Back in the late 80's, a new restaurant opened up in the historic warehouse district in downtown Minneapolis that changed my entire perspective on pork chops. That restaurant was J.D. Hoyt's Supper Club. The number one featured item on their menu was a Grilled Cajun Pork Chop. Now I'm a steak guy through and through, but once I tasted these pork chops at J.D. Hoyt's, that is all I ever ordered every time I went there.
The restaurant is still open and is still one of my favorite downtown destinations. If you go, eat on the old side (to your left) with the low ceilings and the big red booths. The new side (on your right) is a later expansion that lacks the gritty, old school, supper club feel. The old side is much more colorful as the strippers on break from the Deja Vu club next door sit at the bar and pound cocktails. Makes for a very eclectic crowd...bankers and lawyers in suits, pro athletes and strippers.
I do not have their recipe for Grilled Cajun Pork Chops, but I have been working for years on coming as close as I can to what I taste in their pork chop. And this recipe is pretty darn close, if not spot on. This recipe serves 4 and I always serve it up with hash browns. Enjoy!
Ingredients
4 center cut pork chops, 1 1/2 inches thick
1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 large chunk hickory wood
1 large chunk mesquite wood
Directions
- Prepare a charcoal fire for direct grilling over high heat.
- Combine all spices and mix well. Coat chops with spice mixture.
- When coals are white hot, add hickory and mesquite to coals.
- Place chops on grill over coals. Cover and cook for 5 minutes per side.
- When done cooking, remove chops from grill, tent with foil and let them rest for 5 minutes. Then serve.
Wine pairing: Zinfandel
Couple of thoughts here - First of all, bravo for your work on this!
ReplyDeleteOne thing that always struck me was how juicy and tender the chops were. Also, the flavor seemed to be infused in the chop, not just a regular chop with seasonings on the outside. I'd recommend brining the chops first in a standard brine of 1/2 C salt per gallon of purified water, just work down in quantities as needed. A nice thick 2" chop like they have should be about an hour or so. You can add some seasonings to the brine as desired - I think they did because of the flavor infusing all the way into the chops.