Korean Glazed Pork Chops
Twin Cities food blogger greens & chocolate shares her recipe for these spicy-sweet pork chops.
When I think of the dinners that my parents served us when we were growing up, a handful of meals come to mind. There was a rotation of Hamburger Helper, kielbasa and cabbage, the drive-through at Micky D’s and grilled pork chops, among a few other things. The pork chops were, by far, my least favorite. They were tolerable doused in ketchup, but let’s just say it took me a long time to come around to cooking pork chops myself as an adult.
I think pork chops got a bad reputation in a lot of homes for one main reason: they were overcooked! I remember our pork chops being so dry (hence the ketchup) and just not very exciting. My husband had the same experience and, as a result, claims he just doesn’t like pork chops.
Lucky for us, these Grilled Korean Glazed Pork Chops are neither dry nor flavorless! They’re loaded with flavor from a zippy Korean marinade of soy sauce, Korean gochujang chile paste, garlic, ginger, honey and sesame oil. You can marinate them for a quick 20 minutes — or a few hours to really let the flavors meld. My favorite tip for grilling with marinades is to set about a quarter of the marinade aside and brush it over the grilled meat for an extra boost of flavor.
To make sure these pork chops weren’t overcooked, I utilized one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools — the meat thermometer. This is really the only way to ensure complete accuracy when you’re cooking meats. The cooking recommendations for pork have changed throughout the years, and these days the National Pork Board recommends cooking pork chops to 145-160 degrees for flavor and safety. I prefer mine on the well-done side, so I aimed for 155 degrees, and they were perfect.
These Grilled Korean Glazed Pork Chops were a hit with my husband and me. My husband said they changed his mind about pork chops!
Serves 4
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12-16 minutes
Ingredients
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Korean gochujang
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 thick-cut, boneless pork chops
Directions
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, gochujang, fresh ginger, garlic, honey, and sesame oil until well combined.
- Place pork chops in a shallow dish and pour about ¾ of the marinade over them. Make sure the marinade coats the pork chops. Reserve the remaining marinade.
- Let the pork chops sit in marinade for at least 20 minutes.
- Once the pork chops are marinated, preheat your grill to medium heat.
- Place your marinated pork chops on the grill and grill for 6 minutes on the first side. Flip, and then grill for 6-8 more minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 145-160 F for medium-rare to well-done pork chops. I cooked mine to 155 F, as I prefer them without any pink in the middle. The cooking time will vary, depending on the thickness of your pork chops.
- Serve brushed with remaining glaze.
- Enjoy!
