GRILLED PORK CHOPS WITH CLAMS AND CHORIZO

Grilled Pork Chops with Clams and Chorizo image

Categories Chicken Onion Pork Shellfish Tomato Vegetable Roast Backyard BBQ Dinner Meat Pork Chop Sausage Seafood Clam Grill/Barbecue Gourmet Dairy Free Wheat/Gluten-Free Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free

Yield Makes 4 (main course) servings

Number Of Ingredients 21

Ingredients

2 medium heads garlic
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 Turkish or 1 1/2 California bay leaves
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
1 medium carrot, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 celery rib, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
2 oz Spanish chorizo (cured spiced pork sausage), casing removed and sausage finely chopped (1/3 cup)
1/2 cup drained canned diced tomatoes (from a 14 1/2-oz can)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 whole cloves
3/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (8 fl oz)
24 small hard-shelled clams such as littlenecks (less than 2 inches in diameter), shucked, reserving 2/3 cup juices
Vegetable oil for oiling grill
4 (1-inch-thick) bone-in rib pork chops
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Special Equipment
an instant-read thermometer

Steps:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
Cut 1/4 inch off tops of garlic heads and put heads, cut sides up, on a sheet of foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and wrap tightly in foil, then roast in oven until garlic is soft when pierced with tip of a knife, about 45 minutes.
While garlic roasts, heat remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add bay leaves and cook, stirring, until leaves begin to brown, about 10 seconds. Reduce heat to moderate, then add onion, carrot, celery, and chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, cloves, red-pepper flakes, and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil, then add broth and reserved clam juice. Simmer, uncovered, until reduced to about 2 cups, about 15 minutes.
While tomato sauce simmers, squeeze pulp from garlic cloves and force through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl using a rubber spatula, discarding solids. Whisk purée into tomato sauce. Discard bay leaves and cloves, then keep sauce warm while grilling chops.
Prepare grill for cooking. If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom of grill, then light charcoal. Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill rack for 3 to 4 seconds. If using a gas grill, preheat burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then reduce heat to moderate.
Pat pork chops dry and sprinkle on both sides with salt. Grill pork chops on lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using a gas grill, turning over once, until thermometer inserted 2 inches into center of a chop (do not touch bone) registers 145°F, 12 to 14 minutes total. Transfer chops to a plate and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.
Add clams to sauce and cook just until clams plump and edges begin to curl, 30 to 45 seconds. Stir parsley into sauce along with any meat juices accumulated on plate.
Serve chops topped with clams and sauce.