Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Jam

Ingredients

• 4 thick-cut pork chops
• Canola oil
• Essence, recipe follows
• Garlic Jam, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat a grill to medium-high. Brush pork chops with oil and season with Essence. Place pork on grill and grill on both sides until a meat thermometer reaches 150 to 155 degrees F. Serve pork chops with garlic jam.

Garlic Jam:

4 large heads garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 of a sweet onion

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Bring a medium saucepan with salted water to a boil. Cut the garlic heads in half crosswise and blanch for 5 minutes. Remove the garlic heads and any loose garlic cloves from the water with a slotted spoon and drain well. Pour olive oil into a small baking dish and place the garlic heads cut side down into the oil. Add any loose garlic cloves and the onion quarter to the oil. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.

Remove the garlic from the oil and squeeze the softened garlic cloves into a medium bowl. Peel the onion quarter and finely dice. Add the diced onion to the garlic cloves and mash with a fork until smooth. Stir the Worcestershire and lemon juice into the mashed garlic and continue stirring until smooth and creamy. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. The garlic jam will keep refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: about 1/2 cup

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William and Morrow, 1993.