By Memorial Day weekend, three days of it, and I spent every morning in the garden and every afternoon cooking something. That was my plan and I held to it. Cooked a rack of pork ribs on the outdoor grill on Sunday — the first time I'd used it this year, the first time I'd used it without Helen here to complain that I always add too much smoke. She was right, I do. I added too much smoke. It was excellent.
The maple syrup harvest gave me a full four gallons this year, more than I'll use, and I've been experimenting with cooking with it beyond the obvious applications. Made a maple-glazed pork situation that came out exactly right — the sweetness cutting through the fat in a way that plain sugar wouldn't accomplish. That's the thing about maple: it's not just sweet, it has depth. There's a reason Vermont people treat it with something approaching reverence.
The news from the rest of the world continues to be grim. I've been rationing my intake — reading the morning paper and then stepping away. You have to manage what you let in. The garden helps. Cooking helps. The evening calls with Sarah help most of all. We've talked every night for weeks now, and it's become something I didn't know I needed. At sixty-seven, alone on a Vermont farm, nightly phone calls with your daughter turn out to be the thing.
Sarah says the boys are restless. Teddy misses his friends, misses school, misses the ordinary choreography of a twelve-year-old's day. I remember twelve — that particular hunger for the world to be bigger than what you can see from your window. I told him summer is coming and the farm is still here. He can come when it's safe. That seemed to help a little.
The rack of ribs that Sunday was its own thing — instinct and smoke and forty years of knowing a grill — but this grilled pork and poblano recipe is the one I wrote down, the one worth passing along. The poblano brings a mild heat that plays against the sweetness of a maple-touched glaze in exactly the way I was chasing all weekend, and it comes together fast enough that there’s still time to sit on the porch after. That’s what I needed: something good, made by hand, eaten in the quiet.
Grilled Pork and Poblano Peppers
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch slices or strips
- 3 poblano peppers, halved and seeded
- 1 medium white onion, cut into thick rounds
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Juice of 1 lime
- Fresh cilantro, for serving (optional)
- Warm tortillas or rice, for serving
Instructions
- Make the marinade. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, and lime juice until combined.
- Marinate the pork. Place pork slices in a shallow dish or zip-top bag and pour the marinade over them. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes, or refrigerate up to 4 hours for deeper flavor.
- Prepare the grill. Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush poblano halves and onion rounds with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season lightly with salt.
- Grill the vegetables. Place poblanos skin-side down and onion rounds directly on the grill. Cook 4—5 minutes per side until softened and charred at the edges. Remove and set aside; slice poblanos into strips when cool enough to handle.
- Grill the pork. Remove pork from marinade, letting excess drip off. Grill 3—4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and nicely charred, basting once with reserved marinade during the last minute of cooking. Internal temperature should reach 145°F.
- Rest and serve. Let pork rest 5 minutes before slicing. Serve over rice or in warm tortillas, topped with grilled poblano strips, onion, and fresh cilantro if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 480mg