Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Fresh Corn, Baby Greens, And Mave's Tipsy Pork Chops in Beer Marinade

I absolutely adore pork chops but have come to learn that a little loving kindness displayed before cooking goes along way toward a flavourful, juicy end product.



Pictured above are my tender. beer marinated, grilled porkchops, summer greens from the garden, and sweet, succulent corn on the cob.

An easy and delicious summer meal made that much better with a few tips and techniques I've learned over the years that I'll share in today's blog...

First, the marinade - and I really can't say enough about it. After having tried and experimented with a gazillion marinades for pork over the years, people, this is the one!

The good news is that as amazing as it is on pork it is equally scrumptious on chicken or chicken wings.

Here's what you'll need:

(For printable recipe, click HERE)

* 1 can beer (the new Budweiser lime beer is amazing in this marinade)
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 1/4 cup peach or mango chutney
* 1 teaspoon hot sauce
* 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1 tsp ginger
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* freshly ground pepper

Combine all the ingredients, and your meat in a bowl, dish or plastic bag. As a side note, I like to buy bone in chops and usually trim the fat off before marinating. The marinade tenderizes the meat beautifully so that there is no need for the extra cholesterol.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, turning a few times.

Remove meat and cook according to your preferences. I like to grill at this time of year and serve with a little more chutney on the side.

For the Greens...

Like summer on a plate, I did a mixture of baby spinach, baby beet tops, and swiss chard.

Rinse them all really well to get any dirt or sand off and then put in a pot turned to medium high. No need to add extra water as the greens will release lots on their own. Cook and stir until the greens are soft and ready to eat and then drain well. Return to heat, add a dollop of real butter, a tbsp of white vinegar, a tiny bit of salt and pepper and you are good to go!

Finally, the Corn...

You're probably going to think I've completely lost my mind because I'm about to tell you how to boil corn, but bear with me.

While you're most likely right, that boiling corn is not rocket science, there is a way to do it that will give you the sweetest, most beautiful corn you ever had in your life every single time.

I know!

Here's what you do...

Fill a large saucepan with water and then add 2 tbsp sugar, and 2 tbsp of vinegar.

Don't roll your eyes at me, I'm serious.

Now bring to a boil.

Put corn in the boiling water and as soon as it comes back up to the boil, cover, and take off the burner. Leave the corn sitting in the pot with the lid on, no peaking, for seven minutes.

Set your timer, pour yourself a cocktail and then serve with cold fresh butter and a little salt and pepper.

Trust me, you'll be thanking me for these ones...

Fresh Corn, Baby Greens, and Mave's Tipsy Porkchops in Beer Marinade...




Everyday magic at its very best.

Bippity.

Boppity.

Boo!!!!!!!

***

If you want more Maven, pop by today's blog PMS Picnic.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing these recipes. Hope to actually make some of them soon.

Mel said...

YUM!!!!

kittyclub2005 said...

Thank you for sharing!!

Kady said...

Looks great Mave!

Two questions .... where can I get peach or mango chutney and do you think beer would freeze okay?
I bought the chops today, and want to freeze them with the marinade ...
Thanks!
Kades

Maven said...

Hi Kades,

Superstore makes a really nice peach chutney. It's by President's Choice and can be found in the aisle with the ketchup, mustard etc.

You could also substitute marmalade in a pinch but I'm really partial to the chutney because it's so nice on the side with the chops. I've never frozen this but I think it would be just fine. I love freezing things in marinade.

Happy cooking! Are you taking these to the lake?

Kady said...

Thanks for getting back so quickly on this Mave! I put my chops in the fridge so I can run to Superstore to pick up some chutney!!
Taking them to the lake sounds like a MARVELOUS idea!

By the by ... I just watched Confessions of a Shopaholic! Kind of mindless, but kinda cute movie!

Have a good day at the beach tomorrow! Are you off to the beach just for the day or are you there for a couple of days? Have fun, either way!!

Maven said...

Just heading over for the day. I LOVE the shopaholic books and have Shopaholic Ties the Knot as one of my beach reads.

I think these chops are perfect cottage food!

And... I tried something new today... I have a little ham in my slow cooker and I made up the pork chop marinade but substituted the chutney with apple juice. I'm going to slice it really thin tonight and then serve it tomorrow at my picnic. Will report back if it's good.

The Diva on a Diet said...

Yum! I will be trying those pork chops very, very soon, Maven. The marinade sounds amazing! One question ... where did you find such terrific corn this early in the season? Our native corn won't be available until late July or August and I'm absolutely dying for it!

Maven said...

I picked the corn up at our farmer's market. I'll have to ask him if it's local. It was really as nice and sweet as it looks :-)

~RED~ said...

love the n=marinade, thanks!

Anonymous said...

This Marinade for porkchops sounds great!

Interesting ingredients cooking corn but I certainly believe!!

Thanks for sharing:)

Jane from Ohio