The Other White Meat

The Scull's Spread and associated authors almost met an untimely end this week. First, let me explain by describing the day we had. The booming metropolis of Jacksonville, NC only houses one shopping mall of say, oh, 20 stores? And with the largest population of single males in the entire United States this makes for quite the crowds. After being pelted with sling-shotted angry bird in the Barnes & Noble by a group of boisterous boy scouts, wading through what my excellent observations skills deemed 10, 000 other people at Walmart, and spending 30 minutes just finding an associate at Sears what I needed was a good meal and an even better drink. Unfortunately, after the sensory overload of Christmas music, spirit, shopping and madness I was not on top of my game. Fortunately, anything that I cooked on TOP of the stove proved magnificent; it was the homemade garlic bread that stayed on broil for 45 minutes that met an untimely end. After finishing the main dish with all doors and windows open, fans on, and smoke alarms ripped quickly out of the walls we were able to enjoy one of my favorite meals.
I really enjoy cooking pork for a myriad of reasons. I like that cuts are lean and the price is absolutely unbeatable. Pork, mustard, and maple are a common combination in recipes. Like most of my other dishes, I've combined aspects of 3-5 different recipes and tweaked to add some additions of my own. This is a perfect weekend or date night meal, just don't forget the garlic bread in your oven ....

Mesquite Marinated Pork with Mustard, Maple Glaze and Caramelized Onions

For the Pork
4 boneless pork chops
1 packet mesquite marinade

For the Sauce
1 cup sugar free syrup (or maple syrup if you prefer)
1/4 cup whole grain mustard (I like sweet, hot)
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tblsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

For the onions
1 large vidalia onion, sliced thin
1 tblsp butter

1. Prepare marinade according to package directions. Marinade pork chops for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat.
3. Grill pork chops over medium heat until they reach your level of doneness. We like well done pork so about 4-5 minutes per side.

4. Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients into a saucepan and whisk vigorously. Place plan over medium-high heat. Stir frequently until sauce reaches a simmer. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes then reduce heat to low while preparing onions.
5. Heat 1 tblsp butter over medium heat until melted. Add sliced onions and cook until onions are browned and caramelized about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve place onions on top of pork chops and drizzle with maple mustard sauce.

Serves 4.