I was never a huge fan of pork chops growing up. Not sure why… I think I was afraid of pork for a long time. So, I decided I’d better face that fear head on.
What did I discover? My fears of pork are completely unfounded.
Coffee makes everything better
Lydia had some bone-in pork chops in the fridge and it was my night to turn them into dinner. When I asked her what she wanted done, she suggested I combine them with my coffee obsession.
This recipe takes a little pre-planning, but save some of your morning java, and you are set. Coffee should be an ingredient more often. It goes with sweet and savory and spicy equally well. I like maple syrup, so this marinade/glaze joins up with the brewed coffee to bring out the natural sweetness of the pork.
Sear the chop to lock in the juices
Now, for my coffee tangent. I kind of like coffee. I brew our coffee every morning, because really that’s my deal and not Lydia’s. She would tell you she doesn’t even know where we keep the coffee and brewing components. Plus I am a little particular, I like freshly roasted coffee. There are some fantastic roasters here in our little city. I am particularly a fan of the coffee the guys over at La Barba put out. I used their house blend in this recipe. We have several different ways to brew coffee around here, but for this recipe I used our French Press.
Reduce the saved portion of marinade for a glaze
Ingredients
- 2 - 4 pork chops
- Maple Coffee Marinade:
- 2 cups brewed coffee, cooled
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 4 tbs red wine vinegar
- 2 tbs German style mustard
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Method
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients in the maple coffee marinade together. Set aside 1/2 of the liquid.
- Rinse the chops well and pat dry.
- Pour the mixture into a zip top bag and add the chops.
- Seal the bag and shake it to completely cover the chops.
- Let the chops sit in this mixture for at least two hours in the fridge, over night is better.
- One hour before cooking, pull the chops out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Discard the marinade from the bag.
- Pour the set aside marinade into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Simmer the marinade for 10 - 15 minutes until it has reduced down. This will be the glaze later.
- Pre-heat the oven to 450. Put a little oil, coconut or grapeseed, and heat in a cast iron skillet, or something you can transfer to the oven.
- Once the skillet is hot, sear the chops for 60 seconds per side. Move the skillet to the oven and cook for three minutes, flip the chops and cook another three minutes. Test for doneness.
- Depending on the thickness of the chops you may need to cook a little longer.
- Once the desired temp is reached pull the chops out of the oven, and move them to a plate to rest for five minutes.
- Pour the reduced glaze over the chops, serve and enjoy.
– Greg
This section may contain affiliate links, for which we may be compensated. This compensation allows us to continue to create unique content and covers the operation costs associated with this blog. We promise never to recommend anything that we do not 100% believe in and personally use.
Ingredients & Supplies in this Post:
- Lodge Cast Iron Skillet
- French Press
- La Barba Coffee
- Maple Syrup
Awesome ideas. I love Charming Beard/La Barba coffee as a culinary pop too.
Could not agree more Joe. La Barba Coffee and Porch Sitting are Sunday morning institutions ’round here. Thanks for the comment.
WHAT CAN I SUB FOR THE GINGER
Hi Greg! If you aren’t a fan of ginger, you can easily leave it out. Or you could add some 1/8 tsp ground cloves for a similar feel. Thanks for asking!