Brushetta Style BBQ Pork Chops

Oh man, am I ever excited to share this recipe with you guys. Hands down, this is my new summer jam for dinner. It was so incredibly easy to whip up, it was AWESOME tasting, and the best part, it made it look like I really knew what I was doing. This is a dinner that doesn’t just taste good, it looks amazing. Next time someone is coming over that you have a love/hate relationship with (mother-in-law, sister, etc), this is the thing to make and have everyone jealous of your plating skills.

One piece of advice, this is a dish where a good balsamic vinegar goes a long way (especially in the final drizzle). It’s worth splurging on a halfway decent one to get that nice, thick, sweet, and tangy flavour.

You’re going to die when you see how easy this is.

First up, make your brushetta topping. Dice up your tomatoes (make sure you buy firms ones, and give your knife a quick sharpening to make your life easier), red onion, garlic and basil. toss everything together with the salt, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Set this aside while we cook the chops.

Now, season your boneless pork chops with salt and pepper. You can really use any kind of pork chop, but we’re going for speed with this meal. I trimmed some of the fat off after this picture. This happened because my ever loving and helpful husband walked in the kitchen and asked “why didn’t you trim off all that fat?”. He better start watching that mouth of his, or he’s going to end up cooking soon (love you Bo).

Toss the chops on the grill. Mine were supermarket bulk styles and thin, so they only took max 3 minutes per side to cook. Adjust accordingly depending on your size. If you’re following the guidelines pork is happiest at 160℉, and least likely to make you sick there. HOWEVER, we’re not finishing on the bbq (although you can). So, only cook them to 145℉, because they’re about to make friends with your broiler. If you aren’t broiling the cheese, put the cheese on the chops AS SOON as they flip, then cook to 150℉ – 155℉ (you’ll come up the remaining 5-10 degrees while the meat rests)

My bbq is a piece of shit. This photo is pretty much just added so I can say that. All three chops were side by side, but I only get decent flames at the top of the two sides (and absolutely nothing down the middle). I really, REALLY, need a new bbq 🙁 Rant aside, the colour on the top one is nice, the curl is not.

Ok, with the chops off of the grill, top them with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese and pop them under the broiler until bubbly and golden brown in spots. If you don’t want the hassle of going from the grill to the oven (understandable), simply add the cheese onto the pork chop AS SOON as you flip them over, then close the lid so that the cheese will melt. Let them rest for at least 5 minutes so that you don’t lose all the juice.

Finally, spoon on a nice heaping pile of the brushetta mixture, and one last drizzle of the balsamic vinegar.

I mean, come on, it just doesn’t get better!

A special shout out goes out to Jacquelynne, who’s blog ’The Art of Home’ I found a stovetop version of this recipe on.

Here’s your printable:

Brushetta Style BBQ Pork Chops

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork chops
• 2 large, very firm, tomatoes, diced small
• ½ large red onion, finely diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for basting
• 1½ tbsp good balsamic vinegar, plus more for drizzle
• ½ tsp salt
• fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or thinly sliced, whatever you prefer)
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill on high for at least 10 minutes.
3. Make your brushetta topping by gently tossing together the tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and basil leaves. Set aside.
5. Season your pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides. Just before placing on the grill, lightly baste with olive oil to prevent sticking. Grill for 3+ minutes per side depending on the thickness of your chops. Remove the meat at 140ºF.
7. Top chops with mozzarella cheese and place under your broiler for about one minute, until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Let rest for at least 5 minutes to redistribute juices.
9. Top with a heaping spoonful of the brushetta mixture, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Notes

If you don't want to deal with broiling the cheese, then simply add to the pork as soon as you flip the chops over, and close the lid to finish cooking and melt the cheese. Cook these chops to 150? - 155?, as the meat will finish cooking while it rests.