Grillin' Out

Many Americans equate Memorial Day with grilling...in our household, we try to grill as much as possible regardless of what day it is.  It's hard to beat the smoky flavor and easy clean-up.

However, I do get tired of store-bought rubs (TOO salty) and it seems that you can only make a marinade several different ways.

Ohhhh, but the Pioneer Woman changed our lives!  lol...

I've never purchased one of her cookbooks but we recently became Facebook friends and she posted a recipe for "Hot and Spicy Pork Chops."

The rub is super simple...but almost so simple that I wasn't quite sure about it.  However, we had a tray of pork chops that needed a little something something before they went on the grill so we gave it a try.

They turned out UH-mazing.  When you first bite into the meat, you get a hint of sweetness but then the cayenne pepper kicks in.  We're fans of heat--and some people aren't.  The nice part of this recipe is that you could easily adjust the amount of cayenne that you use.  We added a bit more than the recipe called for :-)

Hot & Spicy Pork Chops
by Ree Drummond

■4 whole Thick Cut Pork Chops
■4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
■½ cups Brown Sugar
■2 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
■1 teaspoon Salt
■1 teaspoon Black Pepper

Brush pork chops with canola oil. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and then generously rub mixture onto both sides of the pork chops.


Set grill to medium-low heat and cook pork chops about 10 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.