Spicing It Up... Chipotle Marinade

     I do the outdoor grilling in my house.  During our first years of marriage I may have complained a little too often about my husband's grilling results: well-done (not as in a good job) and smokin' (as in, "Get out the fire extinguisher!").  Three decades later I have realized my mistake and it's too late...but he does prep and clean the grill so I can't complain.  

     Grilling and lighter cooking seem like natural partners when using lean proteins; lean proteins and marinades (or rubs) are another great partnership.  But now I've entered the Weight Watcher "grey zone" - how to count a marinade?  I asked my previous leader just that and I did not care for the answer, which was having to count the entire marinade amount.  Many of my marinades are low Point (vinegars, herbs, Worcestershire, etc.) and some are not (honey, peanut butter, ketchup, etc.) but the idea of counting it all when most of the marinade goes down the disposal seemed ludicrous!  

     I have made an executive decision to measure the marinade before adding the protein and measure after marinating and removing the protein.  The Chipotle Marinade in this post makes about 2 cups (11 Points as per the Recipe Builder) and as long as I'm consistent when following the recipe in future, I will already know the "before" amount when I make it again.      
     When I measured the remaining marinade after I removed the trimmed pork tenderloin (it was marinating in a big glass measuring bowl) it had gone down by approximately 1/3 cup.  To simplify things I decided to divide the marinade recipe into six 1/3 cup servings, making each serving 2 Points.  (Next time I make it with chicken pieces I may have more or less marinade left over so I'll adjust the serving size to simplify the math, is necessary.)  I ate about a third of the marinated pork so adding a Point to my serving seemed adequate.  Now I know not to sweat marinades that are made with low/zero Points foods and as for this Chipotle Marinade, I ended up with a delicious piece of pork which was well worth one extra Point.  And my curiosity was satisfied along with my appetite.          

Chipotle marinated pork tenderloin.

Chipotle Marinade 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large sweet onion, roughly chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 chipotle en adobe with a spoonful of sauce
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2-3 teaspoons paprika (I use half sweet/half hot)
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2-3 tablespoons ketchup
• 2-3 tablespoons honey

Putting It Together:

 A food processor makes it so easy!

      Put ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse/blend until combined but with some texture.  If you don't have a food processor chop onion, garlic, chipotles finely and combine with remaining ingredients.  Taste to check spice level-sweetness; adjust if necessary.  Pour marinade over meat in non-reactive bowl, refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  When ready to grill, remove meat from marinade and place on a wire rack.  To save myself some clean up I cover a cookie sheet with foil and place the rack on top - no pan to wash, just the rack.  I push off most of the marinade bits and spray all sides of the meat with cooking spray 
(I also spray the grill); now it's ready for the grill.    

Drying off before grilling.

     I came up with this marinade by adjusting my chipotle barbecue recipe which I came up with by adding chipotle (and a few other extras/substitutions) to my mom's barbecue sauce recipe.  I wanted something that tasted like barbecue sauce but was lighter and this fit the bill for me.  BTW I'm using "barbecue" like a Minnesotan, not a Texan!  I love this marinade for pork tenderloin and boneless-skinless or bone-in chicken breasts or thighs.  I do cut my tenderloin (they're usually about a pound so one could marinate several in this marinade amount) into 3-4 wedges so that the meat is more flavored and cooks quickly and evenly.

      Guidelines for cooking pork have changed over the years - the other white meat doesn't have to be overcooked and dry.  For information about cooking pork check here.  Overcooking any meat can be a problem when grilling and experience is the best teacher but in the meantime I've included a link for the "finger test."  For a low-tech way to test for done-ness check here.