Honey-Habanero Pork Chops With Carrots
Published Sept. 23, 2024
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4thin (½-inch) boneless pork chops (about 1½ pounds total)
- 1½ teaspoons paprika
- Salt
- ¼cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed
- 4medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 1lime
- 2habanero chiles, halved and seeded
- ¼cup honey
- Chopped cilantro, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
509 calories; 28 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 22 grams sugars; 38 grams protein; 715 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Pat the pork dry and season all over with the paprika and a big pinch of salt. Set aside.
- Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add the carrots, season with salt and stir occasionally until crisp-tender and charred in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Scrape the carrots onto a plate and zest the lime over the top. Cut the lime in half.
- Step 3
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet over medium-high. Add the pork and the chiles. Cook, pressing the meat with tongs to prevent buckling, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook until firm to the touch, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer the pork to the plate (leave the chiles in the skillet).
- Step 4
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the honey and juice from half the lime. Stir constantly until thickened and dark like maple syrup, 1 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the pork, carrots and any resting juices back to the skillet. Turn to coat in the glaze. Serve sprinkled with the cilantro.
Private Notes
Comments
The habaneros released so much capsacin into the air we had to leave the house.
My husband and I really enjoyed this! We don’t eat a lot of pork, and the flavors had me nervous as they are all independently strong flavors, but it worked so well. Delicious served with mashed potatoes. One note- I have no idea how the carrots would ever be cooked in 3-5 min, I thinly sliced mine with a mandolin and cooked everything in a large cast iron, but it took a good 10-15 minutes.
We love this recipe, it’s so simple, flavorful, and a great lead in to fall. As long as the habaneros are seeded and halved and only rest in the sauce and then removed after cooking, as opposed to chopped and otherwise left in, they contribute great flavor and a very manageable spice! I have one tip and one tip only for those who have issues with pork chops tasting “bland”… brine BRINE BRIIIIIIIINE!!! Pork chops like all meat need salt, and it’s amazing what a simple brine will do for your pork and chicken. We make a simple brine of equal parts (about 1/4 cup) kosher salt and brown sugar and add a few garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and peppercorns. You can play around with any herbs and flavors you want in your brine. Dissolve the salt and sugar, cool it down (for food safety purposes) and stick the chops in to refrigerate for anywhere from 4-12 hours. You could literally just cook them as is at this point, but a brine elevates a recipe like this as well to be amazing and flavorful. Don’t skip brining your chops!!!
The carrots are the star of this dish. Like others, I wish I had doubled them. To ensure I wouldn't end up with either undercooked or burnt carrots, I started them in the pan with water rather than oil. When they started to soften, I poured out the remaining water and added the oilt. The result was perfectly cooked carrots with just a bit of char. The pork chop itself was okay but that was a reflection of the quality of the meat, rather than the recipe.
Wonderful flavors! Used Serranos instead of Habaneros, which was perfect for the heat lovers and not overwhelming for everyone else. Used a cast iron which worked great. One call out though is that this was really oily, particularly on the carrots (which do take longer than 3 to 5 minutes!). Next time I will reduce the amount of olive oil and see how that goes.
We used serranos because the store didn't have any habeneros and the air was still unbreathable. Topped the carrots with feta though and that added a nice touch of creaminess. Would make again but will have to buy a gas mask!