Thursday, April 26, 2007

Flavorful but borderline dry
--Honey Citrus Chops



Honey Citrus Chops
The Taste of Home Cookbook Copyright 2006

2/3 cup lemon-lime soda
½ cup soy sauce I used low-sodium
¼ cup honey
6 boneless pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick and 6 ounces each)

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the soda, soy sauce and honey; add the pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally.
2. Coat grill rack with nonstick coating spray before starting the grill. Drain and discard marinade. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until juices run clear, turning several times. I broiled them - it was threatening rain outside.

Yield: 6 servings Per serving: 62 calories, 1 g fat,
10 mg chol, 621 mg sodium, 7 g carbs, 5 g protein

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I'm finding pork to be the easiest meat to work with these days. That's a good thing since pork loin is lean and can always be had for $1.99 or less per pound. Pork tenderloin is much more expensive but I grab it up when I find a good deal.

This marinade was very flavorful however, due to the high sugar content, you do have to be careful not to burn them. Also, the oil-free marinade combined with the very lean chops can make for some dry chops if you're not careful. I think this marinade would actually be better on thin, bone-in chops.

I spent a small fortune in the grocery store last night. I don't understand it - it doesn't seem like I'm buying a lot of 'extras'. They did suck me in with a few good sales last night so I'm stocked up on several items that I really didn't need to buy for next week, but that I will need. The last 2 or 3 weeks, my bill has been quite low and hopefully next week it will be back to a more reasonable but last night's total stung. And to top it off, my Costco run is tomorrow.

Blast From The Past: Honeyed Pork Chops from October 2005. This was the only time I bought bone-in chops in recent years. I love them, but they're fattier and when I see them on sale, I usually have a freezer full of pork loin and pass them up.

Question of the Day: Are you tempted by great sales in the grocery store?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The reason the pork might have been dry is that the recipe called for regular soy sauce and you substituted low-sodium. I'm guessing that the overnight marinade was basically brining your pork chops but without enough salt, it didn't do its job.

Randi said...

LOL, I made chops last night too. They werent for me, for the seniors. Check out the thread on Egullet.

Sara said...

The grocery store closest to my house has dollar sales every couple of months. I really hate that store but I can't resist those prices.

Red Dirt Mummy said...

I get tempted but I do try hard to resist unless it's a great bargain on something we need/use regularly. I did pick up some really cheap bulk steak the other day (half price!) and it is delicious.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely! If it's something you use and it's a great price. I don't think you can go wrong.

Jan