Brined and Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Kale and Pineapple

This is a strange way to start this off ... but I love pizza.  I am a New Yorker relocated to Boston and I hang on to my New York roots by always dipping my pizza in blue cheese.  My favorite type of pizza .. Hawaiian of course!  I simply love the combination of ham and pineapple together.  Now when most people think of pork chops they tend to think breaded pork chops with mashed potatoes and applesauce. No disrespect to antiquated cookbooks, but that's boring by today's standards isn't it?  I was thinking about ordering a Hawaiian pizza and then started craving pork chops, but wasn't entirely over my craving for Hawaiian pizza.  I am also starting to cook more without the use of starches for an overall lower carb meal.  The result here was grilled pork chops with grilled pineapples instead of applesauce.  I also grilled some Kale because it tends to have a wonderfully salty flavor and salt is one of the reasons I love mashed potatoes.  So now we have an updated, Hawaiian, carb-friendly, non-breaded version of an old classic!  Now when you get the pork chops make sure they are thick (between an inch or two) and that they are still on the bone.  I like to have my butcher cut them for me.

Grilled Pork Chops

Ingredients:

2 thick cut/Bone in pork chops
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 whole star anise
1 tsp caraway seed
2 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp good mustard
2-4 handfuls of ice cubes

Directions:

Start by heating the vinegar in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  In a bowl, combine the salt, brown sugar, anise, caraway seed, black peppercorns, and mustard.  Once the vinegar is good and hot (just starting to simmer) add it to the bowl and stir to help dissolve everything.  Let it sit for about fifteen minutes and then add the ice cubes to chill everything down.  Place the pork chops into a bowl or ziptop bag and pour the now chilled liquid to completely cover the chops.  Let these sit in the refrigerator for between two and three hours. Place on a searing hot grill for three four minutes, turn ninety degrees and leave for three minutes.  Flip and cook for four minutes, turn and cook for three minutes.  Remove from grill and let sit for five to ten minutes before cutting.

Grilled Pineapple

Ingredients:

1 pineapple

Directions:

Remove the top and bottom of the pineapple, then cut off the skin.  Once skinned, half lengthwise and then half again lengthwise.  Now holding your knife at a forty-five degree angle cut away the core from each quarter of the pineapple and cut into chunks.  Place these onto a searing hot grill for about four minutes on each side (eight minutes total).  The pieces should be charred.

Grilled Kale

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of kale
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:

Remove and discard the stalks from the kale leaves.  Cut leaves into large irregular pieces and toss in a bowl with other ingredients.  Grill in a wire basket over medium to high heat for about eight to ten minutes or until the leaves start char.  Remove from the grill and enjoy with your pork chops and pineapple!