When I read the name of this recipe I had to giggle. All I could think of was my favorite shagadelic Brit, Austin Powers, “yeah baby!” Remember? Austin Powers lost his “mojo…” hehe….
Anyways….I love me some Cuban food. Give me a Cubano sandwich any day and I’m a happy girl. However, I’ve never really made any Cuban food. Don’t know why since I enjoy it so much… But when I saw this awesome recipe in my weekly newsletter from Serious Eats I had to make it. That pic looked so appetizing (unlike most of mine…sigh…). It’s a very quick marinade that is also used as a sauce once the pork chops are done. The flavors were fresh and delicious and I’m sure this would have tasted even better if I had grilled the pork chops. I can see myself using this Mojo Sauce for chicken, seafood, even vegetables. I seriously wanted to drink it, it was so good. Call me silly, but what I also really liked about the Mojo Sauce was the color. It was creamy and slightly lime green and looked fabulous on top of the pork chops. I served this with some roasted red potatoes topped with the Mojo Sauce.
Overall rating - 5 stars
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/04/grilled-pork-chops-marinated-in-mojo-recipe.html
Grilled Pork Chops Marinated in Mojo
- serves 2 -
Adapted from Our Latin Table
Ingredients
2 thick-cut pork chops, preferable bone-in, about 1 pound total
5 cloves garlic
5 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 juicing orange
Juice of 2 limes
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 T dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure
1.In a small food processor or blender, puree the garlic, oregano, olive oil, lime juice, cumin, pinch of salt and pepper, and all but 1/4 cup of the orange juice. Adjust the seasoning if necessary, and reserve a couple tablespoons of the mojo sauce (for spreading on the chops post-cooking).
2.In a non-reactive bowl, whisk the mojo sauce with the remaining orange juice. Add the pork chops, cover with plastic, and marinate in the liquid for as long as you can bear, at least 20 minutes, even better, two hours. Turn occasionally.
3.Heat a cast iron skillet with a film of oil, or a grill pan, until very hot. Cook the chops to desired doneness, 5-7 minutes per side for medium.
4.Spoon reserved mojo over the chops and serve.
So Good Blog/News Round-Up 5/16/08 | So Good said,
May 16, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
[...] The Average Cook makes Mojo Pork Chops. [...]
Deborah Smith said,
May 16, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
Yum. This one I will be trying. I have never had very good luck with Pork Chops but my Boyfriend is a wizard with the grill and I am finally getting what everyone is talking about when it comes to pork chops.
foodiedani said,
May 16, 2008 @ 4:19 pm
Hey Deb,
I’d hadn’t had much luck with pork chops either, but I think this was the first time I ever marinated them. They were awesome, and like I said, I’m thinking even better grilled next time.
Dani
melissa said,
May 16, 2008 @ 9:44 pm
that sauce - what a great find dani. this will go onto my list for sure. nice!!
Lost In Wonder said,
May 20, 2008 @ 7:09 am
I tried this too, and I liked it. But, I think if I made it again, I’d use fresh oregano.
foodiedani said,
May 20, 2008 @ 9:46 am
Hey Lost In Wonder,
Glad you liked it. I wondered why they hadn’t used fresh oregano in it? I think I’ll try fresh next time as well. Fresh herbs are always better than dried…
Dani
Sophie said,
August 4, 2008 @ 12:47 pm
We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email sophiekiblogger@gmail.com if interested. Thanks
melissa said,
August 8, 2008 @ 5:30 pm
and 3 months later…
I finally made these this week. I could have put that marinade in a cup and drank it, it was so good.
Thanks for this. I did see it on Serious Eats when they first posted it, but didn’t really think to put it on my recipe list until you did it. I will use this again for sure. Maybe with chicken next time.
foodiedani said,
August 10, 2008 @ 12:30 am
Melissa!
Thanks for reminding me about this fabulous recipe! I’d almost forgotten how much I enjoyed it! Must make it again! Soon!
Dani