This is an impressive main course to serve to guests (ours were Angie and Scott). The pretty pink sauce is fruity and tangy, a perfect balance for the spicy pork. What’s even better about this recipe is that most of the work can be done ahead of time.
Moroccan Spiced Pork Chops with Pluot Sauce
Pluot Sauce
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons thinly sliced candied ginger
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 whole star anise
- 2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 rounded cups small diced peeled pluots (about 3 pluots)
1. Stir together vinegar, ginger, sugar, star anise, mustard, pepper, cloves, and cinnamon in a small sauce pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Turn the heat down to low and add pluots. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cover and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Remove the star anise and cool.
- 4 (1 1/2″) thick cut boneless pork chops
- 3 x Moroccan Spice Blend recipe
1. Preheat your grill. Rub a generous amount of spice blend all over the chops. There will be extra spice left. Set aside and rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
2. Place on the grill for 3 minutes, then rotate 90 degrees but still on the same side for another 3 minutes. Turn over and cook for 3 minutes, then rotate 90 degrees for another 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and rest for 5 minutes. Serve with Pluot Sauce.
*cooking times will vary per grill. These times yield a medium-rare to medium cooked chop.
To prepare ahead of time, make the Pluot Sauce the day before and store in the fridge. Bring back to room temperature before serving. You can also make the Morrocan Spice Blend any number of days before hand.
Update 09/03/08 – We had left over Pluot Sauce and Moroccan Spice blend so I used the same recipe on Red Snapper Filets. It was just as good, so if you don’t eat pork, you can use this recipe for fish. I imagine it would be fine with chicken too.
brown sugar, mustard, cloves, cinnamon–it’s as if you’ve raided my cabinet and pulled out all my favorite flavors to use for that sauce! it sounds amazing, and even though i’ve never tried pluots, i’m sure they contribute nicely. awesome meal!
Grace, I could be your Northern twin.
Gorgeous: thick pork chop with that sauce! Yummy!
Thanks JS.
Wow! Great recipe! I bet Morocans will be rushing to the stores to buy some pork and make this dish at home!
But isn’t Morocco a predominately Muslim country?
Oh, and Muslims don’t eat pork.
Oops.
Jason, it was delicious and because something is Moroccan Spiced, doesn’t mean I made a dish for Moroccan’s to eat. Because something is Curried or Asian Spiced doesn’t mean it’s exclusively for Indians or Asians.