Grilled Pork Chops with Paprika Rub

This spice rub is so easy to make and it tastes great. The prep is quick, but it does need time to sit in the refrigerator to let the meat take on the flavors. I usually make it in my mini food processor so I don't have to cut up the garlic - especially if I'm multiplying this recipe to feed a lot of people.

A lot of my weeknight meals are inspired by recipes in Everyday Food magazine…this is modified from their July/August 2009 issue.

Grilled Pork Chops with Paprika Rub
Serves 4

4 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
½ tsp hot Hungarian paprika (cayenne pepper will work if you don’t have hot paprika)
½ tsp ground black pepper
4 bone-in pork chops

Place all of the ingredients except the pork in a small food processor bowl. Process until the garlic is finely chopped and the ingredients are all incorporated. Scrape the mixture into a gallon-sized thick plastic bag.




Add pork chops to the bag. Seal the bag up, squeezing out any excess air, and gently knead the bag to coat the meat with the spice rub. Refrigerate at least one hour, up to overnight.

Grill over medium-high heat until pork is cooked through. Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your pork, but you’re probably looking at 3 to 5 minutes per side. Pork is considered “medium” when the center is at 160 degrees F – don’t overcook it or it’ll be dry and tough.

If you’re not into pork, try this on beef. This past Father’s Day, I served this spice rub on ribeye steaks and it was a hit. I’m sure it’d be good on chicken too.

If you’re looking for something to take along on a camping trip, toss this together in a thick baggie and freeze it before you leave home. Stick the baggie in a watertight container and let it sit in the ice in your cooler, thawing little by little over the course of your camping trip until it’s soft enough to successfully grill over your campfire. It’ll be delicious, I guarantee!

Steak Tacos, Red Pepper and Corn Salsa, Homemade Refried Beans, and Guacamole

Craving steak tacos?

Thinly-sliced, lime-and-cilantro-flavored steak
Fire-roasted red pepper and corn salsa
Spicy jalapeno pinto beans
Cool and refreshing guacamole

I know I am!

Let's get cooking! Many of the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time. Some items can be cooked ahead and simply reheated, or kept warm over a low grill (that’s what I do at home when I’m just cooking for the family), or in a slow oven (that works well if you’re cooking on a larger scale). I have written the recipes below as if I’m serving them to my family immediately.

All quantities below will serve four people


Steak Marinade
1 lb flank steak, left unsliced
Juice of 2 limes
3 cloves garlic, ran through a garlic press, or chopped
½ of a jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, chopped (more or less to taste)
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground paprika

Place the flank steak in a resealable container or heavy zip-lock bag. Add the remaining marinade ingredients and let rest for several hours, or as long as overnight. Turn/shake the bag occasionally to coat everything evenly.




Meanwhile, start the salsa – it needs to go on the grill first.

Fire-roasted Red Pepper and Corn Salsa
2 red peppers, seeds and ribs removed, cut into thirds
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 ears corn, shucked, but with as much of the stems left intact as possible.
One 16-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp fresh flat-leaved Italian parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped


Prepare your grill to obtain medium to medium-low heat.

Place the red peppers in a medium bowl. Add the onion, separating each quarter into individual pieces. Drizzle olive oil over the onion mixture; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat all pieces.




Carefully place the onion mixture on your grill (you might experience a brief flare-up due to the olive oil). Put the shucked corn on the grill at this time, too. Grill over medium to medium-low heat, turning often, until the skin of the peppers starts to blister and the vegetables are cooked through and lightly charred. (Yes, charred skin is ok!)

If you’re making the homemade refried beans, start the first step of that recipe while you’re waiting for the peppers and corn to grill. Depending on how fast you are, you might also find this is also a good time to mix up guacamole.

Remove the cooked veggies to a flat working surface, such as a heat-resistant cutting board. Allow the vegetables to cool slightly, then carefully use your fingers or a knife to remove the skins of the peppers and any other excessively charred portions of the vegetables. Roughly chop the peppers and onions, then place them in a large bowl.

Carefully cut the corn kernels off of the corn cobs. The easiest way to do this is to cut off the last inch of the tip of the corncob opposite of the stalk, creating a flat end. Place the end flat on your cutting board and use a large, sharp knife to carefully cut straight down the cob. Oh, and if you left the stalk on the end of the corncob, you’ve got yourself a nice handle that usually works out pretty well. CUT CAREFULLY! Did I mention that you should be careful while cutting that corn off? Hey, you could also go out and buy a gadget that accomplishes this task for you…but I’ve never tried it so I can’t comment on its real-world practicality. Once you get those corn kernels off of that cob, add the kernels to the onion mixture.

Add the rinsed and drained black beans, cumin, parsley, and cilantro to the onion mixture and gently stir to incorporate everything. If you’re not ready to serve the salsa yet, I recommend putting it into a foil packet and placing it in a cooler spot on your grill. It can be moved to a warmer spot and reheated right before serving. Although I prefer the salsa served warm, it is good either hot or cold, so you could refrigerate it if you didn’t want to mess around with trying to keep it warm.




Homemade Refried Beans
1 onion, processed or chopped into small pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
One 16-ounce can pinto beans, undrained
2 Tbsp fresh flat-leaved Italian parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tomato, roughly chopped


Step one: (which I recommend you complete while you’re waiting for your veggies to grill if you’re making the salsa…) Place the chopped onion and olive oil in a large frying pan with deep sides. Over medium-low heat, cook the onion until it begins to brown, stirring occasionally. If your heat is low enough, this shouldn’t require too much babysitting, so go back up and finish that salsa…

The rest of the recipe: (This only needs to heat through…so you can do this last step right before serving time.) Add the chopped jalapeno and undrained pinto beans to the pan. Use a potato masher or the back of a spatula to mash and stir up the beans. I mash about half of the beans for a variation in texture. Stir in the parsley, cilantro, and tomatoes.




For the tacos
Lettuce
Tomato, chopped
Grated cheese (I usually use Colby-jack)
Soft tortilla shells (I usually use something from the La Tortilla Factory lineup – they’re a little healthier than most tortilla options I’ve seen)


Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, halved and pitted.
Salt and pepper
Juice of ½ to 1 lime (to taste)


Use a large spoon to scoop the avocado flesh out of the skins. Add salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste. I don’t have a large mortar/pestle, so I just use a big wooden spoon to mash it all up until it’s smooth.




Once you’ve got everything above done, grill up that steak! Prepare your grill to obtain medium high heat. Flank steak is best served rare or medium-rare. Times will vary, but if you're grilling over medium-high heat, you’re probably looking at three or four minutes on each side. Spoon a little of that leftover marinade over the meat as it’s cooking (you boiled that marinade first to avoid those germies, didn’t you?).

Flank steak has a really obvious striated appearance. Thinly slice the cooked steak perpendicular ACROSS the stripes, NOT parallel to the stripes.




Assemble those tacos and eat! (These tacos are so filling, I find rice and tortilla chips aren’t necessary.)



Oh, and if you're a vegetarian, just omit the meat. The beans would be great spooned into the tacos, or try grilling up some marinated portabellas...

Ginger Beef Stir-Fry with Snow Peas and Jasmine Rice

Here’s a quick and easy weeknight dinner idea. The recipe is very flexible: you could easily substitute your favorite quick-cooking vegetable for the snow peas (try broccoli, carrots, or sugar snap peas). If you don’t happen to have any beef on hand, you could use poultry, pork, or a firm tofu in its place. The scallions add a nice flavor and are easier to prepare than onions – no tears! If you have any sesame oil on hand, drizzle a very small amount on top of your plated meals right before serving.


Ginger Beef Stir-Fry with Snow Peas and Jasmine Rice
Serves 4

1 cup jasmine rice (or any Asian rice)
Water, for cooking the rice (refer to the rice package directions for the quantity)
1 lb sirloin steak
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Ground black pepper
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, divided
12 ounces snow peas, trimmed as necessary
Vegetable oil, preferably peanut oil, for stir-frying
1 clove garlic (or to taste)
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
5 scallions
1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce, such as Lee Kum Kee brand (or use your favorite Asian hot sauce, to taste)
Juice of one lime
1 Tbsp brown sugar


Start to cook the rice according to the directions on its package.

Meanwhile, slice the steak as thinly as possible into bite-sized pieces. Toss the pieces in the cornstarch, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Set aside.





Finely chop the garlic; set it aside. Peel and finely chop the ginger; set it aside. Trim the snow peas; set them aside.





Finely chop the scallions, separating the green “tops” from the lighter green and white “bottoms."

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat; add the chopped garlic and the chopped scallion “bottoms” (set the “tops” aside, they will be added later).





Stir-fry the garlic/scallion mixture for a minute or two, then add the trimmed snow peas. Stir-fry the snow peas until they turn bright green, then transfer the snow pea mixture to a bowl, emptying the frying pan.

Heat a small additional amount of vegetable oil to the pan, then add the sliced steak and the chopped ginger to the pan. Stir-fry the meat until it is barely browned – it will just take 1 or 2 minutes. Return the snow pea mixture to the pan; add the chili garlic sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, remaining 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and scallion “tops.” Stir to incorporate and heat all of the ingredients. Serve piping hot with rice.