Get creative with what you have on hand: Grilled Dijon Balsamic Pork Chops

Mustard(s), vinegar, oil, herbs and garlic create a lively marinade for bone-in pork chops. Recipe—and multiple variations—below.

I AM NOT BIG ON PLANNING. NEVER HAVE BEEN. So one of my challenges with cooking, especially these days, is having/getting ingredients. Far too often, I’ll look at a recipe that sounds interesting only to see that I don’t have a crucial ingredient. Or several.

When I had some pork chops to grill recently, I looked at a number of marinade recipes, with the usual results: don’t have that, not that, need to get that, nope. Then I approached it from the other side. What do I have?

I had mustard. We always have mustards, probably five or so at any given time. So I used two, Dijon and whole grain Dijon, for the texture it added. You can use just Dijon—or any not straight up yellow mustard you have on hand. I had olive oil—you can use vegetable oil. I had balsamic vinegar, but you can use red wine vinegar. I had lemon juice—you can substitute lime juice or white wine. And thanks to our garden, I had fresh rosemary—you can use other fresh or dried herbs—tarragon, sage, thyme… And I also used some garlic, salt and pepper.

For a marinade like this, the basics are acid (in my version, that’s vinegar, mustard and the lemon juice), oil and some salt. Those will work together to tenderize the chops and help draw the other flavorings into it. Besides that, as you see above, feel free to improvise.

You can also improvise the cooking method. Don’t feel like grilling? Cook them in a pan. In perhaps the ultimate improvisation, I made this marinade again and used it on chicken thighs on the grill. Yes, it was that good. Not bad for improvising.

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Grilled Dijon Balsamic Pork Chops

Mustard(s), vinegar, oil, herbs and garlic create a lively marinade for bone-in pork chops. Feel free to improvise with the ingredients.

Course Main Course, Meat

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (see Kitchen Notes)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 bone-in, thick-cut pork chops, about 1/2 pound each

Instructions

• Whisk all ingredients through the garlic together in a measuring cup or bowl. Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper.
• Place pork chops in a zippered plastic bag. Pour marinade over the chops, seal the bag and work with your hands to make sure the chops are all thoroughly coated with the marinade.
• Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours, turning bag a time or two to recoat chops.
• Prepare a grill for indirect grilling and medium heat. While grill is heating, take chops from fridge to bring to room temperature.
• Lightly oil the grill grates. Shake excess marinade from chops and discard remaining marinade. Arrange chops on the grill away from the coals. Close grill and let them cook for about 3 minutes. Turn and cook for another 3 minutes. This will reduce dripping when you place chops over the coals.
• Move chops over coals and cook for 3 or so minutes per side to brown them. Check internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer; temperature should be at least 140ºF.
• Transfer chops to a platter and serve.

Kitchen Notes

No lemon juice? You can substitute lime juice or white wine. Normally, you can substitute vinegar for lemon juice, but this recipe already has plenty.

Mustard(s)? Dijon is our first choice here; we did a mix of regular and whole grain, but you can go with 2 tablespoons of either. You can also use any non-yellow mustard(s) you have on hand and like. Yes, it will change the flavor profile, but that’s okay.

Rosemary or…? If you don’t have fresh rosemary, you can substitute sage, tarragon, thyme, oregano—or a mix of the above. If you don’t have fresh herbs, use 1 teaspoon or a little more of dried herbs.