Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple and Tangy Side Dish

Are you looking for some healthy grilled pork chops? Then today’s post is completely dedicated to a recipe which is perfect for summer and its good for the people who are health freaks and look for such recipes which have calories lower than 250. Nevertheless, recently I tried this amazing recipe shared by one of my friend, this easy grilled pork chops  have a perfect combination of flavors and essence. The coffee and molasses used as marinade gives it an amazing taste and lemon juice just give that zing to this recipe which is absolutely delightful.

For a perfect grilled pork recipe, the most important procedure is its marinade. There are plenty of marinade recipes which you can go for. Choose a marinade recipe that sounds upright and then let your meat marinate for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Let the marinade get absorbed by the meat. There is a common myth that marinade helps in tendering the meat, which is not completely true. The only marinate which actually helps in breaking the fiber of meat are the one which are taken from an animal i.e. buttermilk or yogurt! All the other are alkaline base and acidic base which helps in distributing the flavors evenly in the meat. Under acidic base you have lemon, pineapple, vinegar and all sour ingredients that you use for marinade. In alkaline base you use papaya; papaya actually breaks the molecules and fiber of the meat completely which makes meat soggy in taste. So if you are grilling meat where you need nice crisp texture, avoid using papaya marinade for the grilling.

The time duration of marinade vary from 2 hours for pork chops and 6 to 8 hours for pork tenderloin and pork loin roasts. And the only key for a successfully pork cooking is to be careful with overcooking. Monitoring and checking each sides whether it’s cooked or not is important for the recipe. Anyways I got this recipe from one of my friend and this recipe is adapted from the “my recipes” cooking section. 

So, let’s start cooking this wonderful grilled pork chop recipe – 

This recipe serves up to 8 servings 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes (excluding overnight marinade)

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:-

• 1 pound i.e. 2 pork tenderloins, trimmed

Pork Marinade

• 1 ½ cups chopped green onions 
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• ¾ teaspoon dried thyme 
• ¼ teaspoon or a pinch of ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 habanero pepper 
• Oil for cooking or cooking spray

Side Dish

• 2 cups finely chopped pineapple $
• 3/4 cup finely chopped ripe plum (about 3 medium)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce

Method –

1. To prepare pork marinade, first combine 13 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Place green onion mixture in a large zip-top bag. Add pork to bag; seal. Marinate and refrigerate it for 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. 
2. Prepare grill. 
3. Remove pork from bag; and discard marinade. Place pork on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155° or until desired degree of doneness. Let pork stand 10 minutes. Slice pork into ½ inch-thick slices. 
4. To prepare side dish, simply combine pineapple and remaining ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Serve with pork. 

I hope you will like this healthy and easy grilled pork chop recipe. Till then stay healthy and blessed!!

Love 

Sylvia