One of the few things that is growing nicely in my garden is my lemon thyme plant. I brought this plant home with me in June from the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market, along with five other herb plants. For the most part, the herbs are doing okay. (Except the sage which I think was sat on by a rabbit or something- it just suddenly died. )The other day it occurred to me that I had a lovely lemon thyme plant, but I didn’t really know what to do with it. In fact, I was kind of regretting not planting regular thyme this year, which I do use quite a bit of when I have it. So I sampled the lemon thyme, and was surprised to find that the thyme flavor itself is really, really subtle. You really have to hunt for it in order to find it. Otherwise, I found the herb to just be a very nice punch of citrus, and knew it would be great with a chicken or pork dish.
Boneless pork chops it was. I picked them up and then set to work making a very simple marinade to get as much flavor out of the lemon thyme as I could. I took three large sprigs of the lemon thyme and pulled the leaves off the branches. Then I added a few pinches from my parsley plant- once chopped, that amounted to about 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley. The juice of one lemon was added, along with two small cloves of garlic, minced. Half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and my marinade was ready. I whisked it all together, and then set my two-inch thick chops in the marinade. After 20 minutes, I flipped the chops over.
45 minutes later, I fired up the grill, and then drizzled the chops very lightly with peanut oil- just to keep them from sticking terribly to the grill. I have four burners on the grill, so I set the four chops over the middle two. I turned those two burners down to low and left the outside ones on high. I put the cover back on and cooked for ten minutes. Then I flipped them over and gave them another ten minutes. At that point, it felt to me like the chops were firming up, and were close to being done. They looked great on the outside, but since they were so thick, I wanted to be sure they were cooked through. So I took the two burners on the right and turned them off completely, and then set the chops over those to cook indirectly. The two burners on the left I turned to high. They were cooked five minutes per side, and then they rested, covered with foil for ten minutes.
These were pork chop perfection. The lemon thyme came through loud and clear, and we all enjoyed them very much. Even the kids nearly cleaned their plates- which is seldom heard of when it comes to meat. I definitely recommend the lemon thyme. Next year, I will be planting regular thyme as well, but I’m glad I now have this hardy lemon herb growing in my garden. As I understand it, it should winter over very nicely here in the north, and I’ll be enjoying it for years to come.
I suspect this marinade would be equally delightful on chicken breasts as well. Or swordfish? You might need to marinate for less time, but this would work great with a nice meaty fish. When I bought the pork chops, I hesitated for a minute, because the meat counter I was at also had pre-marinated meats available. They are always tasty there, but I never know what they put in their marinades. The meats that come pre-flavored are also more expensive, so why pay the extra money when I can make a marinade using ingredients I already have on hand?
Up next, a surprisingly delicious use for dill.
Lemon Thyme Marinade
3 sprigs lemon thyme (about 1 tablespoon leaves when removed) 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley 2 cloves garlic, minced juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup) 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons peanut oilCombine all the ingredients in a container for marinating. Marinate your meat for 30 minutes to an hour- flipping at least once to get both sides.
Cook your meat using your preferred method.