Mole Rubbed Pork Chops

Spices and seasonings… every pantry has them – what’s in yours? This past weekend I took on the task of organizing and restocking my spice drawer. I never realized how much spices I had on hand! I do think they are great to have on hand for quick and tasty ways to serve up various meats. A recent rub I made was for these Mole Rubbed Pork Chops. A blend of brown sugar, paprika, cumin, cocoa powder, chipotle chili peppers, garlic flakes, salt and pepper made a great rub for pork, leaving these flavorful, juicy and tender…

I found that coating pork chops with this easy rub a day in advance gave the pork a chance to really absorb the flavors. You can make this as a make ahead/freezer meal by coating the pork (or even chicken) and freeze. When you’re ready to prepare, defrost the seasoned meat and then proceed to cook on the grill or in a grill pan/skillet. The ease in preparing and cooking makes this a great dish on a busy weeknight!

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile peppers
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic flakes
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick) 
• 
  Heat a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat.
• Combine first 6 ingredients; rub evenly over both sides of pork. Lightly coat pork with cooking spray. Place pork on grill pan; cover and grill 3 minutes on each side or until done. Let stand 3 minutes.