It’s Nelson at the keyboard today. Well, it is February in Canada so we shouldn’t complain about snow of all things. I think the reason why this news is catching us off guard is because we’ve had it so easy this year. Just a couple of weeks ago, I took a day off to visit a buddy and it was almost 16 ºC (60.8 ºF). It was the hottest day in February in recorded history in Toronto. So as Canadians in the Greater Toronto area, I think we’ve become a little soft this year :-). Well, apparently we’re expecting approximately 25 cm of snow tomorrow. I say, bring it on! We want to take the kids tobogganing!
I recently visited our friends at Micatoni’s–our favourite butcher! Have I mentioned that yet? I’m sure I have in previous posts, but these guys are really “a cut above the rest” (pardon the pun). As soon as I walked in, I heard “Ehhh Nelson!!!” from both owners… like I’d just walked into a buddy’s house. The next thing out of their mouths was to ask how my last purchase had panned out for my Azores slow cooked pot roast. This level of service and product quality is something rare nowadays, and I so appreciate it. Remember the show Cheers? (Yes, I just dated myself). The theme song was “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”. That’s how you feel at Micatoni’s (and, no, we are not getting paid to say this). Our eldest son was with me during the visit and as we were leaving, he commented on how cool that experience was. I like that he’s exposed to stuff like that… great personalized customer service… a positive example for a future entrepreneur… and a life lesson about how to treat people!
I didn’t just stop by the butcher to get some attention though, I had ‘meat on the bbq’ on my mind. I ended up buying some amazing rib pork chops and I think I could already taste them on my way home.
Tonight was music night for our eldest son, so I didn’t have a lot of time to prep dinner. The beauty of today’s recipe is that it only takes about 5 to 7 minutes to prepare the rub and chops and then another 14 or so minutes on the grill. Is that perfect for a weeknight dinner, or what? The end result was these amazing pork chops. They had a nice crispy finish on the outside and they were tender and juicy on the inside with a perfect southern-style flavour throughout. Oh ya…that’s what I’m talking about!
Build relationships with your community businesses; don’t let the cold keep you inside and… always eat well friends!
- 4 rib pork chops (2.6 lbs or 1.2 kg), about one inch thick
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp old bay seasoning
- ½ lemon
- Remove the pork chops from the fridge
- Dry them with a paper towel and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Start up the BBQ and set to 450 ºF
- In a small bowl, mix the paprika, chili powder, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and old bay seasoning.
- Coat the pork chops with the dry rub generously on all sides and let sit for an additional 10 minutes.
- Open the BBQ / Grill lid and place the pork chops on the grill. Close the lid immediately.
- Leave them on the grill for 4 minutes.
- Open the lid and turn the pork chops on the other side. Let cook for four minutes.
- Repeat the last two steps for 3 more minutes on each side or until the internal temperature is 145 ºF
- Remove the pork chops from the BBQ / Grill and place them on a serving dish
- Squirt the half lemon over the pork chops.
- Tent with aluminum foil and rest the pork chops for 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with your favourite side dish.
Wow.. wish I saw this earlier on today .. we also had pork ..only it was boneless pork loin .. not sure how this recipe would work on boneless ..but better than what I ended up with .. tried something different but didn’t really like it and didn’t hit that spot..live and learn .. next time pork is on the menu will try this .. thanks for sharing
Hi Kelly, same recipe and a little less time on the grill should do it. Make sure to test the temperature. Too much higher and they become dry on the inside. Don’t forget the resting step at the end… it makes a huge difference. Take care and thanks for the feedback.
What a beautiful and tasty looking recipe! Very creative.
Thanks so much Sarah, it was a hit at home.
I love how how it only takes a short time to prepare it and yet you get to have a superb end result. Yum!