Deck's POG Pork Chops with Roasted Corn Salad

There is absolutely nothing like a bright, sunny Spring Day in Seattle.  For me it means throwing on the sunglasses, listening to Summertime by Will Smith, having a beer, and grilling.

For this recipe I was inspired by two things.  First, was some flavors from Hawaii; Passion, Orange and Guava.  This combination, commonly referred to as POG, can be found as a juice pretty much everywhere you go, and is something that I order quite frequently.  Second was a dish that I saw in an episode of Top Chef Masters.

Now I don't know if POG and roasted corn are meant to be combined, but for this dish, the flavors actually worked pretty well together, and the corn received a "This is the best corn I've had" response from my number 1 critic.

Deck's POG Pork Chops with Roasted Corn Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For Pork Chops:
- 2 Pork Chops (I prefer bone-in, thick cut)
- 1 Passionfruit
- 1 Guava
- 3-4 medium large mandarins (if you use navel oranges, 3 should be enough), juiced
- 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

For Roasted Corn Salad
- 2 ears sweet yellow corn in husks, silks removed, soaked in water
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1-2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- 1-2 Tbsp thinly sliced scallion
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 4 oz. queso fresco crumbled (can substitute feta if queso fresco or Cotija is not available)

For this recipe, I prefer using the grill, but if the weather is inclement or you don't have a grill, a grill pan should be ok.


The order for this meal is to first make the POG sauce to be added to the pork chops, followed by the corn and then the pork chops themselves.

Step 1:  Combine the passionfruit, guava, orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan.  For the passionfruit, cut it in half, and scoop out the fruit from the inside.  For the guava, remove the skin, and cut into small pieces.



Step 2:  Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it begins to boil, then reduce the heat to medium, and continue to simmer until the mixture has been reduced by about half.  When reduced, use a hand blender (or pour into a blender) and puree.  Then strain the mixture and set aside for later.

Step 3:  Pre-heat the grill to high.  Once the grill is heated, add the corn, still in husks to the grill.  You should have removed the silks and soaked in water.  This technique will cook the corn by steaming it within the husk.  Every five minutes rotate the corn a third.  You will steam the corn for about 15 minutes.

Step 4:  While the corn is steaming, combine the lime, cilantro, scallion and cheese in a bowl.  You can adjust the amount of cilantro and lime to personal tastes.  Do NOT add the butter at this point.

Step 5:  Remove the corn from the grill and remove the husks.  Be careful of the steam released when you remove the husks.

Step 6:  Lower the heat on the grill to medium-high.  Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, and add to the grill.  At the same time, add the corn back to the grill now without the husks.

Step 7:  After about 3-4 minutes, rotate the corn.  It should be getting a nice char on the outside.  Also flip the pork chops over at this point.  Apply the POG sauce liberally to the pork chops.

Step 8:  Flip the pork chops one more time and the POG sauce again.  Finish cooking for about 2 minutes to get to medium.  Remove from the grill, and let rest for about 3 or 4 minutes.  Add the remainder of the sauce and serve.

Step 9:  While the pork is resting, remove the corn from the grill.  Using a knife, remove the corn from the cob and add to the lime, cilantro, scallion and cheese.  Stir to coat evenly.  At this point, melt the butter, and pour over the corn right before serving.

Enjoy!