Orange-Ginger Pork Chops (Atkins Induction Recipe)

Finding just the right marinade for your pork chops
makes all the difference in the outcome!

I am always experimenting with new marinades, and the Orange-Ginger Marinade that I created for these pork chops really made a huge difference in the flavor.

Orange and ginger combined with pork is always a winner, but orange juice isn't keto-friendly, so how do you get a rich orange flavor without using carby oranges?

In the low-carb world, all it takes is a willingness to embrace Crystal Light powdered drink mix for its specific advantages.

Hubby just kept raving and raving all night about these chops.

Probably, because I don't ordinarily go out of my way when it comes to pork. I just sprinkle the chops ahead of time with meat tenderizer, and broil them using garlic and onion powder, rather than doing anything fancy.

This marinade gave the pork a super nice flavor.

While the garlic and ginger are regular low-carb ingredients at our house, what really made these Orange-Ginger Pork Chops special was how I got that orange flavor without using a real orange.

How to Cook These Pork Chops

If you're on a high-fat diet or maintenance, you can add a tablespoon or two of your favorite oil to the marinade.

Sesame oil would be especially nice in this.

You don't have to use Crystal Light. If you're on a higher carb diet, like Atkins 40 or maintenance, you can use a tablespoon or two of orange juice concentrate (7 carbs each) instead of the Crystal Light.

You can also substitute your favorite ketogenic-friendly brand. I often use Kroger's sugar-free powdered drink mix, and Winco also has one that is gluten-free. Great Value brand is NOT.

The recipe makes enough marinade to cover 4 to 6 pork chops, depending upon how strong an orange flavor you want.

The trick to getting nice and tender pork chops is to be very careful that you don't overcook them. Like a chicken breast, you have to catch pork chops when they are just barely done and serve immediately, so they don't have time to tighten back up.

I am a huge Adelle Davis fan, a biologist who used to write about nutrition when my kids were young, and she always recommended that you broil your meat on a very, very low temperature with the oven door left open.

The slower you cook the meat, and the lower the temperature, the more tender the meat will be.

In fact, some of the recipes for pork ribs that I have been looking at lately cook the ribs at a mere 200 degrees for several hours.

I did these chops in a counter top oven that also had the capacity to broil. I turned the broiler setting on, then was able to adjust the temperature to whatever I wanted.

I used 300 degrees, since a toaster oven doesn't cook as hot, and let them broil for a total of 20 minutes.

They came out perfect!

Orange-Ginger Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 pork chops or pork steaks
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tarmari
• 1 tablespoon apple-cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon orange-flavored Crystal Light powder
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Place your pork chops or pork steaks in a zip-lock baggie.

In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, Crystal Light powder, water, garlic, ginger, pepper, and baking soda. This is going to get quite foamy. Pour the marinade over the meat, and refrigerate for several hours, turning over occasionally.

When ready to cook, remove the meat from the baggie and place on a Pam-sprayed broiler pan.

Pre-heat the broiler to 300 degrees. Then broil chops about 10 minutes per side, depending upon the thickness of the chops. Very thick chops will take a bit longer.

These are also nice thrown on the grill.