Recipe: Coffe Crusted Pork Chops

My husband and I enjoy a near-gourmet meal once in a great while. Yes, I said near-gourmet; in our part of the Midwest, the closest five-star restaurant is three hours away. This leaves us with the option of either dining at the three- to four-star restaurants in our area or making the long three hour trek to Chicago. For us, staying home makes much more sense...and it's so much easier on the pocketbook.

Anyway, my point to this story is that we have come to love a local restaurant that serves coffee crusted pork chops. The delicious chops are always tender, and the flavor profile is unbelievable, with the combination of coffee and pork dancing on the tongue.

Of course, pork chops that good come at a fairly hefty price ($30 per plate). Don't get me wrong: I don't mind shelling out the cash once in a while...but not all the time. So, I was inspired to seek out a similar recipe on the Net recently, and this is what I found: Coffee Crusted Pork Chops, courtesy of Anny's Blog.

Coffee Crusted Pork Chops

Coffee Rub:

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground coffee
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 pork chops
• 1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:
In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, coffee, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside. Prepare the grill to cook direct over medium heat. Trim any fat from the pork chops. Brush lightly with olive oil. Season the pork chops all over with the coffee rub. Let rest for 10 minutes before cooking. Place the pork chops on the grill. Cook for about 10 minutes on each side or until well-browned. Internal temperature should reach 140 degrees F. Let rest five minutes before serving.

My Review and Thoughts

This recipe was very good. The meat was flavorful and remained moist, and it was similar to the famed pork chops from the local restaurant that I was trying to duplicate. A few tweaks to the recipe should help me grill up an even better chop next time.

In the future, when I make this dish again, I plan to use freshly ground coffee. This time I simply used Folgers, just to see if I could mimic the flavor profile. But I think freshly-ground coffee of a coarser grind should help make the coffee flavor shine a little more. I also may decrease the amount of chili powder, but I'll try out the coffee swap first.

So that's it: Coffee Crusted Pork Chops in a nutshell!

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