Mrs. CB has been off to North Carolina visiting her best friend in the world for a couple of weeks. It’s amazing that when I’m left to cook for one that I’m for some reason not very motivated. (Maybe that’s because when I cook Mrs. CB does the dishes and when it’s just me I have to do all the clean-up too).
So Miss Meggie was home from work the other night and was up for some “real food” so I pulled out a couple of loin chops to toss on the grill along with a lonely sweet potato sitting forlornly in the pantry.
In an America where basic groceries continue to escalate in price, I discovered a while back that the best and cheapest way to get good pork is to buy a whole loin at Costco and then to cut my own roasts and chops from it. The cost of doing it this way is under $2.50 a pound which is pretty reasonable.
Anyway, we came up with a simple way to kick up the flavor of grilled loin chops using our favorite mustard Beaver Brand Sweet Hot Mustard and making a simple “glaze” with mayo or “salad dressing”. The reason for Beaver Brand? It packs a wallop and has honey to smooth it out. Here’s the simple recipe:
Recipe: Grilled Loin Chops With Sweet-Hot Mustard Glaze
Summary: A simple, sweet-hot mustard grilling glaze makes these grilled loin chops incredibly tasty.
Ingredients
- 2 Pork loin chops 1 ¼-1 ½ inch thick
- ½ cup mayo or salad dressing
- 1/4 cup Beaver Brand Sweet Hot Mustard (can substitute Dijon mustard and add 1 tbsp honey or brown sugar)
- Basic Seasoning Blend (salt, pepper, garlic)
Instructions
- For the glaze: Put the mayo/salad dressing in a small bowl and add the Sweet Hot Mustard or Dijon/brown sugar. Stir well.
- Taste it. If it doesn’t have enough “kick” add more mustard (we like it to pack a bit of a wallop—it smoothes out when you cook it).
- For the Chops: Put about ½ tsp cooking oil on each side of the chops and spread it with your fingertips.
- Sprinkle seasoning blend over each side of the chop.
- Prep grill and prep any other items for grill.
- When grill is hot (hold your hand 4 inches above grill surface—it should feel really hot in 4 seconds or less) put the chops down.
- Let the chops cook for about 3-4 minutes then brush mustard/mayo on and flip. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, flip again and coat 2nd side and flip for about 1-2 minutes. Test for doneness (should have a “medium well” give). Remove and let rest about 5 minutes then enjoy.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 2
My rating 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)
It’s just that simple and I love a barely done, juicy loin chop. We also reserve the leftover glaze for dipping. Once cooked on the chop the glaze mellows out and if you “dip” the fresh glaze will give you a bit more “bite”.
I’ve cooked this with grilled eggplant discs, grilled sweet corn and grilled roasted sweet potatoes on the side along with a fresh salad. Enjoy this simple and incredibly tasty dish.
The Cheap Bastid Test: For 2 of us, I’ll cook 2 chops for a total of about 1 ¼ lbs or about $3.10. Sweet potato, sweet corn, egg plant (whatever) adds about another $1. So, for about $2.05 each you’ve got a terrific summertime dinner.
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!
