Fresh Herb Rub

I use this rub with thick-cut bone-in pork chops, but you may want to rub it into a couple of pork tenderloins or a bone-in pork loin. Actually, I'm wondering when I can try it with grilled chicken parts or even a roasted whole chicken. How about vegetable kabobs or grilled portabello mushroom caps?

My fresh herb rub takes no time at all to prepare, and you can make it up to one hour ahead of time. This is what you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• the zest of one lemon
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped

Mix it up in a bowl and spread or massage it onto whatever you're using, in my case, four room temperature bone-in pork chops cut from 1- to 1 1/2-inches thick.

Bone-in pork chops will cook up moist and delicious. I always go with meat still on the bone at every opportunity! Thick-cut chops will also keep the meat from drying out. I sear them on a screaming hot pan, flip them once, turn off the heat and set the pan on the uppermost rack of a pre-heated 500F oven. I leave that to cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Recommended internal temperature should be 145F. I remove the pan from the oven at 125F and let everything rest for a few minutes.

Whole or sliced? My preference is to slice each chop, set it on a plate and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

What's on the side? Goodness! Just about anything. Bakes sweet potatoes, a salad, smashed or mashed white potatoes, squash casserole, grilled or sauteed veggies. I really like succotash! You can find my recipe here.