Baked Pork Chops with Papaya Salsa
A recipe for bone-in pork chops, brined for extra juiciness, then seasoned, seared and baked to perfection. Served with spicy papaya salsa.
Servings: 2
Calories: 323kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large pork chops about ¾ inch thick each
- Water – enough to cover the chops
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 5-6 basil leaves torn
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce – use your favorite! I used a bit of my Cilantro-Habanero Hot Sauce
- 1 tablespoon dry rub seasonings – I used a Cajun blend
FOR THE SALSA
- ½ papaya peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper diced
- 1 serrano pepper diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Juice from 1 lime
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add water with salt, basil leaves, crushed garlic and hot sauce and whisk together. Submerge the pork chops and cover. Refrigerate and brine for 4 hours. This will make them very juicy!
- While the pork chops are brining, add all the salsa ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove pork chops and pat dry. Season with your dry seasoning blend.
- Heat an oven-save pan or pot (I used my awesome Dutch Oven!) to medium heat and add a bit of olive oil. Sear the pork on each side about 1 minute each, then transfer into the oven.
- Bake for 8 minutes, or until the pork chops are cooked through.
- Top with salsa and serve!
Notes
I used a bit of my Cilantro-Habanero Hot Sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 323kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 7246mg | Potassium: 689mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 475IU | Vitamin C: 39.8mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1.3mg