Cocoa & Chile Rubbed Pork Chops
The recipe for the pork chops can be found in the current
issue (June, 2009) of Food & Wine magazine (p. 67).
Essentially, after letting the pork chops soak in a
mixture of water, kosher salt, and crushed red pepper for
an hour, they are then brushed with olive oil and coated
in a mixture of brown sugar, cocoa, and ancho chili
powder before being put on the grill. I could not find
the ancho chili powder at Kroger. So I went to the local
Hispanic grocery to find it. I was quite proud of myself
for looking up a Spanish word before I got to the market.
The young woman behind the counter spoke no English, but
when she understood "ancho," she led me to whole dried
ancho peppers. I shook my head and quickly said, "polvo"
(powder) and she smiled and handed me just what I needed.
Cooking on the Lodge cast iron Sportsman's Grill.
They might look burnt, but they aren't. This is the rub made from cocoa, brown sugar, and ancho chili powder.
Ready for dinner on a pre-heated cast iron platter (Lodge LSCP3) with potatoes au gratin and green beans.
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