Jerk

While most of us are familiar with jerk chicken, the Jamaican spice blend can be applied to all manner of other meats and seafood, as well. Here developer Chanel Murphy-Lowe is using jerk seasoning on pork chops, a recipe she said was "inspired by authentic Jamaican jerk and gives a true taste of the Caribbean." The flavor she describes as "spicy and bold," although she does say that you can dial back on the chile peppers if you'd prefer something a bit less bold.

One good thing about this recipe is that, while it does require a number of different spices and seasonings, none of them should require a trip to a specialty grocer. Cloves, nutmeg, thyme, and pepper are all available in a standard supermarket spice section, and believe it or not, so are pimento berries as this is just another name for whole allspice. As for the peppers, Murphy-Lowe says, "Habanero peppers can be used in place of the Scotch bonnet peppers if they're hard to find." The two types of chiles are closely related and really quite similar, even though the Scotch bonnet has a somewhat fruitier flavor.

Nearly all of the ingredients in this recipe are used to make the jerk marinade: dried pimento berries (perhaps better known to your supermarket stockers as whole allspice), nutmeg, garlic, Scotch bonnet peppers, onion, dark brown sugar, dried thyme, ginger, pepper, salt, vinegar, ground cloves, and green onions. Once you've rounded all of these up, the only thing left to purchase is a package of pork chops and you'll be all set to start cooking.

You know that long list of marinade ingredients? Take all of them and chuck them in the food processor, then grind them up. Rub the resulting paste all over the chops, then put the pork in the refrigerator for at least an hour. "For best results," says Murphy-Lowe, "marinate the pork chops overnight."

If you have an outdoor barbecue grill and you feel like using it to cook the chops, go ahead and heat it up now. If not, you could use a grill pan (or a regular frying pan, though you won't get the nice ridges) on a stove burner. If you do go with the outdoor grill, though, be sure to oil the grates first so the meat doesn't stick.

Once the grill (or pan) has achieved a medium-high level of heat, cook the chops for 4 to 5 minutes per side. When they are done, a meat thermometer inserted away from the bone should read 145 F.

After the pork chops have finished cooking, you should take them off the heat, of course, but don't dig in just yet. For one thing, you might burn your mouth. For another, Murphy-Lowe notes that "Letting the pork chops rest after grilling is crucial so that they remain juicy. " The reason for this is because much of the moisture that has cooked out of the meat is still there under the surface. If you cut into the just-cooked meat, it could all come flooding out, but if it has a few minutes to settle, it'll be re-absorbed by the meat to some extent. After the chops cool down, you can dress them up with some more chopped green onion if you'd like a little color contrast.

Leftover pork chops can be refrigerated for up to four days. When you'd like an encore, you can either microwave them back to life or else heat them up in a greased frying pan.