The Herbalist and The Carnivore

Hot Honey

Balsamic & Hot Honey Grilled Pork Chops

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The juiciest grilled pork chops with balsamic and hot honey sit on a bed of creamy parmesan grits dressed with sweet corn and fresh peas. If you frequent the local Farmer’s Market, this meal is for you. Seasonal ingredients make an elegant weeknight meal in less than 30 minutes.

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Grilled Balsamic & Hot Honey Pork Chops

These bone in pork chops are so flavorful and juicy with balsamic and hot honey.
Course Main Course
Cuisine PNW, Pork
Keyword 30 Minute Dinner, Farmer’s Market Meal, Seasonal
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

Balsamic & Hot Honey Pork Chops

  • 4 1/2 inch bone in pork chops
  • 1 can ginger ale or rose cider
  • 4-5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 4-5 tsp hot honey
  • 1 tbsp oilve oil
  • salt and pepper

Sweet Corn & Sugar Snap Peas

  • 2 ears sweet corn cut off the cob
  • 1 cup sugar snap peas sliced on a bias
  • 2 tbsp fresh basil chiffonade
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Parmesan Grits

  • 4 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 cup quick grits
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 cup parmesan grated

Instructions

Balsamic & Hot Honey Grilled Pork Chops

  • Soak your pork chops in the can of either ginger ale or rose cider. I like to do this about 20 minutes before I start the grill.
  • Prepare your grill. I like to use Applewood Briquettes from Kingsford. It works really well with pork. Wait until the coals turn gray before your start grilling.
  • Right when you start your grill, remove your pork chops from liquid and put on a plate. Drizzle with about 3-4 tbsp balsamic and 3-4 tsp hot honey. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit while grill heats and you prep your sides.
  • Grill pork chops for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Internal temperature of 145 degrees.
  • Remove from grill and drizzle with just a little balsamic and hot honey

Parmesan Grits

  • Bring vegetable broth to a boil. Add grits and stir. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until thickened and creamy. Stir in butter and parmesan.

Sweet Corn & Sugar Snap Peas

  • Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add corn and peas. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until just heated through. Season with fresh basil and salt/pepper.

Dinner Prep:

The first thing I do (on the day I know I’m making pork chops) when I get home from work is put those chops in a dish of ginger ale. Tonight I used what I had on hand, Rose Cider, which was amazing and did the trick. While those are soaking, I use this time to feed the animals and get ready to prep for dinner, Believe me, I can’t do anything before I feed my cat. Karl will hunt me down and give me the death stare until I feed him.

Once you’re ready to prep for dinner, remove the pork chops from the ginger ale or cider and place on a plate. Season with salt and pepper. Next you want to drizzle with alittle balsamic and hot honey. Gently push the pork chops around, fully coating them. Let them sit while you start the grill.

While your grill is heating up, prep your sides. Cut the corn off the cob and slice the sugar snap peas. Get your grits and broth measured out. Now your all set to have dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less.

Make it Your Own:

I like to add seasonal touches to my dinners. Salmon berries that I foraged from my yard gave and extra burst of sweetness. Grilled nectarines are always a great addition to pork chops. The sugars get caramelized and smoky sweet is MOSTLY Amazing!

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Grilled Salmon with Rosemary and Hot Honey

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Rustic, wild Grilled Salmon with Rosemary and Hot Honey is a must for your Father’s Day BBQ. Simple to make and it’s ready in 15 minutes. So that means you’ll have more time to spend with dad. AND if you haven’t tried hot honey yet…you better scroll down to find out where to get some!

Fishing with my dad is the strongest memory for me. Getting up at the crack of dawn was easy because dad always had a variety of Hostess doughnuts to lure us down to the marina where we kept our boat. Sometimes we would go for a day trip and sometimes it was a weekend overnight adventure. Taking the boat through the San Juan Islands was a magical experience. Exploring the many inlets and searching for whales, stopping to cast our fishing poles or drop some crab pots and coming home with gifts from the sea.

As you can tell from my recipe collection, seafood is my favorite dish to make and wild salmon is unlike any other fish. I ALWAYS choose wild salmon over farmed. Locals to the Pacific Northwest can always tell the difference between wild caught and farmed salmon. Wild caught salmon has a firmer texture and natural color. I would never buy salmon that has added color. NEVER. If I’m buying from the grocery, I look for the terms:

Wild No Color Added Fresh

I like my salmon simple and a little rustic. Some fresh herbs from the garden, butter and always fresh lemon slices. Since I’m on a HOT HONEY kick, this time I’ve added hot honey to the mix. Specifically Bee Local Hot Honey, who joined Jacobsen Salt Co. in 2015. Local to the Pacific NW and sustainable, Bee Local Hot Honey is made with scorpion chili peppers (yes, the name tells it all – it’s HOT) But…it’s so incredible that I’m using it on nearly everything and you should too! Check out their website, where you can get your own bottle of honey: Jacobsen Salt Co. – Bee Local Honey

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Grilled Salmon with Rosemary & Hot Honey

Wild Sockeye salmon drizzled in hot honey and grilled with rosemary and lemon.
Course Main Course
Cuisine PNW, Seafood
Keyword PNW Recipes, salmon
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 lb wild salmon fillet
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp hot honey
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary removed from stem
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 large lemon sliced in rounds

Instructions

  • Fire up that grill! I like the flavor of charcoal, especially for salmon. Make sure the coals have burned out and are all gray. You don't want to taste any lighter fluid left of the black charcoals.
  • Slather salmon fillet with butter. Drizzle with about half the hot honey. I like to make zig-zag drizzles across the fillet. Sprinkle on about half of the rosemary and a little salt and pepper.
  • Place flesh side of salmon on grill first. Let cook until salmon turns opaque half way to the middle of fillet. Timing will depend on the thickness of the salmon. A one inch thick fillet will take about 5 minutes on each side. You will know when the salmon fillet is ready to flip over because it will come off the grill with ease. Don't rush it. Flip and continue cooking for another 5 minutes (depending on thickness).
  • Remove from grill and drizzle remaining hot honey over fillet, sprinkle remaining rosemary, season with salt and pepper and garnish with sliced lemons on top.