Happy Pig Marinade

I keep promising recipes, but I don't deliver. I now how the perfect opportunity to post as I sit here at my dining room table, watching over my first attempt at homemade tomato sauce. (At least it smells good!)

We just finished a meal that included exquisite pork chops--first marinated by me and then perfectly grilled by my darling O.

We eat pork rather frequently. Pork from local, sustainable, pastured, humanely raised pigs, of course. It's not just the ethics for us, either. Once you taste really good pork you'll never go back to the plastic-packaged supermarket pork again.

At one of the farmers' markets this winter we picked up some (purebred Berkshire pork) chops from Willow Creek Farm and the following recipe:

Sweet & Hot Willow Creek Farm Berkshire Pork

3 canned chipotle chiles (I never have canned, so I use dried chipotle powder.)
2 T lime juice
3 T honey
2 lg cloves garlic (Give or take a clove or two. I give.)
1 T soy sauce
1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I often use dried from Penzey's. It works just fine.)

Blend it all together. The Willow Creek recipe says marinate 2-4 hours, but I always marinate overnight, turning the meat once or twice. Save about 1/2 of the marinade for basting. (I like a lot of marinade, sauce, etc., so I usually double the recipe just to make sure I don't run out.) Marinates about 1 - 1-1/4 lb. tenderloin, chops, or ribs.

We use this every time we have pork chops. This is absolutely the best pork marinade! Ever! Try it tonight.