My husband is tired of pork chops. No, really, I’ve made them once or twice a week for a while now just trying to perfect the temp and taste. Truth is, it’s more about the technique on a chop than it is what you sprinkle on top. So, this recipe will be more about technique where the chop is concerned.

The carrots are delicious every time and so is the corn. Those are recipes I can do in my sleep now, and it’s a great way to get a non carrot eating human, to be a carrot eating human. The corn is one of those you can literally set and forget until you smell the deliciousness coming from your crockpot in the kitchen. Then you’ll say “I almost forgot I had corn cooking!”

What you’ll need (for the corn)

• 12 half ears of corn (can be frozen, even!)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 – 2T of Cajun seasoning depending on your preference
• 1tsp salt
• 1tsp pepper
• 1 fresh jalapeño (with seeds and membrane removed, or leave a few if you want some hot corn or you want to clear your sinuses)
• A large crockpot

Step by step

Pour the corn in the crockpot, chop up the butter and jalapeño. Put butter, jalapeño, and seasonings on top of the corn. Set Crockpot to HIGH and put the lid on. Let that go for 2 -3 hours and you have delicious, tender corn every time. Just give the ears a stir in the melted butter at the bottom of the crockpot before serving. That. Is. All.

What you’ll need (for the carrots)

• Bag of carrots (this recipe is enough to cover and bake up 12-16 small carrots)
• 1 stick of butter (softened to room temp)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 T orange juice
• Fresh parsley for garnish

Step by step

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel your carrots and trip the ends off. You can leave skins on, if that’s your thing, just clean them well. Lay them out in a 9×13 pan.

Cream your butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon together. Boil your water and add the orange juice to it. Slowly add the water/orange juice mixture to the mixer while it’s on low. You may need to scrape down the sides.

Pour the mixture over the carrots, cover with foil, and put in the 350 degree oven for 1 hr 15 minutes. (Remove the foil the last 15 minutes to get a pretty color on the carrots)

What you’ll need (for the pork chop)

• 1 inch boneless pork chop
• Your favorite marinade or seasonings (for this recipe I used a hatch chili and bacon sauce for marinade and sop then I used a chop house rub prior to cooking. Do not salt for a marinade because we don’t want to draw out moisture in the chop)
• A meat thermometer (preferably one that can stay in a chop the whole time)

Step by step

This time I decided to try a marinade 2 hours prior to dinner, and I just used a hatch chili/bacon sauce we got from Sam’s. The truth is, I would have been just has good with salt and pepper right before cooking. The trick is to not overcook a chop!

Prior to grilling, I bring the chops out of the fridge and let it come to room temp. About 20 minutes. While chops are coming to room temp, heat your gas grill to 450 degrees. You want the grill piping hot so you’ll get an excellent sear.

I put the seasoning on right before it goes on the grill. Be liberal about it. Cover it in seasoning. A chop can take it. Make sure if your rub doesn’t have salt in it, that you salt your chop as well.

Put your thermometer right in the middle of one of your chops, or if you don’t have one, you are only going to cook these bad boys for 4-5 minutes per side, so get a timer ready.

I turn two burners off right prior to opening the lid on my grill and then I put the chops on and close the lid. You’ll lose some heat when you open the grill and that’s ok. That’s why we got it hot. I’m usually cooking my chops around 400 -425 degrees.

Leave them on that’s side for 4 MINUTES. Don’t open the lid until the 4 minute mark and then flip and sop them with some of the sauce. If you wanted, you could sop them with a melted butter/garlic sauce or even sprinkle some more seasoning on them.

Cook for 4 – 5 more minutes and then pull them off when their internal temp is 145 degrees. We are looking for a slight pink tenge in the center when we finally cut into them. BUT DON’T CUT THEM YET. Pull them off the grill, sop in sauce, and cover in foil and let rest for 5 minutes.

Now, you are ready to serve! When you cut into it, you should still see juice running out and it will be clear. There will be a slight pink color to the meat. THAT IS OK. Believe me, I grew up thinking pork had to be white. If you don’t trust me and want to cook it longer, go ahead, but I promise you, the best chop is one that is taken off the grill at 145 degrees and rested. It still cooks a bit more in the foil, and what you’ll have is a juicy, yummy chop what melts in your mouth vs. a piece of pork jerky. Google it. 145 is perfectly done pork. This was life changing stuff! 😂