Thursday, July 30, 2009

Mojo Pork Chops

If this entry had a subhead, it would read, "Who names this stuff, anyway?" Usually the coy names of recipes don't bother me, but "Mojo" pork? That's pretty corny.

So, I'm gonna call it what it is: Citrus Spice Pork Chops. Above, you can see the marinade: orange peel, fresh-squeezed orange and grapefruit juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. You can find the recipe here.

We followed the recipe's instruction to use bone-in pork chops, even though I hate cutting around bones. It's my own cross to bear.

And then I made the "mojo" sauce, which is orange juice, grapefruit juice, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. What makes this mojo sauce, seriously? Aside from the garlic, it wasn't that different from the marinade, so I'm not really sure what gives it its mojo-restoring powers.

I fried the chop until they were slightly browned on each side, brushing the pork with mojo sauce as I went. 

And, per Sean's request, we had the chops with chicken-flavored rice. The pork was good and flavorful, but for some reason, all I tasted was cumin. Next time, I may try marinating longer to get more of that citrus action. 

A word: How come my food never looks like the picture? In the picture, the pork chop was much browner, much spicier looking. Mine is....gray. It still tasted good, but it stresses me out when my meal doesn't look like it should. Anyone else bug out over that?

3 comments:

gina-mom said...

they probably air brush... plus i've heard that they undercook meats for photo's in order to preserve juiciness

Joe said...

It's a little tricky getting a good sear on a pork chop. But with all the sugar in that marinade, I'm surprised you didn't get more browning than you did. Maybe try using a little more heat next time?

theshe said...

Yes, Gina, I've heard they undercook it and sear the outside with a heat gun, not unlike the kind used to shrink-wrap things.