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Honey Thyme Chops
Spiking up your everyday cooking doesn’t have to be difficult at all. It’s the little things that make a really big difference. Even when you can’t afford expensive foods like steak, seafood or brisket on a regular basis, you can still turn simple things into something really special. This easy and fast marinade turns a regular ole pork chop (or chicken) into something extraordinary.
I’m using my favorite boneless “cook for only a minute or two and they’re done” kinda pork chops. Gotta love fast cooking! Pork really benefits from a little sweetness and honey benefits from a little thyme. You got yourself a classic win-win situation.
Ingredients:
4 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp coarse mustard
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
thyme
Directions:
Pour 4 tbsp honey in a bowl. This will be the basis of your marinade. I like how honey literally sticks to the meat. Now things tend to burn easy with honey in the marinade, but you’ll be perfectly safe when you use pork chops that require very little cooking time or when you flatten the chicken before grilling it.
Add 1 tbsp orange juice (you can also use lemon juice), 1 tbsp oil, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp coarse mustard, 1/2 tsp salt and a small pinch of cayenne.
Beautiful, fragrant thyme. There’s something comforting about the combination of honey, thyme and orange juice to me. Probably a scent I subconsciously associate with something from my childhood. Lemon thyme also works really well for this. Add as much thyme as you like. Just run your fingers down the stem from top to bottom to strip it.
Now whisk until you a have beautiful amber-colored syrup.
The pork chops! I always buy chops that still have a tiny bit of fat along the edge. It definitely adds to the flavor. Normally when you pierce meat with a fork you let its natural juices escape, but in this case I do pierce it here and there, not only to tenderize the meat but also to make sure the marinade seeps into the meat a little.
Cover the pork chops with a generous amount of marinade and sprinkle a little black pepper on top. Let the flavors incorporate for roughly 5 minutes. Just enough time to heat up the grill and set the table.
Get your grill as hot as you can, no need to oil it because there’s oil in the marinade. Now place the meat on top. It should really sizzle.
Flip over the pork chops after a minute or two and cook the other side for an additional 2 minutes. Don’t overcook them! Nothing worse than overcooked pork chops.
I just love grill stripes, especially honey induced grill stripes look great. You know how this smells right now, don’t you? Close your eyes and envision it! Nah, that’s mean.
The juices that ooze out are infused with sweet honey and thyme, creating the most perfect gravy. It doesn’t need anything else. Serve with a few thyme sprigs on top and you’re done.
These are so good and so quick! If you’ll excuse me, I really have to go sink my teeth into one of these before it gets cold :)
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Acutally honey is very expensive here. I very seldom buy it. This sounds good though. I make a pork chop with a brown sugar rub, everyone loves them. I will have to try these and see if these go over just as well.
Those pork chops look perfectly golden brown and good!
Heather, amazing how things are different all over the world. Cheddar, for instance, is crazy expensive here.
Mmmmm … these look great, and easy too!
These look great. I’m usually a lemon-thyme girl, but I’m definitely going to try the honey. The man loves pork, and I don’t cook it for him enough. I’ll give this one a whirl very soon.
These look heavenly! I have been wanting to make pork chops but have not found an appealing idea for cooking them. Pork chops on are the menu for this week now : )
I’ve got a couple of those skinny pork chops in my freezer just waiting for this marinade! Dinner for Monday: Done.
Thanks… great post and great photographs!
I am lucky. My bestest friend has bees and I have an unending source of honey. Wish you also had a link to a printable recipe! just saying..
Lindie, I do have a printable recipe. On the bottom of every posting is a little printer icon!
I love this recipe, but of course I can’t help myself tweaking it a little. And I think I tweaked this one . . . a lot. I added a LOT of balsamic vinegar in lieu of the juice. It came out BEAUTIFULLY! Thanks for the inspiration!
Melissa, you’re welcome! I tweak everything .. constantly :)
Just out of curiosity, your ingredients call for 1/4 tsp. of garlic powder, but in the recipe itself you call for 1/8 tsp. Which did you mean?
Looking forward to trying this recipe! I never can figure out what to do with pork.
Jana, it was 1/8 I’ve used but 1/4 would work great as well. It doesn’t come down to a pinch more or less, really.
Pork gets so boring at times, this really spikes it up!
I love your website Kay! thank you for taking the time to create it. Photos are great. Food looks yummy.
These were so good! I don’t have a grill, so I pan fried them. The chops turned out so beautifully golden, very juicy. The flavors were light and sweet and absolutley delicious. I added extra garlic powder because I love garlic. I served the chops with rice, steamed broccoli, and a beet salad (with onion, browned garlic, and tomato-basil feta crumbles). So delicious! Thank you Kay!
Ik heb deze een tijdje geleden gemaakt en ze waren erg goed! Lekker gecarameliseerd tintje van de honing, zalig!
This recipe was amazing! My dad is a very good chef, and so I always feel the pressure to try and make the perfect meal on the rare occasion when he relinques the kitchen. And this meal definitally was perfect.
He tasted it and grudgingly agreed it was completely delicious. ;)
He then made me make up the other five pork chops with it, while he pretended not to watch what ingredients I was using. :)
Thanks! Totally delicious! :D
Was just looking for a chops recipe and found this. Making it tonight! Thanks :)
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your blog? My website is in the exact same niche as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from a lot of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Appreciate it!
I’ve never had pork chops. This recipe looked so yummy! Now I love pork chops. And this recipe. *drool* Totally recommended for picky eaters!
Saw this recipe and made it tonigh. We used our cast iron grill pan, didn’t add any oil like you said. They stuck to the pan and it got really smokey in our kitchen. unfortunately it was -6 degrees out so when we opened the windows it was extremely cold in the house. all in all the chops are amazing !! Thanks for the recipe
These were so delicious! Hubby said more salt next time though. ; )
I don’t have a grill. Can I just cook the pork chops on skillet??