Grilled Huli Huli Pork

We had some friends over for dinner this past weekend and I wanted to cook something fun. I thumbed through magazines and cookbooks and decided on making Grilled Huli Huli Pork with Pineapples and Peppers. I loved that the blurb in my “Cuisine Tonight Grilling Magazine” said, “Say good-bye to plain pork chops, and say hello to grilled huli huli pork.” I pretty much hated pork chops as a kid. I’ve grown to like them as an adult, but they have to be grilled and seasoned well… or smothered in sauce.

This Hawaiian-inspired meal included pineapple and pepper slices caramelized on the grill. I loved the bright, tropical flavors and will definitely be making this dish again. You could easily substitute chicken if you aren’t a pork fan.

The Sauce Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic – I used crushed
1 Tablespoon Minced Ginger – I used crushed
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Sauce Directions:
Heat ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, garlic, ginger, lime juice, and pepper flakes in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove sauce from heat.

Ingredients for the Pork Chops:
4 Boneless Pork Loin Chops – 1 inch thick, about 6-7 oz. each
2 Red Bell Peppers – stemmed and seeded
8 Fresh Pineapple Slices – 1/2 inch thick – for grilling
8 Scallions – for grilling
2 Tablespoons Chopped Cashews
2 Tablespoons Chopped Scallions
Salt and Pepper – to taste

Directions:

• Prepare your bell pepper and onion for grilling
• Chop your cashews and green onion to later place on top of the pork after it is grilled
• Preheat grill to medium-high – brush grill grate with oil
• Season pork chops with salt and pepper
• Grill chops, covered, 6-7 minutes per side
• Brush chops with 1/2 the sauce – reserve other 1/2 to serve with pork
• Grill pork chops until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees F. on an instant read thermometer
• Remove chops from grill and tent with foil
• Next grill your peppers, pineapple slices and scallions – uncovered, until lightly charred (2-3 minutes per side) and remove from grill
• Slice peppers when cool enough to handle
• Serve chops with pineapple and pepper slices, grilled scallions, cashews, chopped scallions, and reserved sauce

I used my handy dandy votive candle holder cutter to core my pineapple slices. My Mom got me the cutter and I’ve used it to put candles in apples and other fruit for display,  but I also use it for my pineapple slices.

Pork is prepped and ready for the grill.

Veggies and fruit are ready to go…

Grill baby grill… The pork took about 8 minutes per side.

The pineapple and veggies took way longer than 2-3 minutes per side – I think I had the heat too low, I had turned it down after the pork.

You really have to be careful with the onions – the ends charred really fast.

Top each piece of pork with sauce, sliced peppers, chopped scallions and cashew pieces. Set your pork on top of 2 pineapple rings and place your grilled scallions on top of those.

I even broke out my fine china… fancy girl…

The chops were a hit – like I said above – these will be had again, just not until “Cycle 2” of the 17 day diet (I’ll have to use low carb ketchup and I’ll have to 86 the brown sugar.) Right now (on Cycle 1) the only protein I can eat is salmon, sole, flounder, catfish, tilapia, canned light tuna in water, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, lean ground turkey and eggs. So far so good – almost done with day 3, only 14 more to go. 🙂

The 17 Day Diet Update
What I’ve learned:

• DO NOT wear high heels to work when the bathroom is several hallways away, especially when you are drinking water and green tea like it’s your job
• Green tea tastes like grass clippings
• I pretty much can’t stand plain Greek yogurt
• I’m not a Truvia fan
• A dressing made of balsamic, extra virgin olive oil, garlic gold, salt and pepper can pretty much rock any salad
• Lifetime Cheese has a fairly decent fat free jalapeño jack
• Working out for 17 minutes 2x’s a day is really kind of cool
• Husbands who fix loose wires on broken treadmills make me happy
• Miso is a probiotic
• Frozen red grapes really do complete me
• Fat-free sour cream, salsa and lime zest makes a mean dressing for ground turkey taco salad
• Creating a spreadsheet to be able to mark off all of my daily requirements is key

That’s it for now… And yes, I’ve learned ALL of those things in the past 3 days. I’m awesome like that.