Trick For Perfectly Cooked Pork Chops
- Pork is considered safe to eat at 145 degrees F. Its internal temperature will continue to rise as the pork rests, however, so if you wait until your pork chop hits 145 on the grill, it will be overcooked by the time you eat it.
- I prefer to pull pork from the grill when it reaches 135 degrees F, covering it, and letting it rest for 10 minutes to let the carry over cooking finish the job and the meats juices to reincorporate. This method yields perfectly cooked, juicy pork every time!
How To Store Leftover Grilled Pork Chops
So lets say that you DID take our advice and you doubled this recipe from the get-go , then youll have some delicious leftover marinated grilled pork chops that you can enjoy all week. Store leftovers in a shallow covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy the grilled pork heated or chilled on top of salads or power bowls or in a wrap.
An Easy Grilled Pork Chops Recipe
These grilled pork chops are super easy to make. All you have to do is brush them with olive oil, rub with a perfectly awesome seasoning, and smoke them on the grill. Theyre an explosion of flavor and juicy goodness!
You can even make these pork chops up to a day in advance, if youd like. The longer they sit in the marinade, the juicier and tastier theyll get!
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Brined Pork Chops With Grilled Stone Fruit
For the brine:
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. juniper berries
- 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbs. kosher salt
- 1 Tbs. freshly ground black pepper
- 6 bone-in pork chops, each at least 1 inch thick
- 6 ripe but slightly firm plums, peaches or nectarines, halved and pitted
- Canola oil for brushing
To make the brine, in a large bowl, combine the water, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, juniper berries, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper. Stir until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Place the pork chops in a large sealable plastic bag and pour in the brine. Seal the bag closed, squish the brine around the chops and refrigerate overnight.
At least 30 minutes before you plan to begin grilling, remove the chops from the refrigerator. Discard the brine, rinse the chops briefly in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for indirect grilling over medium heat; the temperature inside the grill should be 350° to 375°F. If using charcoal, bank the lit coals on either side of the grill bed, leaving a strip in the center without heat, and place a drip pan in the center. If using gas, preheat the burners, then turn off 1 or more of the burners to create a cooler zone. Brush and oil the grill grate.
Grilling authority Fred Thompson is the author of the book Williams-Sonoma Grill Master, which includes more than 100 recipes. To buy the iBook version, which includes exclusive videos, search;Williams-Sonoma in iBooks;on your mobile device.
Brining Pork Chops For Grilling
In my opinion, the JUICIEST grilled pork chops are bone-in brined pork chops.;If youve never brined your pork before, it will change your culinary life! ;Brined pork chops are more tender, more moist, and less chewy than non-brined pork. ;In all of my pork recipes, readers have commented that brining is a MUST and are converted as well; even overcooked brined pork emerges juicy so PLEASE brine your pork chops for melt-in-your-mouth pork;without;having to plan ahead with an overnight marinade.
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How To Cook Pork Chops
Serve tender and flavourful pork chops every time with our tips and recipe ideas. This meat is delicious when griddled, pan-fried, roasted or grilled.
Pork chops, like steak, are versatile and easy to cook. Taken from the loin of the pig, they have a generous fat layer on one side and sometimes have a small piece of bone left in. Served with vegetables and mustard or a simple sauce, they make a great speedy meal; however, they can easily become tough and dry if youre not careful with the temperature or timings.;
The key with chops is to maximise the flavour by cooking the fat on the outside really well over a high heat. This should be done quickly so as not to dry out the meat inside. You can help to keep the chops nice and tender by doing one of the following:
- Resting them after cooking
- Finishing them in a low oven;
- Cooling the pan of seared chops by adding a liquid like cider;
- Roasting them on top of vegetables so as to protect one side from the intense heat;
The quickest way to cook pork chops is to pan-fry or griddle them. As the chops can be quite large this method is best when serving one or two people. If youre cooking for more you might want to try roasting or grilling. ;
How To Season Pork Chops
Once you have your seasoning ready youre good to go on seasoning your pork chops.
Like with most types of seasoning or rubs, apply it to your raw defrosted meat liberally and evenly over all sides. Try to get into every area you can and dont be shy with it.
And yes, youll need to use your hands.
Once youve applied it be sure to rub it in firmly. Were trying to really work it into the flesh of the meat as best as possible.
Once thats done, you dont need to leave the meat out or store it in the refrigerator. Were pretty much ready to grill right away.
As a side note, if youre wanting to bake or pan fry this instead then this seasoning will still work just fine. If its not obvious, Im just completely biased towards grilling!
Set up your charcoal or gas grill for indirect grilling at a fairly low heat. Once ready, transfer your pork chops to the indirect zone of your grill, and slowly work to raising the temperature within your grill chamber.
The reason for this is to allow the seasoning itself to cook and form a slight coat on the surface of your pork chops. It will work better into the flesh of the pork too, giving you juicy, flavor-packed meat.
Our target internal temperature for pork is 145°F, so be sure to use a good grill meat thermometer to monitor this.
This should give you a beautifully sweet and spicy edge to your grilled pork chops, and give you a pork rub that you can come back to again and again.
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Tips For The Best Grilled Pork Chops
- Dont Overcook: Nobody likes a tough and dry bite of meat, so make sure you dont leave your pork chops on the grill for too long.
- Let Cool Before Serving: Your pork chops will be very hot when you take them off the grill, so dont try to eat them right away. You should let them cool down for at least 5 minutes. This also helps the flavors intensify!
- For flavor purposes, marinate your pork chops for at least 2 hours before grilling. You can let them soak for up to a day to get the ultimate flavor and juiciness.
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Grilled Boneless Pork Chops
Grilled succulent boneless pork chops arent just an urban myth! It is possible to get juicy flavorful grilled pork without the bone. Need proof? Well just look at these photos! ?
Ok, thats not exactly proof, right? But let me tell you this is one delicious meal! I served these chops with some easy sides ;Seasoned Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges; and;Grilled Caesar Salad, its a favorite! And finished off everything with;Blueberry Lemon Cobbler on the Grill.
Grilled Pork Chop Variations
While this recipe is delicious as-is, you can add other ingredients to customize it to your tastes.
- Spicy: You can add crushed red pepper flakes to this marinade. I typically add 1/4 teaspoon, but you can add more than that if you like.
- Asian: Try a blend of olive oil, toasted sesame oil, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic for the marinade.
- Mexican: You can marinate the chops in a blend of olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chili powder and onion powder. Add a sprinkle of cilantro before serving for maximum flavor.
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Grilling Thick Pork Chops
In order to cook a thick chop to the proper temperature, you cant just throw it on a high-heat grill. By the time the internal temp reaches 140°F for your pull temp, the entire outside of the chop will be overcooked, dry, tough, and chewy. Large cuts need a slightly slower, slightly longer cooking time. Thats where grill roasting comes in. Grill-roasting is accomplished with a two-zone fire, with one side of the grill very hot and the other without any heat.
Grill-roasting is accomplished with a two-zone fire, with one side of the grill very hot and the other without any heat.
It looks like this:
Place the chops in the indirect-heat zone, which should be in the range of about 350°F , and cook them until they reach 130°F . When the alarm on your Smoke sounds, move them to the hot side for just a minute or two to sear a few tasty grill marks onto the surface. With a Thermapen, verify that their internal temperature has reached 140°F and no higher before removing them from heat to rest. This method yields juicy, tender pork chops that will leave a lasting impression, especially on those that have been eating overcooked pork their whole lives. Toss in a few grilled fresh apricots, and you have a dinner that celebrates not just National Grilling Month, but the whole of summer.
How Do You Bake Pork Chops Without Drying Them Out
The sauce alone ensures juicy, tender chops. Baking pork chops for the first 15 minutes, then broiling for a further 10 minutes all together creates a crispy outer layer which helps keep those juices recirculating back into the meat while baking. Flipping the chops a couple of times while baking also gets those flavours baking evenly, retaining the juices while preventing the edges from burning.
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Brine Your Pork Chops For The Juiciest Results
One of the best things you can do to increase juiciness when cooking lean meats like pork chops is brining. Brining meats helps to break down the proteins in their muscle fibers, preventing them from squeezing and drying out during cooking. The salt in the brine dissolves some of the proteins, forming;a gel capable of holding on to more water. With more water and the protein structure of the meat altered, the meat will be juicier and more tender.
Plus, you can help impart a little bit of flavor to the chops by brining them, so its a real win/win.
When making the brine, I find it expedient to make it using only half the water, then adding ice to cool it and bring it to a proper dilution. Just be sure to use your Thermapen to check the temp of the brine before adding the chops. Food safety practices say that meat can be in the range between 40°F and 70°F for four hours. Getting the brine on the cool side before you put it in the fridge will ensure that you arent hanging out in that zone for too long.
Note: After you brine your chops but before you cook them, dry them well with some paper towels. A wet surface will not brown, and youll pump too much heat into the meat as you try to cook off that water. Starting with meat that has been dried off will help you get better browning without overcooking.
What Kind Of Pork Chops Are Best For Grilling
If you dont have much experience grilling pork chops, it might seem overwhelming to select which pork chops to use.;The majority of pork chops come from the] loin of the pig which is a strip of meat that runs along the back of the pig, from the shoulder to hip.; Some cuts have more fat and richness, some are more tender, and some are just better for different cooking techniques.
For the best grilled pork chops, I suggest using bone-in pork chops because they tend to be juicer, cook more evenly and are slightly fattier which means they are more tender and more flavorful. ;Pork rib chops;are the most desirable cut of bone-in pork chops.; Sometimes packages will mix pork rib chops with bone-in loin chops which is also a good option.; Here is a breakdown of the different cuts of pork chops:
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Brined And Grilled Pork Chops Faqs
How can you keep pork chops from drying out on the grill?
Choose bone-in chops that are around 3/4-inch thick, have some marbling and fat around the outside, and soak them in a brine solution for one hour prior to grilling.
How do you brine pork chops for grilling?
Combine 2 cups of water with 4 tablespoons of salt and 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Simmer and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat, add 2 cups of cold water and cool completely before brining the chops for 1 hour.
How long should you cook brined pork chops on the grill?
For 3/4 to 1-inch thick chops, cook on well-oiled grates for 4 minutes on the first side, 3 to 4 minutes on the second, or until a thermometer registers . Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Thermal Basics Of Grilling Pork Chops
Pork chops come from the pork loin, the pork equivalent of the beef rib eye. If you dont see much resemblance, its because American pork is bred to be exceedingly lean, eliminating all the fatty marbling that you see in a rib eye. If you can manage to find a heritage-breed pork chop, not only are you in for a treat, but youll see that it looks like a much smaller rib eye steak.So what do the leanness and location have to do with the thermal principles of grilling a pork chop? Everything. First, note that the loin is a little-used muscle on the hog, and will, therefore, have little connective tissue. Cooking pork chops is nothing like cooking pork butt or pork steaks that come from the shoulder because you dont need to dissolve any collagen to tenderize the meat. That means you can cook them relatively quickly.
But the leanness coupled with the lack of connective tissue means that there is not moisture reserve in the meat if you overcook it. This makes it even more critical that you hit your target temperatures, or you may be eating dry pork that will have you reaching for the jar of applesauce in your cupboard.
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Pork Chop Grill Time Chart:
The total cooking time for your pork chops will depend on the size and thickness of your meat, as well as the temperature of your grill and whether you’re using bone-in or boneless chops. Here’s a handy chart that provides a closer approximation for your reference:
Again, the best way to know when your meat is done is to use an instant-read meat thermometer. Pork chops should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
What Kind Of Pork Chops Should I Buy For Grilling
Bone in pork chops are the best for grilling. You want to purchase a pork chop that is at least 1-inch thick to use on the grill. If you dont see any out for purchase, you should ask at the meat counter and they can cut them for you. Ask for a 1 1/2 to 2 inch bone-in center cut rib chop or loin chop. Either of these will be a great option for the grill.
If you like this recipe you may be interested in these other pork chop recipes:
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What Is The Best Cut Of Meat For Grilled Pork Chops
There are four different cuts of pork chops. The most preferable is the center cut rib chop.