Double Chop and Kickin' Skillet Corn
Thick-cut pork chops seared over the fire, then corn cooked down in the same pan with lime and chile.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 14 oz
- cal / oz
- 44
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Double-cut pork chops | 2 | ask the butcher to french the bones; one chop feeds two |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest spice blend | 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp | chile, cumin, garlic, paprika; mix at home |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Vegetable oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Yellow onion | 1 small | diced |
| Garlic | 2 cloves | minced |
| Corn | 4 ears | kernels cut off; frozen corn works if the cooler is cold |
| Jalapeño | 1 | seeded and minced, optional |
| Butter | 2 tbsp | |
| Lime | 1 | juice and zest |
| Cilantro | 1/4 cup | chopped |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down to coals. Set a grate over it and put a 12-inch cast iron pan on to heat.
- Pat the chops dry. Rub them all over with 2 tbsp of the spice blend and the salt. Let them sit while the pan comes up.
- Add 1 tbsp oil to the pan and sear the chops, about four minutes a side, until they are dark and release cleanly.
- Move the chops to the cooler edge of the grate, off the pan, and cook until the center reads 140°F. Set them on a board to rest.
- Put the remaining oil in the hot pan with the onion. Cook two minutes, then add the garlic and jalapeño for one more.
- Add the corn and the last teaspoon of spice blend. Stir it every so often for six or seven minutes, until some kernels char.
- Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the butter, lime juice, zest, and cilantro. Pepper it.
- Slice the chops off the bone and lay them over the corn in the pan.
This is a car-camping dinner, not a pack-in one. Two thick chops, one pan, and a cooler. The order matters more than anything else: the chops sear first so the pan is full of rendered fat and browned bits, and then the corn goes in and picks all of that up. Cooking the corn in a clean pan would waste the best part.
The finishing ingredients go in off the heat. Butter added to a screaming pan breaks and the lime juice cooks off, which leaves you with hot corn and nothing bright against the spice rub. Pull the pan, then stir. Cutting the kernels at home is the one real change from a kitchen version — whole ears are mostly cob, and cob does not fit in a cooler you also want beer in.
Packing
Mix the spice blend at home in a small jar. Chops go in the cooler in a zip bag, sitting on ice, not swimming in melt. Cut the corn off the cobs at home and bag the kernels; four bare cobs take up more cooler than they earn.
Variations
- Frozen corn straight from the cooler works and needs an extra two minutes to drive off the water.
- No lime keeping well? A splash of cider vinegar does the same job of cutting the butter.
- Cook it on a two-burner camp stove instead of coals if the fire ban is on.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/double-chop-with-kickin-skillet-corn