Bursting with the flavors of summer, this quick and easy dinner recipe for Spice Rubbed Pork Chops is topped with a tangy Sweet Corn Relish and no one will guess it took you less than 20 minutes.
Did you know corn has changed? It used to be that you really needed to be eating fresh corn within 24 hours of it being harvested; otherwise the sugars that make it so delicious will have converted to starch leaving you with bland, flavorless corn.
Nowadays (I’m surprised that’s one word) corn, like all the other fruits and veggies, has been hybridized to exploit the favorable qualities and downplay the negatives.
Normal Sugary refers to old-fashioned sweet corn that will lose its appeal very quickly. Best only when you can get it straight off the stalk or from a reputable grower or farmers’ market.
New Super Sweet varieties are sweeter and have a slower conversion to starch rate after harvest.
All the hubbub about GMO corn refers more to field corn, which is about 90% of the corn grown in the US. Field corn is used for everything from livestock feed, to corn syrup and oil, to liquor.
If you want to avoid GMO corn, stick to organic which forbids those varieties.
Although frozen and canned is available year round, fresh corn is a seasonal treat that should be enjoyed while it’s here and missed when it’s not.
Wine Note:
Pork loin isn’t flavorful enough to stand up to red wine, unless it has a heavily flavored sauce. For this dish, stick with a white that has good acidity like torrontes or a dry rose.
Side Dish:
To keep this dish sweet and southern, you can sauté apple slices in butter with a little sugar. Or keep it healthier and sauté some greens like spinach or Swiss chard.
Spice Rubbed Pork Chops with Sweet Corn Relish
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil or butter
- 4 boneless thin/wafer cut pork loin chops
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 cups frozen corn defrosted
- ½ cup diced bell pepper any color
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat oil or butter in a 12 inch non-stick pan. Combine flour through pepper and coat both sides of pork chops.
- Add pork to pan and cook until golden brown about three minutes each side.
- While pork cooks, combine corn through salt.
- Remove pork to plate and cover to keep warm. Add corn mixture to pan and sauté until sugar is dissolved and corn is hot, about 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust sugar or vinegar if desired.
- Top pork with corn relish.
I made this today. But modified it for grilling. I oiled the chops and then put the rub on them, I left out the flour. In sauteing the corn relish, I used a bit of leftover bacon grease and tossed in a bit of the rub. I didn’t have red wine vinegar so I substituted rice wine vinegar. These chops were a great hit. I loved the flavors! Thanks so much for sharing your recipes.
I bet the bacon fat totally took this to the next level! Thanks for the tip.