Pork chops seem to have a bad rep. Has anyone ever noticed that pork chops served with sad potatoes and soggy green beans are always the meal featured on every American TV show or movie with a family dinner scene? After making this connection while watching Family Guy, I embarked on a mission to make pork chops sexy. This five spice pork chop recipe is named so for two reasons: I used Chinese five spice, a beautiful combination of star anise, cloves, ginger, fennel and peppercorn, as a dry rub and added in five different peppers to make an incredibly spicy and savory glaze. The result: two meaty hunks of burning love.
Five Spice Pork Chops (Serves 2)
• 2 pork loin chops, thick cut
• 1 tbsp Chinese five spice powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1-2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, about 4 oranges
• 2 tbsp honey
• 5 cayenne peppers, sliced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
• 1 habanero pepper, sliced
• 1 banana pepper, sliced
• 1 small sweet pepper, sliced
• cilantro, for garnish
1. In a bowl, mix yogether five spice powder, salt and black pepper. Generously apply dry rub to pork chops on both sides and place on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a cast iron skillet with sesame oil. Remove seasoned pork chops from refrigerator and place into cast iron skillet. Bake for 1 hour, turning pork chops halfway through.
3. Remove skillet from oven and sear pork chops on high heat for 1 minute on each side, until a golden brown crust develops. Place seared pork chops on a separate plate.
4. Add orange juice, honey and sliced peppers into the skillet with pork drippings on high heat until sauce thickens and peppers become tender. Remove from heat.
5. Return seared pork chops into the skillet and coat evenly with sauce. Delightfully sweet and spicy!
