Boneless Pork Chops

Pork: Lower temps are OK, and higher flavor is easy

Just last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered the safe cooking temperature to 145 degrees for whole cuts of meat, including pork. The agency also recommended following the cooking with a 3-minute rest period.

Previously the recommendation was to cook pork to 160 degrees, which remains the recommended safe temperature for cooking ground beef, veal, lamb and pork.

The USDA said the new single-temperature recommendation for whole cuts will make it easier for consumers to remember the proper numbers.

"Now there will only be three numbers to remember: 145 for whole meats, 160 for ground meats and 165 for all poultry," said Under Secretary Elisabeth Hagen in a news release

The rest time is important because it allows the temperature to continue to rise and kill pathogens and allows the juices to seep back into the meat.

The USDA said pork cooked to 145 degrees might still have a pinkish hue, but it's safe to eat.

To take the temperature, push the probe end of an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the meat.

If you don't have an instant-read thermometer, you should invest in one. It's a kitchen tool to always have handy because it will save you from overcooking meats. You can buy them for as little as $5 at big box retailers and kitchen and hardware stores.

In many cookbooks, pork recipes recommend 160 degrees as the final cooking temperature. But as the meat rests, the temperature keeps going up.

For this recipe, I used boneless pork loin chops and stuffed them with a dried fruit-and-cheese mixture. These took just about 10 minutes to cook to the recommended safe temperature. You can grill them or cook them in a skillet.

I paired the dish with grilled Michigan asparagus and nectarines. As a side dish, the celery salad provided a nice, cool crunch. It's adapted from the June issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray.

To make the salad, whisk together 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Thinly slice about 6 to 8 celery ribs, with leaves, \-inch thick and place in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese and chopped walnuts or pecans. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.

Barbecue Master: How to Grill Boneless Pork Chops

You can make your own marinade or use bottled Kraft Zesty Italian dressing or a specific marinade product. I've been disappointed in many of the products marketed as grilling marinades, because some of them overpower the meat and don't have great flavors either. My favorite marinades are by Allegro and particularly the spicy, teriyaki, and soy/lime. Above you see the raspberry chipolte, but that one was sweeter and fruitier than I like. Last night I grilled our pork chops over charcoal on the PK grill, but they can be done over gas or electric. Actually, it's easier to go with gas or electric when grilling something that needs to be done quick. You can more easily regulate the heat and can get prettier grill lines. On the other hand, you get the fabulous smoked flavor if you use charcoal. With my charcoal, I offset. This means that I put the charcoal on one end but not on the other end. This means that I have a good hot area and then a cooler area. Offset makes grilling so much easier. You can do the same basic thing with gas if you have more than one burner area. Just have part of the grill turned on. The cool side will still get hot but not hot like over direct grill flames. A thermometer can help as you learn to grill boneless pork chops, but I just give it the eyeball test. Once the side begin to turn white and I flip the chops, then they are within a couple of minutes of being done. This is on pork chops around 1/2 inch thin. You'd need a grill a bit longer with thick cut boneless pork chops. Still, the time is not long. I'd say I had these pork chops on and off in about 15 minutes with some extra time offset while I was juggling some tin foil grilled potatoes. We also like to add barbecue sauce to boneless pork chops. Barbecue sauce can be brushed on right as the pork chops go on the grill, since they are thin and don't take long to grill. Sauces give you many flavor options, and you can eat boneless pork chops often and still feel like you're having different meals when you use different barbecue sauces and/or marinades.

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