Pork Chops with Peach Salsa

We were on vacation last summer when we found this recipe.  Sara's exact quote upon finding this in the free Pigeon Forge, TN magazine was "This is the classiest thing to come out of Pigeon Forge!" 

OK, so my wife wasn't a huge fan of the touristy town with it's shopping malls, putt-putt courses and go-kart tracks.  She's more of a hiking and biking kind of gal, which I wholly appreciate.  Luckily, she also likes pork chops - or pork cutlets as the case may be tonight.

The recipe is a two-parter: first the salsa and then the pork chops.  And both are super easy. 

The Salsa:
1/4 cup chopped red onions
2 medium fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
3 Tbsp chopped green pepper
1 Tbsp lime juice

Combine all salsa ingredients in a medium bowl.  Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour.

First, we didn't have a good green pepper, so we substituted...mango, naturally.  And I cut up a whole mango, which yields a little more than 3 Tbsp.  So maybe our version is more like Mango-Peach salsa?  Second, we refrigerated for about 20 minutes, and it was fine.

The pork:
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed dried basil
4 (3/4-inch thick) pork chops

Heat gas grill on medium or charcoal grill until coals are ash white.  Meanwhile, combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, and basil in a small bowl; sprinkle both sides of the pork chops.  Place chops on the grill.  Cover; grill, turning once, until desired doneness (10 to 15 minutes). Serve the chops topped with salsa.

I treated this like a rub and found I needed about twice as much as they suggested.  We also used pork cutlets because it's more expensive as a "chop", and I think Sara feels she gets cheated by paying for the bone. 

Now for the grilling.  I exclusively use gas.  Not because I think gas is superior or charcoal is inferior.  I just don't own a charcoal grill...yet.  Maybe next summer, or if I can get one cheap this fall.  Eventually, I will build one out of bricks and stones and it will be magnificent.  Until then, I have a pretty sweet gas grill, so I'll use the heck out of that.  When it comes to cooking meat, I am of the school of thought that it is best to sear the meat on each side and then let it cook to the desire temperature.  This locks in the moisture and flavor of the meat, making every bite juicy, tender and oh-so-tasty.  My cousin disagrees, preferring the "low and slow" method (which is actually more of a charcoal method - even though he's using gas, too).  This will be settled in a later post.  Finally, I have fallen in love with our food / meat thermometer.  It's just a simple OXO brand thermometer, but it comes with a handy storage sleeve that has a rotating dial with all of the recommended internal temperatures for your favorite cuts of meat.  It's really handy.  I cooked these pork cutlets to 160 deg F and they were PERFECT. 

This recipe cooked up very nicely and pretty quickly, too.  We made macaroni and cheese (organic, of course) as a side dish.  We hope you can give it a shot this summer, and, please, come back and tell us what you did differently, if anything, and how it turned out.  Enjoy!