A Second Chance for Porkchops

It's not often you get a second chance when cooking – at least not on the same night. If you burn something, or it doesn't turn out right, you order pizza and that's that. But I got a second chance with my porkchops the other night as I cooked for myself, and then two hours later, my husband. He got the better end of that deal.

Here's this week's recipe from Betty Crocker: Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin and Pineapple

I was going to buy actual Pork Tenderloin, which would have in the end probably been better, but what was available at the grocery store looked to be way more than my husband and I could eat. So instead I bought porkchops, ie pork loin minus the tender.


I don't cook with pork very often, primarily because when I do, I overcook it. This week was no exception. I also don't own a grill, and this recipe called for grilling. I instead baked the porkchops, and the cooking times I found online for baking varied from 25 minutes to over an hour.

But back to the beginning … I marinaded the pork the night before with the simple marinade the recipe called for. The marinade was OK. But I am learning that while Betty Crocker has decent recipes, they are always missing a little bit of kick or excitement. They are almost too simple. At least on the entrée side …

ingredients for the marinade

in the marinade

About 20 hours later - the next evening - I baked my first porkchop for my dinner. I started out at 30 minutes 350 degrees; when I took the temperature of the meat, it shot way above what was required.

When I baked my husband's porkchops after he arrived home, I started at 20 minutes, tested the temp, and then put it back in until it was done. For him, I cooked two porkchops. They shared the oven with the potatoes, so the porkchops took longer. But they ended up much more tender than the porkchop I had eaten a couple hours earlier. Lesson learned.

With the porkchops, I grilled pineapple on my grill pan.

And served baby Yukon gold potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper and thyme, and drizzled with olive oil, for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. They were my favorite part of the meal.

yum!

The pineapple was good as well, especially when you paired a bite of pineapple with a bite of porkchop. All in all the second batch of porkchops that I baked for my husband was much better than the first.

I'll have to give this recipe (or a version of it) a third try with actual pork tenderloin. Perhaps the third time will be the charm.