Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend was Memorial Day weekend! I decided it would be fun to throw a BBQ. Play a little B-ball, V-ball. And eat some good food! My culinary donation was Cuban Style Pork Chops!

This recipe was by far the most delicious yet. Ive been a little lazy in getting my 30 in 60, but i'll do my best. So, as you can tell, next up is Cuban Style Pork Chops. I saw one look at the ingredients and i really wanted to try it. Actually i think i've made this before, a little differently, it didnt turn out that great. It was... too bland and not delicious. So this is revised!

Ingredients

1. Orange Juice ( i fresh squeezed mine! took forever!)
2. Lime Juice (Again freshly squeezed i thought it would taste better)
3. Pork Chops (of course)
4. Dried Oregano leaves
5. Fresh Cilantro
6. Olive oil
7. Canola Oil
8. Ground Cumin (This really added flavor)
9. Garlic (chopped)
11. Ham
12. Swiss Cheese
13. Pickles (preferably the flat sandwich kind)

For the sake of feeding more mouths and not cooking the past week, i went all out and bought enough for about 15 people. It cost me about $60 for new ingredients. So about, $4 per person! Amazing! I think about $11 if you just bought it for yourself to make. These are directions for a serving size of 4.

First! Pork Chops
I bought the pork chops from costco. a little thick so i cut each piece in half and then butterflied them. After that i flattened them with a hammer. (make sure to keep the pork in one piece)

Part 2! Sauce
Add 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup lime juice, as much oregano you like, and the cilantro with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix well, taste to check. This goes on the pork chops after its done cooking! You have my permission to drench! hehe

Next! marinade.
Whisk together 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup lime juice, 3 tablespoons oregano, 6 cloves of garlic, 3 teaspoons of cumin, and 1/4 cup canola oil in a large baking dish. Add the pork and turn to coat. Cover and let marinate for up to 3 hours in the refrigerator. The longer you leave it the better.

Lastly, The cooking part
I did mine over a charcoal grill. First cook the pork cut side down (this makes it easier later) After you're done, turn it over and add 1 slice of swiss, ham, a few pickles, and another slice of cheese to one half of the piece. Then fold the pork so its a sandwich. make sure to cook the pork till its done and serve! Oh Dont forget the sauce!



Due to the location, i couldnt plate this dish! :) but it still looks good. At the BBQ, i only got one bite! But it was really, really good. The citrisness of the pork was great and the cilantro was awesome! And the Cumin really brought out the Cubanness! The ham and cheese and pickles, man! Yummy.This was really good!

Taste: 10/10 - It was so good!
Cost: 9/10 - i would do this again for BBQ's, better for large groups!
Labor: 8/10 - It's a little time consuming butterfling the pork and hand squeezing oranges and limes, but if you get just OJ and Lemon juice it'll save a lot of trouble.
Overall Rating: 9/10

Improvements: use OJ and lemon juice next time!

I really enjoyed BBQing. All the prep and good company made it that much better! Thanks Everyone!


- Fill Out!