Grilled Pork Loin with Garlic Lime Marinade ala MY BIZZY KITCHEN

PORK... It's what's for dinner!


BUT... did you know, recently the USDA dropped the recommended internal temperature for pork to just 145 degrees (down from 160 degrees).  That is a huge number that you need to remember.  At 145, the meat still has a slight pink tinge.


It's time to rethink the old rules about pork.  No longer is pink pork a bad thing.  No longer do we need to grill pork to a cruel hockey puck consistency.  From now on, when you think pork... THINK PINK!


You see, today's pork has is not the same as pork from days of yore (10 years ago).  Pork in the olden days was raised with an eye towards BIG PIGS.  They were fattened up and thus, the fat content of pork was much higher.  Today's piggies are leaner and much less fatty.  Since fat comes to temperature faster than lean muscle, the previous goal of 160 degrees was actually measuring the fat as well as the meat.  Now, less fat means the meat is still cooked, without needing to reach the higher temp.


Make sense?


Well, if not, just know that your pork is cooked even with a slight pink tint.  Know that the internal temperature goal of 145 is now the norm and best for your pork.  Think about it, does the term "fork tender" come to mind when talking pork chops.  Mine does.


Oh, and please use an internal temperature prob thermometer when cooking pork.  You will notice a HUGE difference between 145 degree pork loin and 160 degrees.

OK... Let's get to the recipe...

I was inspired by this recipe from a post by BIZ at MY BIZZY KITCHEN.  She made a Garlic Lime Sauce from a recipe inspired by DINE & DISH.


Not sure where it originally came from, me, I found Biz's post while looking over the recipes at eRecipeCards.com.  Things are progressing nicely (above my expectations) on the site.  Today, I am on track to hit a MAJOR milestone of numbers of submitted recipes.  My goal number for the end of a month will be hit in just 3 weeks.  People are finding us.  But better, people are responding with some wonderful recipes to try or to get inspired by.  And with the easy to use eRecipeBox feature that makes setting up a convenient easy way to re-find recipes you might want to try later, eRecipeCards.com is turning into just what I had envisioned.


Really, come take a look...


OK, commercial done, back to the recipe...


Biz did her post of a GARLIC LIME SAUCE to top her pork.  I pondered this and decided I would like to try her sauce as a marinade.  Plenty of oil, cilantro and spices to season the meat nicely while still letting the meat speak for itself.


And besides...  LOOK WHAT I FOUND IN MY GARDEN...

A HOT Chile Pepper (Biz's recipe used Red Pepper Flakes... more fun to mince up a fresh pepper), and some fresh cilantro.


I love my garden!!!


OK, here's what I did (Inspired by Biz)...


Zest of 1 Lime
Juice from 2 fresh Limes (about 1/4 cup)
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 HOT tiny Pepper, minced
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Handful of Fresh Cilantro, I didn't measure, but @1/4 cup, minced
a little salt and pepper


Combine everything.  I ran it through my mini chopper to get everything infused properly.


Place a 1 1/2 pound pork loin in a plastic ziplock bag.
Add the marinade, squeeze out all the air and let it rest in the fridge for 4 hours.


And grill over medium hot colas or the medium setting on a gas grill, measuring the internal temperature with a remote prob, I turned 1/4 turn with every increase of 20 degrees.

It was a good day on the grill!


Grilled some Sweet Corn and some Sweet Potato Slices...

Thanks BIZ... it was a great recipe.  Very inspiring.


And back to the commercial.


Seriously, eRecipeCards.com is many things, a place to see and be seen, but also I think the eRecipeBOX feature is terrific.  See something you might like to make in a week, month or year, no more need to fumble around trying to remember where you saw that idea.  No more saving to an Exel spreadsheet (tried it), or write something out in MS Word (tried that too) or saving little bits of paper (tried that too).


I have more than a dozen recipes in my box already.  Some I may get to this week, some in a month, and some I may never get to.  But, I know where they are at, easily viewed, with the large photos, easy to visually remind me of what the recipe is.


And now, with the large number of recipes, with the ever growing number of submitters that are adding their body of work (not just today's post, but some of their favorites from days of yore).  eRecipeCards.com now more than ever is worth a look!


Bet you'll be inspired too!


And you will find this recipe and more on eRecipecards.com!

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