Pineapple Pork Chops

Pineapple Pork Chops are super succulent, topped with a pineapple-caramelized onion sauce, and served on grilled pineapple slices. Packed with sweet tropical and smoky spicy flavors, this can be beautifully presented for a dinner party, or whipped up quickly for a weeknight.

I've been making this pineapple pork recipe for years.

I especially love it in the summer when pineapples are at their sweetest, though it's good year-round, and you can also use canned pineapple.

Pork is a meat that pairs really well with sweet flavors, which balance out its richness. It's amazing with the pineapple, and it's also excellent with apple chutney and applesauce, of course. 😉

This pork recipe is great for both casual meals and those that are fancier.

About the Ingredients

• pork chops - Choose pork that's pink with some, but not too much, marbling. If you have a butcher shop you like, that's probably the best place to get it. Otherwise, of course, almost any market will have it.
• pineapple slices and juice - It's lovely to use a fresh pineapple, but you can also use canned pineapple slices. If you use canned pineapple, you can also use the juice it's packed in for the recipe (be sure not to get pineapple in syrup!). If you use a fresh pineapple, the pineapple juice is an additional ingredient to get. (Here's a guide for how to peel and cut pineapple.)
• red onion - The sauce is sweet and spicy, and since red onion is on the sweet side, it's excellent in this sauce. You can however, use any onion variety -- since we're caramelizing them, they'll become sweeter.
• garlic - I love the touch of garlic in this recipe, though it's not crucial if you'd like to skip it.
• chili paste - Sambal Oelek is my favorite. Substitutions: The chili paste can be substituted with finely minced hot peppers, like Thai or Serrano. Sriracha sauce can also be used as a substitute.
• soy sauce (or tamari) - I suggest using low-sodium, and if you'd like the recipe to be gluten-free, use tamari, or be sure your soy sauce is marked gluten-free. Substitution: Worcestershire sauce is a good alternate.
• cilantro - The cilantro is for garnishing only. The green makes the dish pop and its flavor is delicious with the other ingredients. Skip it if you don't like it, or use another fresh green herb like parsley or chervil.

How to Make Pineapple Pork Chops

- Coat the bottom of a medium-sized skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and caramelized, stirring every so often, about 10 minutes.

- Add the pineapple juice, chili paste and soy sauce. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Then, immediately reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit, 10 to 15 minutes.

- Preheat a stove top grill, outdoor BBQ, or large skillet (preferably cast iron) over high-medium heat. (I really like using a grill for the added char flavor (and I love the way the grill marks look.)

- Season both sides of the pineapple slices and pork chops with salt and pepper. Then drizzle both with olive oil. Be sure everything is very well coated -- use a pastry brush or your hands if necessary.

- Once the grill (or pan) is very hot, add pineapple slices. You should hear a sizzling sound when the food hits the pan - if you don't, wait! The grill needs to be very hot for everything to caramelize and char properly.

* Pro Tip * Be sure not to crowd your grill or skillet with the pork chops. It's important that hot air can move between them. Otherwise, they'll release too much moisture and could become mushy. (This is true of almost all foods.) Do as many batches as necessary to avoid overcrowding.

- The pineapple slices should grill for about 2 minutes per side. Remove them from the grill when they're marked nicely.

- With the heat still high-medium, add the pork chops to the grill. (Again, wait for the sizzle!) Turn them over when the bottoms are well marked from the grill, about 2 minutes. Then turn the heat to low, cover loosely with foil, and let them finish cooking just until the pork is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Please note that in the photos below, both the pineapple slices and pork chops were grilled in two batches each, to avoid overcrowding. They are displayed like this for the purpose of the photo.

* Pro Tip * If your grill is large enough (a double burner grill, for example), you can likely cook the pineapple and pork at the same time, removing the pineapple sooner. In a skillet, you'll need to do them separately.

- Either on a large serving platter, or on individual serving plates, arrange the grilled pineapple slices. Then place the pork chops over them and drizzle generously with the sauce. (For a more elegant presentation, you can slice the pork off the bone and fan it out over the pineapple.) Garnish with cilantro and serve!

Variations

While the sweet, juicy pineapple combines perfectly with the grilled, succulent pork, this recipe could also easily be made with steak, chicken or fish. I would suggest Flank steak, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, Halibut or Tilapia.

Serving Suggestions

• I love serving this pineapple pork with rice because it does such a good job of soaking up any excess sauce. A light coconut rice and roasted garlic rice are both perfect with it.
• A simple salad or a green veggie side would also be lovely with it. It goes well with grilled scallions or oven-roasted broccoli.

Making it Ahead

The pork chops and pineapple should be cooked as close to serving time as possible, but you can make the sauce up to a day ahead of time. Store it in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator, and heat it in a small saucepan when you're ready to serve.

If you have leftovers (doubtful 😉 ), the sliced pork is fabulous in a sandwich or wrap.

Other Must-Try Pork Chop Recipes

• Rosemary Pork Chops
• Sous Vide Pork Chops
• Chip Crusted Pork Chops

And More Must-Try Recipes with Pineapple

Enjoy every last bite!

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