I’m always a little leery of foods with Caribbean spice blends. They always sound great to me, with a lot of the Latin flavors I love like citrus, cumin, and tropical fruits. But they also usually include some traditionally autumnal spices (for those of us who live in the US) like cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. I once had a bad experience with a Jamaican Jerk recipe that left my chicken wings tasting like pumpkin pie and I’ve been gun shy ever since.
When the quantities are perfect however, magical things happen. I had a good feeling about this Caribbean Rubbed Pork Chips with Mango Salsa recipe I saw in this month’s Cooking Light (and let’s face it; you all know I can’t resist a mango salsa) so I gave it a shot. I thought the spice mix was spot-on and the mango salsa was the perfect addition. My whole family loved it, and the fact that it can be on the table in under 30 minutes is a bonus!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Pork Chops
- Spice mix – Coriander, cumin, granulated sugar, ginger, salt, allspice, red pepper.
- Pork chops – Bone in, center cut, about 1/2 inch thick. Can you use other pork chops? Sure, just adjust cooking time as necessary. Note that boneless pork chops cook faster and can dry out more easily if overcooked. Thicker chops will need longer on the grill to come to temperature.
Mango Salsa
- Fresh mango
- Plum tomatoes – Roma tomatoes are a variety of plum tomato. These are nice for the salsa because they have fewer seeds and less juice inside to clean out before dicing. Any variety of tomato you like will do, though.
- Cilantro – Fresh. If you’re one of those who taste soap when you eat cilantro, you can omit it or replace it with parsley, mint, or basil.
- Red wine vinegar
- Extra virgin olive oil
How to Make Caribbean Rubbed Pork Chops with Mango Salsa
- I like to make my salsa first and let it rest in the fridge while I cook my pork chops, but you can also make it while the meat is on the grill. You’ll just toss your diced mango and tomato with some cilantro and dress with oil and vinegar.
- For the pork chops, you’ll mix up and east spice mix, then rub it on the pork chops. Then you’ll pop those on the grill and cook until they reach 145°F.
- Serve pork chops topped with mango salsa.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftovers separately in airtight containers in the fridge for best results. I would recommend using up the salsa within 2-3 days and the meat within 3-4.
- If you’d like to plan ahead, you can make the spice rub and salsa a day ahead of time.
- These pork chops would be great with this Lime-Cilantro Pineapple Rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are best hot off the grill, and they cook up fast! You can definitely mix up the salsa and the spice rub for the pork ahead of time, though!
You could definitely try the spice rub with a small pork tenderloin. Chicken thighs would probably be great as well! I would avoid chicken breasts, personally, unless you cut them thin and grill them fast, cooking just until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Sure. I bet red onions would be a delicious addition!
Caribbean Rubbed Pork Chops with Mango Salsa
Ingredients
Mango Salsa
- ½ cup mango diced, peeled
- ½ cup tomato, plum diced
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Pork Chops
- 1 ½ teaspoons coriander ground
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin ground
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ginger ground
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon allspice ground
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper ground
- 4 6-ounce pork chops bone-in center cut, (about ½inch thick)
Instructions
Mango Salsa
- Combine mango, tomato, cilantro, red wine vinegar, and olive oil in a small bowl; toss gently. Set aside.
Pork Chops
- Combine coriander, cumin, sugar, ginger, salt, allspice, and red pepper in a small bowl.
- Place pork chops in a dish or bowl. Pour spice mixture over pork chops and use hands to rub the spice mix thoroughly onto each pork chop.
- Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. (Or heat an outdoor BBQ grill and lightly brush grates with vegetable oil.) Add pork to pan or grill and cook 3 minutes on each side, or until a thermometer registers 145℉ (slightly pink).
- Top pork with salsa before serving.
Notes
- Store leftovers separately in airtight containers in the fridge for best results. I would recommend using up the salsa within 2-3 days and the meat within 3-4.
- If you’d like to plan ahead, you can make the spice rub and salsa a day ahead of time.
- These pork chops would be great with this Lime-Cilantro Pineapple Rice.
Questions & Reviews
Oh my gosh, this was astonishingly delicious. This is my first time commenting, but I’ve made probably 30+ recipes from OBB. This was so good I couldn’t not say anything. I do not usually like mango (or any fruit!) mixed with anything savory. But WOW. Everything about this is perfect. Best pork chops I’ve ever tasted, too. Insanely easy and quick, too!! This is a keeper!!!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Means the world to me and I’m so happy you loved this one!
Made this last night for a dinner party with my Parents and Grandma and LOVED it! Thanks for having a recipe index on your site!
Also – FYI, I didn’t have all the ingredients for the rub so I just sprinkled garlic salt and pepper and served with the mango salsa on top. Still super yummy – next time I will make sure to have all the spices to get the full flavor effect! Thanks again.
Hi Sara, I loved the pork chop with the mango salsa. My daughter is a pescatarian and loves mango. What else would this mango salsa go with? Thank you! Wendy
We made this tonight, and it was awesome! My hubsband even said, “This one’s a keeper!” Best pork chops I’ve ever had, hands down.
This recipe is more like a Puerto Rican recipe due to the spices it calls for. Each Carribean island and country have their own spice blends they use that distinguish their cooking. Therefore, if you don’t like Jamaican spice blends and you like this one, you should stick to Puerto Rican or Cuban.
Haha you make me smile and think back to when my kids were young. I used to do that all the time! Invented a large kiddo-rich farmers family who’d never eat anything “strange” or “foreign” and had family visiting from all over the world (with accents of course ;-)). The deal was: as long as I tell a story, you all eat. And they did!
Btw… come and live in the Netherlands… they pack everything here in 2, 4 or 8. Occasionally you’ll find 3. We’re a family of five….
I love how everyone here is commenting on how delicious it looks (which it does) and the “Pirate food” and “it’s all chicken” and I came over from Google reader to say “Man, I feel really lucky that my pork comes in 4 packs suddenly.” 😛