Dinner · Tested at home
Jamaican Jerk Inspired Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Depending on what the weather is doing where you are, this might be one of your last good chances to fire up the grill before fall really takes over.
This is one of those recipes where you get a little bit of everything. The pork is spicy, savory, sweet, and ultra flavorful. Then the pineapple salsa brings in even more sweetness, acid, herbs, and another little hit of heat. The pork chops sit in the marinade for a few hours before they hit the grill. I like using thick chops here, about an inch, because they give you enough time to build some color on the outside without drying them out.I also use a two zone setup on the grill. Instead of putting the chops over the screaming hot heat, I cook it on the cooler side first. Once the chops get to around 120 to 125°F internally, I brush them with some reserved marinade and move them over the hot side. Those last couple minutes over high heat caramelizes the outside and gives you a ton of flavor. And definitely grill the pineapple and red onion for the salsa. That little bit of char makes a huge difference!
Get everything ready
Ingredients
Tap an ingredient as you use it to keep your place.
- Pork chops
- Grilled pineapple salsa
Turn up the heat
Let’s cook.
- Add the green onions, Scotch bonnets or habaneros, ginger, garlic, thyme, cilantro, brown sugar, ground allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, lime juice, lime zest, soy sauce, vinegar, lager or pineapple juice and salt to a blender.
- Blend until mostly smooth.
- Before adding the pork, set aside a small amount of the marinade in a separate container. You will use this later when the chops go over the hot side of the grill.
- Add the pork chops to the remaining marinade and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.
- For the salsa, cut the pineapple into thick rounds or planks that are easy to grill. Cut the red onion into thick slices or rounds so they stay together on the grill.
- Lightly brush the pineapple and onion with olive oil and grill until softened and nicely charred on both sides.
- Let them cool slightly, then chop them.
- Combine the grilled pineapple and onion with the red bell pepper, habanero, cilantro, ginger, lime juice and honey. Season with salt and black pepper and set aside.
- Set up the grill for two zone cooking, with one side hot and the other side cooler.
- Remove the pork chops from the marinade and let the excess drip off. Discard the marinade that touched the raw pork.
- Put the chops on the cooler side of the grill, close the lid, and cook until the internal temperature reaches about 120 to 125°F.
- Brush the chops with some of the marinade you reserved earlier.
- Move the pork over the hot side of the grill and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes per side, until the outside is nicely caramelized and the pork reaches 145°F internally.
- Let the pork rest for a few minutes, then pile on the grilled pineapple salsa.
Recipe Notes
The source lists optional whole allspice berries but does not specify how to use them; no method has been invented.
And definitely grill the pineapple and red onion for the salsa. That little bit of char makes a huge difference!