Rubs and Glazes for Grilled Pork

[BadRabbit]

I grill pork chops and loin roasts at least once a week and am growing tired of my usuals.

My usual go to recipes are:

Olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs from my garden (Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano)

Reduction of orange juice, zest and brown sugar.

Basic BBQ rub (paprika, ancho, garlic, onion, brown sugar)

Now that grilling weather is here what are some other good ideas for pork on the grill?

Edited April 6, 2011 by BadRabbit (log)

[IndyRob]

I'm often able to find cheap pork rib tips or riblets and just throw them on a sheet pan and slow roast them. I usually just wing it with the herbs, but a typical application I've worked out over time is salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and paprika - often with a drizzle of olive oil.

Chinese five spice on ribs is also a good change-up.

[BadRabbit]

I made something different tonight. I dusted some chops with ancho, garlic and brown sugar and served them topped with a tomatillo salsa. They were delicious.

I'll have to try five spice on chops sometimes as that certainly sounds good. We don't eat ribs much because my wife and I generally try to watch what we eat. When we splurge on ribs, it's usually when I can do a full 8 hour smoke on them.

[heidih]

I like to add Dijon mustard to finely chopped fresh herbs and olive oil. To me mustard and pork are a winning pair.

I sometimes go a Korean route with some Korean hot pepper paste (this has sugar in it so be careful), soy, bit of sesame oil, and some acid like a fresh squeezed orange.

[Chris Hennes]

Salsa Verde is excellent on grilled pork, especially if you get a nice char on there.

ETA: Yeah, not paying enough attention to the topic under discussion... when I do the salsa verde as a "sauce" I typically go with just S&P on the pork.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Chris Hennes (log)

[...tm...]

My favorite way to grill pork is Vietnamese style. This is my go to recipe http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2009/04/vietnamese-restaurantstyle-grilled-lemongrass-pork-thit-heo-nuong-xa.html

I usually use pork shoulder or leg steaks, or even chicken thighs, but it is really delicious, whether served in Vietnamese surroundings like bun thit heo nuong or bahn mi, or accompanied by grilled asparagus and a slow-cooked egg.

[Anna N]

This fennel rub is a favourite of mine with pork. Scroll down just a bit.

[Doodad]

We did hoisin on a chop and a small loin last night. Goes great together. Jerk on pork is another favorite.

[Ashen]

I second the jerk suggestion. A good overnight marinate with a jerk paste and then grilled over hardwood or lump charcoal is hard to beat. I will sometimes soak allspice(pimento) berries in water then make smoke packs with the berries added. It is hard to get pimento wood or bark here but the smoke from the berries really gives it that extra touch.

I don't often like to admit that I can't make something better than the storebought version , but walkerswood jerk paste is one of those things. The only tweak I make is a dry rub with my own ground smoke dried scotch bonnets before rubbing the pork down with the paste for the marinate.

I must be doing something right though, since my Jamacian brother-in-law eats it like it is candy. LOL

[HungryC]

I grilled pork tenderloin last night, coated in a paste of olive oil, garlic, dry italian seasoning, orange zest, and a little orange juice. Have you tried any of the Dizzy Pig rubs? I'm usually not a fan of premixed rubs, but DP's stuff is quality & includes interesting ingredients (salted & salt-free versions available). Also count me as a huge fan of the aforementioned Viet-style thit nuong treatment of pork.

[qrn]

after trying to make many many different rubs ,I cheat, and now use Spice Islands Beau Monde seasoning, along with Johnnys Seasoning salt...much better than anything I tried to make from scratch...

Bud

[Gregg]

Last night I lightly browned a pork tenderloin and placed it in a 325* oven. Prior to that I had sauteed minced onion and jalapeno (with S&P) until just starting to caramelize then added a bottle of Jarittos pineapple soda with some canned, crushed pineapple and a little cayenne pepper and let it reduce to a thin syrup consistency. The pork got "painted" with the syrup every 5 minutes or so until done. It was a beautiful deep amber lacquer on the meat and a sweet-spicy flavor.

[Norm Matthews]

One of the favorite BBQ joints in KC is Oklahoma Joe's

This rub is really good. I use it all the time. Put it on the pork the night before and wrap in plastic, then foil and refrigerate. Next day let come to room temperature before putting it on the BBQ or the grill.

Oklahoma Joe's Rib Rub

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

1. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, onion powder, white pepper and black pepper.

2. Store in a covered container at room temperature!

Note, A variation is to rub beef short ribs with vinegar before applying the rub.

[Felonius]

I'm usually cooking a tenderloin, and make a glaze using apricot or fig jam, and some lemon zest. If I get more ambitious I'll stuff the tenderloin with a bit of dried or fresh (depending on if they're in season) figs or apricots, along with some finely chopped walnuts. With the fig mixture, a little gorgonzola goes well in the stuffing too.

[OliverB]

any of the Dizzy Pig pork rubs are really good, I use those often. A different thing is to use Tamarind paste as the base for a marinade. Sometimes with curry, sometimes just as is, with some s&p. You might have to add some water, as the paste tends to be very thick. Has a delicious sour taste and turns everything very dark mahogany. I use it on chicken as well.

[kitchensqueen]

We just did a little bourbon marinade on pork chops for the grill for dinner. Maybe a quarter cup of bourbon, 3 tablespoons or so of brown sugar, dash of soy sauce and a couple of diced garlic cloves. We let them set in the marinade for about an hour before hand and grilled them until just done. They were pretty good, but next time I'd make up a little more marinade to reduce into a nice sauce for serving.

[Toliver]

I was surprised to discover that Montreal Steak seasoning (I think it's a McCormick brand) is quite good as a pork rub.

[MelissaH]

We've had good luck with this approach.

MelissaH

[chileheadmike]

I do a marinade of:

Soy sauce

Grated ginger

A couple of cloves of garlic

A couple of fat tablespoons of Chinese red chile paste

Lime juice

Sesame oil

And some ketchup to thicken a little and add sweetness.

Let sit in the fridge for a couple hours before grilling.

[OliverB]

you can also cover it with tamarind paste, a bit s&p, quite delicious and turns out almost black. I mostly do that with chicken, sometimes add curry powder too, but works well with pork.