Puerto Rican-Style Marinated Pork Chops

 I am a Food and Wine magazine subscriber.  I love getting it every month and looking at the recipes and reading about new techniques, restaurants and chefs.  Their What to Cook Next segment of the July 2011 issue is dedicated to marinades with bold flavors.  That is right up our alley for summer.  We love to marinate meat and grill it.  One of the first things Joe and I went out and bought after we purchased our home two years ago was a grill.  We had virtually no furniture in the house but we had to make sure we had a grill.  After nearly 10 years of apartment living we missed being able to have grilled food whenever we wanted.  That grill has gotten quite a workout since!  The Puerto Rican-Style Marinade caught my eye earlier this week.  This marinade is inspired by lechon, a slow-roasted Puerto Rican pork dish.  I had double cut pork chops in the freezer and going along with my theme of using only ingredients we had in house, I had all of the ingredients needed to make this marinade in my pantry.  Plus it had a quick marinating time so it was perfect for a weeknight meal.  I served the pork chops with beans and rice and it was very good.  I only marinated the chops for about 30 minutes as the recipe suggested but next time I will let them sit a little bit longer since they were double cut but the flavor was great.

Puerto Rican-Style Marinated Pork Chops
From Food & Wine Magazine

For the marinade:
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. sweet paprika
1 tbsp. ancho chile powder
3/4 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tbsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

In a mini food processor, process the ingredients into a paste.  Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

For the pork chops
2 double cut boneless pork chops
1 recipe marinade

Rub the marinade onto 2 double cut boneless pork chops and let stand for 45 minutes or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.  Light the grill.  Scrape off the marinade, brush with oil and grill over medium-high heat, turning once or twice, until cooked, about 25 minutes.

Serve with rice and seasoned black beans.