Having the most frugal grocery budget in the world isn’t going to help you and if you can’t put together at least a few healthy, tasty, and cheap eats! Every few weeks, The Outlier Model features a cheap recipe idea, along with the cost breakdown.
I cook with pork a lot. Depending on the cut, it can be a very lean meat. It’s cheaper than beef. And super tasty – as long as you cook it right. Pork chops have a reputation for ending up dry and tasteless. But for me, it’s all about the marinade and the cook. It’s only dry if you leave it on too long!
This pork chop recipe is a great summer recipe that takes advantage of fresh fruits and herbs.
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops ($2.50 – buy in bulk!!!)
Marinade:
- 1/4 teaspoon lime zest (included with the limes, below)
- 2 limes, juiced ($0.75)
- 1 tablespoon honey ($0.30)
- 1 jalapeno, chopped and seeds removed ($0.15)
- 1 garlic clove, chopped ($0.05)
- olive oil ($0.25)
- salt (< $0.05)
Place the pork chops in a shallow glass dish and season liberally with salt. Add all of the marinade ingredients to the dish, including a drizzle olive oil. Turn the chops over to coat evenly and then cover with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator for up to 3 hours.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the BBQ to a medium heat. Grill each side for 5-10 minutes then finish in the oven (re-use the glass dish that you marinated in!) for 15 minutes at 375F, covered. The pork is done when it is just slightly, slightly pink, but with clear juices.
Serve with rice, grilled peppers/pineapple, and homemade salsa!
Servings: 4
Cost per serving: $1 per serving – with veggies, salsa, and rice, approximately $1.75
Frugal hack: Pork chops are a very inexpensive cut of meat I bought a package of 13 1-inch thick chops for $8! The meat was lean and there was no bone – yum.
Inspired by: Marinated Porkchop with Pineapple Salsa
And if you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like these:
P.s. if you’re interested in buying a good grill, consider checking out http://www.smokeygrillbbq.com. Its super focused website that just does grill reviews. Perfect if you need to buy a grill.
