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Fire up the grill and make my delicious recipe for Grilled Southwestern Pork Chops with Peach Salsa for dinner tonight! This easy 30-minute dinner is sure to be a new grilling favorite! Bonus it’s both gluten and dairy free.
We love to grill in my home. You’ll find me grilling during the summer months maybe 3-4 times a week! I’m excited to share my recipe for Grilled Southwestern Pork Chops with Peach Salsa. I partnered again with my friends at Mazola® Corn Oil to share just how to make the most delicious grilled pork chops. Last year, I shared my delicious recipe for Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce. A clinical study showed Mazola® Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil. To learn more about this claim, visit MAZOLA.com.
If you’ve never grilled fruit before, you are in for a treat. I love grilling fruit in the summer time, and it pairs perfectly with pork chops. This is definitely a twist on the classic pork chops and apple sauce, but grilled and there’s no applesauce here. Just a fresh and vibrant grilled mango peach salsa!
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Pork Chops – I like to use ½ inch thick boneless pork chops for this recipe.
- Mazola® Corn Oil – Is an all-purpose cooking oil that is a heart-healthy* choice for your family. It has a neutral taste and is perfect for grilling.
- Seasonings – chili powder, garlic powder, salt, ground cumin
- Brown Sugar – This will help sweeten up the rub.
- Fruit – You will need a lime, peaches, and mangoes
- Red onion – You will just need one thick ½-inch cut ring of red onion for the recipe. White onion will work too.
- Cilantro – I like to mix in a little fresh cilantro to give the fruit salsa additional flavor.
Directions
Heat gas grill on high heat.
Pour one tablespoon of Mazola® Corn Oil on top of the pork chops. Massage on to both sides of the pork.
Mix together the chili powder, brown sugar, garlic, and salt.
Rub chili powder on both sides of each pork chop. Set to the side.
Peel the peaches and mango, and slice in half. Toss the fruit in the remaining 1 tablespoon of Mazola® Corn Oil.
Clean the grill and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Place pork chops, peaches, mango, and red onion on the grill. Cover grill; cook 6 to 9 minutes, turning once, until pork is no longer pink in center and internal temperature reads at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the pork from the grill, set on a plate and tent with foil.
Remove the fruit and onion from the grill. Place in a food processor with 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Pulse until fruit is in coarse bite-size pieces (about 10-15 seconds).
Serve pork chops topped with mango peach salsa, or serve salsa on the side.
How to Make Perfect Grill Marks on Meat
I’m going to let you in on a little secret on how to obtain perfect grill marks. First, you need a super hot grill, like ranging over 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Then reduce the heat down to medium-low as soon as you are ready to lay the meat on the grill.
Cross Grill Marks
Place the chops perfectly horizontal like they are sitting at 9:00 on the clock. Then after 3-5 minutes (depending on the cut of the meat) turn the chops vertically so they are sitting at the 12:00 position. You do need to move the chops to a completely different side of the grill where the grill grates are super hot. Then, you’ll do the same thing once you flip them over. Think of your grill as 4 zones. By the end of your grilling experience you will have used every zone. Or pair it down if you have other items on the grill.
For Diamond Grill Marks
You want to do the 10 and 2 method. You’ll place the chops diagonal like they are at 10:00 on the clock then turn them to 2:00 on a different side of the grill where the grill grates are super hot. Then, you’ll do the same thing once you flip them over. Think of your grill as 4 zones. By the end of your grilling experience you will have used every zone. Or pair it down if you have other items on the grill.
FAQs
My recipe for southwestern pork chops serves 4 adult-size portions. Or in my case, for my family of 4 each adults gets a pork chop and my young children split a pork chop. Which means, daddy gets the leftovers for lunch the next day!
Pork chops should be grilled over direct heat (with the lid closed) for 8-12 minutes depending on their size. The internal temperature of the pork chop needs to reach at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit to be cooked through.
This is completely up to you and how you decide you want to cook the pork chops. I personally prefer to grill my pork chops.
No one ever wants to eat dry pork chops. Here are a few tips I have to avoid this issue.
1. Buy a meat thermometer and make sure you use it.
2. Pull the pork chops off the grill as soon as their internal temperature reaches a minimum of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Do not over cook or forget about your pork chops on the grill! Make sure you set a timer.
4. Let the meat rest. Once you have pull the pork chops off the grill they will continue to cook a little more.
It depends on the price of the ingredients verse if you can find the salsa in the store. Sometimes my grocery store has a peach salsa and it makes more sense to use that instead. However, we have a mango tree in our backyard and when the mangoes are in season it’s cheaper and faster to make my own fruit salsa.
Mazola® Corn Oil is perfect for high heat cooking since it has a high smoke point of 450°Fahrenheit. All cooking oils have a smoke point which is why it’s important to pair the right type of oil with the method of cook. Once you exceed the smoke point it will negatively affect the food’s flavor.
Tips & Tricks
Here are all my favorite tips and tricks when making grilled pork chops with fruit salsa.
- Grill Tray – If your slices of fruit are too thin and you are worried about it falling through the grill grates you can place all the fruit on a grill grate.
- Peaches – If you can’t find fresh peaches you can use fresh nectarines.
- Frozen Fruit – If peaches and mangoes are not in season you can thaw 1 cup of each peaches and mangoes. Place the thawed fruit in a grill tray and cook according to directions.
- Peeling Soft Fruit – I have found that a serrated peeler is best when peeling soft fruit like peaches.
- Manually Chop – You can manually chop your fruit instead of using a food processor. Just make sure you add on an additional 5 minutes to your preparation time.
- Baked pork chops with peach salsa – Yes, you can totally bake the pork chops instead of grill them. Simply season them and bake them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes. Or until the internal temperature of the pork chop reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. No need to grill the fruit. Simply peel, blend in food processor, and serve.
Grilling Recipes
Here are a few of my favorite grilling recipes I make on repeat in my home.
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Grilled Southwestern Pork Chops with Mango Peach Salsa
Equipment
- Grill
Ingredients
- 4 boneless pork loin chops ½ inch thick
- 2 tablespoon Mazola® Corn Oil divided
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice divided
- 2 ripe peaches peeled and halved
- 2 ripe mangos peeled and halved
- 1 thick 1-inch slice of red onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Heat gas grill on high heat.
- Pour one tablespoon of Mazola® Corn Oil on top of the pork chops. Massage on to both sides of the pork.
- Mix together the chili powder, brown sugar, garlic, and salt. Rub chili powder on both sides of each pork chop. Set to the side.
- Peel the peaches and mango, and slice in half. Toss the fruit in the remaining 1 tablespoon of Mazola® Corn Oil.
- Clean the grill and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Place pork chops, peaches, mango, and red onion on the grill. Cover grill; cook 6 to 9 minutes, turning once, until pork is no longer pink in center and internal temperature reads at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the pork from the grill, set on a plate and tent with foil.
- Remove the fruit and onion from the grill. Place in a food processor with 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Pulse until fruit is in coarse bite-size pieces (about 10-15 seconds). Serve pork chops topped with mango peach salsa, or serve salsa on the side.
Notes
- Grill Tray – If your slices of fruit are too thin and you are worried about it falling through the grill grates you can place all the fruit on a grill grate.
- Peaches – If you can’t find fresh peaches you can use fresh nectarines.
- Frozen Fruit – If peaches and mangoes are not in season you can thaw 1 cup of each peaches and mangoes. Place the thawed fruit in a grill tray and cook according to directions.
- Peeling Soft Fruit – I have found that a serrated peeler is best when peeling soft fruit like peaches.
- Manually Chop – You can manually chop your fruit instead of using a food processor. Just make sure you add on an additional 5 minutes to your preparation time.
- Baked pork chops with peach salsa – Yes, you can totally bake the pork chops instead of grill them. Simply season them and bake them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes. Or until the internal temperature of the pork chop reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. No need to grill the fruit. Simply peel, blend in food processor, and serve.
Nutrition
DISCLAIMER * Very limited and preliminary scientific evidence suggests that eating about 1 tablespoon (16 grams) of Corn Oil daily may reduce the risk of heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in Corn Oil. FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim. To achieve this possible benefit, Corn Oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product contains 14 grams of Corn Oil.
DISCLAIMER: Corn Oil is a cholesterol-free food that contains 14g of total fat per serving. See nutrition information on the product label or at mazola.com for fat and saturated fat content.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!