"Not Quite BBQ" Pork and Steak Marinade

This recipe is nicknamed NQBBQ - not quite BBQ - because it is a transition between just adding steak sauce and the Green Vampire marinade. NQBBQ is salty and sweet at the same time - you really want to try it before you marinate with it.

It is a balancing act of what tastes just right, the ketchup should go in last to taste (this 2 Tbsp is to my taste).
When I marinate withe NQBBQ, I like to set the meat in it for 1-4 hrs. More for tougher cuts and less for lighter ones - time doesn't seem to make a huge difference in flavor, just in tenderizing the meat (might be the saltiness acts quickly no matter what).

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
  

Steps

1. Blend all ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. It will keep for up to a month in the fridge - if you want to hold it for longer, don't add the ketchup until you need it. The salt will keep the solution for months.
   
3. If you marinate, let it go for several hours (there is little acidity here, just salt to tenderize).
   

"Green Vampire" Marinade

OK, still tweaking about a Costa Rican marinade - same caveat applies here about it being authentic that you see in the post before this for a pork chop marinade. It was good, but not exactly what I wanted. So I hunted about and found some ideas and mushed those together to make this recipe - Green for the enormous amount of cilantro (thanks to a warm spring, the reseeded cilantro bolted early this year) and the enormous amount of garlic (umm, is there such a thing as an excessive amount of garlic? Yes, Virginia. But this isn't it yet).

The combo of cilantro and garlic leads to a marinade that is very interesting: it gives a strong flavor even with little marinade time, works for a variety of meats, AND lasts in the fridge. It comes out looking like a loose pesto, but smells like a Mojo Criollo Meets a Garlic Lover. Umm, good. And great for repelling the pesky upstate vampires you find clustering around grills.

So far, we have used this with steak (marinated for 2 hrs) - grilled and then sliced like fajitas - AND marinated chicken breast on skewers for just 30 minutes and then grilled. The girls loved both of them. Yes, something spicy passed their lips and they liked it.

Ingredients:

• 7 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of cilantro (I use the tops as they bolt, stems and leaves)
• 1 Tbsp of sea salt
• 2 Tbsp of lemon juice (or substitute lime juice for a more tropical taste)
• 1 cup of olive oil (EVOO is nice, but you won't taste it if you grill the marinated meat)

Steps:

1. Puree the bejeesus out of the garlic in a food processor.
2. Add the cilantro to the food processor bowl. Bend stems to make them fit. Trust me, the processor will make short work of them.
3. Begin puree-ing the cilantro and slowly pour in the lemon juice, salt and olive oil.
4. Keep puree-ing until the result has bits only the size of pesto ingredients - very finely chopped. Smells like a lime-y, cilantro garlic sludge.
5. Remove and use. Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge (that would be the garlic's effects!) and has enough to make 2 decent batches with some leftover to dip with at the table. Oh yes, you will want to try dipping your food in this.

I make a big batch of this and use it for several meals. We also add this to the side dishes too (baked potatoes, rice, and boiled potatoes all take this as a drizzle well).

Grilled Pork Chops - Pura Vida Style

OK, I don't know for sure if Costa Ricans eat pork chops this way, much less at all, but let's just say that these are at least inspired by Central American cuisine. I spent a summer in Costa Rica during college and we ate very simply (beans and rice, 2x a day) and never saw a bit of pork except for the piggies that ate the whey behind the Monteverde lecheria ("cheese makers").

Hints here that it could be from CR - cilantro!, lime juice, and lots of black beans and rice on the side. Could that be from almost any Central American country... well, yeah. But I really like CR, "pura vida" is the national slogan. C'mon!

Caveats:

1. I only got to marinate this for 1 hour in the fridge, 2 hours would be best.
2. Grilling the chops really makes them shine, but broiling works too.
3. Side dishes of "black beans and rice" and a nice salad round it out.

Ingredients

• 4 pork chops (ours were our own pastured, 1 inch thick lovelies)
• 1/3 cup of good olive oil
• 1/3 cup of lime juice
• 1/4 cup of minced cilantro
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (not traditional, but our cayenne is too hot for the girls)
  
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Steps

1. Combine the oil, juice, cilantro, garlic, pepper, and salt in a tupperware container.
2. Whisk the marinade together well.
3. Add in the chops and place in the fridge. Set the timer for 2 hrs.
4. Fire up the grill and grill the chops for 3-5 minutes per side. Sadly throw away the delicious smelling marinade - can't eat it nor grill with it.
5. Remove and let stand 5 minutes before serving.