Grilled Sweet Chili Pork Chops

My dear hubby and I are always trying to come up with fun, new options for dinner here in our casa. Rather than the same old spaghetti, tacos and chili dogs, we opt for things like chicken tikka masala, barbecued pork ribs and ribeyes with onion & blue cheese sauce. What can I say -- we like to keep things interesting. 

This summer, we've decided to make something that we can cross off our #PorkBucketList. That's right, thanks to the National Pork Board, there's a pork bucket list. If you haven't crossed something off of it this summer, well, then, it's time! This summer we've crossed off "grilled pork chops," and i'm so glad we did. We are huge pork chop fans in our family, but for some reason, we've never taken them to the grill! 

But that's all different now... Now that we've seen how amazingly tender and juicy and flavorful they are, I'm not sure if we will be able to resist grilling every pork chop from now on.

Plus, after we grilled them, we brushed on a deliciously sweet and only somewhat spicy sweet chili sauce that will knock your socks off! Or, for the summer equivalent, your flip flops. The next time you're looking for something different to grill, give these babies a try! You will not be disappointed.

Grilled Sweet Chili Pork Chops:

Ingredients:

• 6 {thick}  boneless pork chops

For the brine:

• 10 cups water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper

Sweet Chili Sauce:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 {small} red chili pepper, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

Place pork chops in brine for at least 30 minutes before placing on the grill. 

Prepare charcoal for indirect cooking.Prepare your BBQ for indirect cooking. You can do this by either raking the hot briquettes to each side of the meat, or by stacking the charcoal to one side and placing the ribs over the other side (or "cold" side of the grill). This is very important in keeping the meat from overcooking and becoming dry and burnt. You want it to cook slowly with no heat directly below.

Remove chops from brine and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place chops on hot side of grill, grill for 2-3 minutes per side, then move over to "cold" side. Cover and cook until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees {approximately 14-16 minutes.}

Place sauce ingredients, minus the cornstarch, in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook sauce for about 5-6 minutes then sprinkle in cornstarch while whisking quickly to incorporate into sauce, leaving no lumps. Place sauce in a small bowl, cover and set aside until ready to use.

Generously brush {or pour} sauce over pork chops and serve.

Makes 6 pork chops.