How To Grill Pork Chops Step By Step
Note: check out our grilled pork chops temperature guide below. Youll see that were recommending taking the meat off the grill 5ºF lower than your preferred doneness. As pork rests, it will continue to cook around 5ºF.
Faqs For Tender Grilled Pork Chops
What thickness do you use for your chops?
I usually use 1/2- to 1-inch thick
What temperature do you use on the grill?
I set my pellet grill to 375 for medium heat.
How do you freeze this ahead of time?
I marinate them and then put them in the freezer. I pull them out in time to defrost in the refrigerator and then put them on the grill when they are defrosted.
Juicy Grilled Pork Chops Recipe
These Grilled Pork Chops are perfect for summertime, but to be honest, you can whip them up all year long. The best part is that theyre always juicy on the inside and they form a perfectly seasoned crust on the outside. When it comes to serving, you can use them for everything from the main entree to a salad topper.
If you love a great Grilled Steak, youll love these juicy grilled pork chops. Its a more affordable option than expensive cuts of beef and a great way to satisfy your BBQ cravings.
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Love pork? Try some of our other grilled & BBQ-worthy pork favorites like grilled pork tenderloin with peaches, easy pork carnitas, or pulled pork while youre at it.
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Lemon Garlic Marinated Grilled Pork Chops
Nothing adds flavour to a pork chop like a good marinade! These Grilled Pork Chops are infused with bright lemon flavours and plenty of garlic.
Terrific to throw on the BBQ of pan fry them if its not grilling season. They brown nicely on the outside and are extra juicy on the inside thanks to the marinade!
Ingredients For This Grilled Pork Chops Recipe
- Bone-in pork chops Go for bone-in thicker cuts, as they typically have more flavor and turn out extra juicy.
- Olive oil an extra virgin or light olive oil will work well here.
- Garlic Youll want to use fresh garlic over garlic powder. If you love garlic, feel free to throw in a few extra cloves to the marinade.
- Lemon juice Youll need 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice from about 1/2 lemon.
- Black pepper Opt for freshly cracked black pepper for more flavor
- Kosher Salt A coarse, flakey kosher salt works best for the marinade.
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Do You Rinse Marinade Off Pork Chops
If youre grilling, broiling, or pan-searing your pork chops, you should drain the marinade before cooking. Too much liquid while cooking can prevent the meat from browning. Its best to pat your chops dry with a paper towel for extra measure.
Now, if youre baking, braising, or slow-cooking your chops, no need to rinse. You can use your marinade as a rich sauce.
Important: Make sure to marinate your chops in a refrigerator and never at room temp. This keeps your food safe and flavor intact.
And if youll be cooking your marinade /using it as a sauce, make sure it comes to a complete boil. You may opt to boil your marinade separately then drizzle it onto your chops as well.
What Ingredients Go Into Pork Chop Marinade
- Soy Sauce its the secret to a delicious pork chop marinade, acting as a brine to tenderize the meat while adding depth of flavor. .
- Apple Cider Vinegar acid in the vinegar helps to break down proteins, making the meat extra tender. You can substitute white vinegar, rice vinegar, or use pineapple juice for a Hawaiian style marinade.
- Brown Sugar another key ingredient that enhances the natural flavor of pork chops while balancing out the acidity of the vinegar. It also helps create a caramelized crust. You can substitute honey or white sugar if you prefer.
- Ketchup as the basis for many barbecue sauces, ketchup helps the chops to brown nicely. In addition, it contributes stickiness allowing the sauce to adhere better to the chops.
- Olive Oil dont use extra virgin olive oil because it has a low smoke point. Regular refined olive oil works best!
- Garlic use freshly minced garlic for the best taste.
All of the ingredients above work together in harmony to make the perfect pork marinade!
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Making The Pork Chop Marinade
- Combine the marinade ingredients in the Ziploc bag, including soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, finely minced or crushed garlic, onion powder, and pepper. Squeeze the bag to combine the ingredients.
- Add the pork chops into your bag of marinade. Then seal, pushing out as much air as possible from the bag. Massage the contents of the bag some more to thoroughly coat your pork chops, then place in the refrigerator for at least one hour. *A quick 15-minute marinate time can work in a pinch, but does not allow the pork chops enough time to really take on the marinade flavor.
Best Grilled Pork Chop Marinade
This marinade is my absolute favorite. It’s a BBQ-friendly version of the one I use in my Juicy Baked Pork Chops recipe and very similar to the one I use in my Best Grilled Chicken Breast recipe.
The spices you’ll need are:
To make the marinade, you mix the spices with some oil and apple cider vinegar until a paste forms. The vinegar tenderizes the meat and the wet rub helps prevent the chops from drying out on the grill. It’s the perfect grilled pork chop marinade.
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What Temperature Pork Should Be Cooked To Eat Safely
For years, cooks have been told to cook pork until well done, resulting in a dried out piece of meat nobody wants to eat. No more!
According to recent changes in the USDA guidelines, it is safe to eat pork cooked medium rare. Cook the pork chops to an internal temperature of 140°F and still barely pink inside, then rest for about 5 minutes for the residual heat will continue to cook and raise the internal temperature.
For thin cut, bone-in pork chops about 1/4 inch thick, cook over direct medium-high to high heat for a total of 3-5 minutes, with the lid closed, turning once.
For 1-inch thick boneless pork chops, cook for 8-12 minutes over direct heat turning every 3-4 minutes or until well grill marked with the lid closed. Add another 5 minutes resting time for the juices to set in the meat.
If cooked properly, the pork chops will release a bit of juice as they rest, a sign theyre still nice and juicy on the inside.
Grilled Pork Chops Marinade#
This lemon garlic marinade is SO GOOD with grilled pork chops though also excellent with chicken and lamb so Ive have notes for marinating times and cooking directions for those too.This marinade is a little different to most that I share in that theres a very high ratio of lemon juice in it. Which means if you leave it for too long, it starts to cook the pork in the same way citrus juices is used to cook raw fish to make ceviche without going near the stove.On the plus side, the super marinating strength of lemon juice means that unlike most marinades, you dont need to leave it overnight for it to work its magic even 1 hour is long enough!
1 hour minimum youll be surprised how much flavour gets infused in such a short time! 3 hours is ideal Up to 24 hours is the absolute max beyond this, the surface texture of the pork turns white which is due to the acid in the lemon juice cooking the pork.
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Pork Chops Internal Temperature
The best way to know if your pork chops are done is by measuring the internal temperature. Everyone likes to eat their pork chops slightly differently. Some like it well done and some like it medium-rare.
So, below you will find internal temperatures corresponding to doneness:
- 145-150ºF medium-rare
How To Make Juicy Grilled Pork Chops
First, start off by seasoning your chops with a simple dry rub. Pat the chops dry with a paper towel.
Then, mix sea salt, garlic powder and smoked paprika together in a small bowl. Rub the mix on both sides of the pork chops.
Then, marinade the pork chops. I like to make a simple marinade: Italian dressing makes the easiest, BEST marinade for pork chops!
Place pork chops into a zip-top gallon freezer bag. Then, pour Italian Dressing into the bag, over the chops. You don’t need a lot of dressing — 1 cup will do.
Next, marinate the pork chops in the Italian dressing for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. You can marinate pork chops for 2 hours or overnight if you want, but it’s not necessary.
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Pork Chop Marinade Ingredients#
Here are the ingredients required for this simple but highly effective marinade for pork chops:
Fresh garlic Dried oregano Lemon juice and zest Olive oil Salt and pepper
Its ideal grilled because the high heat will sear the crust beautifully. But it can of course be cooked on the stove as well!
I cooked half of these Lemon Garlic Marinated Pork Chops on the stove and half on the BBQ . You can see the difference in the crust, simply because I get a higher heat on the BBQ.Ive also provided directions for how to bake these pork chops in the oven the only way youll get a nice browning is to use the grill/broiler for a good 5 7 minutes to brown the top side only. So the baking time is considerably reduced to cater for this.
How To Flavor Grilled Pork Chops For Grilling
There are two main ways that you can flavor pork chops for grilling > marinades or dry rubs.
: a marinade is like a flavor bath for your pork. It infuses the meat with delicious flavors and leaves your pork extra juicy. In this recipe, were using our go-to pork chop marinade .
Dry Rubs: dry rubs are a great way to add amazing texture to the outside along with intense flavor. If youd rather use a dry rub for this recipe, we recommend our Pork Rub. Its sweet, savory, and a little smokey. Its made with black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, and a little cinnamon.
PS: if you want ultra-tender chops, feel free to use our pork chop brine.
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Why Should I Marinate Pork Chops
Marinating is an important flavor building component. A good marinade, like this zingy marinade, helps to add moisture to lean cuts of meat as well as tenderize the meat.
Aside from flavor and moisture, marinades can help with digestion and help to reduce carcinogens produced when cooking meats at high temperatures.
Seriously Yummy Pork Chop Marinade Recipe
Whether youre looking to make grilled pork chops, Instant Pot pork chops, or baked pork chops, its always a good idea to marinate your pork!
This pork chop marinade is sweet from brown sugar, salty from soy sauce, and savory from Worcestershire sauce. Its all pulled together with a little citrus and garlic to make this one delicious pork chop marinade!
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How Long To Cook Pork Chops On The Grill
One of the best parts about grilling pork chops? It is FAST!
The amount of time you need to cook pork chops on the grill will vary based on the thickness and whether you choose bone-in or boneless.
- My recommended 1 ½ inch, bone-in pork chops cook in 9 to 12 minutes over medium high heat. Flip them once halfway through.
- Check the pork early. You can always put your pork back on the grill to cook for longer, but once its overcooked, there is no return.
How To Make These Marinades
Heres how you can make any one of these fabulous marinades:
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Why This Recipe Works
- These grilled pork chops have a wonderful smokey flavor from the grill that’s accented from the smoked paprika in the marinade!
- Letting the pork chops marinate 45 minutes to overnight keeps them juicy and succulent while cooking on the grill.
- Make this a part of a low carb meal! There’s only 9 grams of carbs per serving.
- This is a great recipe to make for the summer or any bbq!
- You can also make this with an indoor grill pan! Just make sure your pan is hot enough when adding the pork for those beautiful grill marks.
Are These Pork Chop Marinades Healthy
Yes, these pork chop marinades are healthy! Heres why:
- Making your own marinades allows you control over your calories the ingredients you choose. Store-bought marinades often contain lots of added sugar, sodium, and artificial ingredients.
- coming from high heat grilling and broiling. Essectially, they serve as a buffer for the food as it cooks.
- Using nutritious and clean ingredients such as rosemary, lemon, garlic, etc. on your marinades, can add a mix of healthy antioxidants, anti-carcinogenic properties, and vitamins to your meat! Yay!
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How To Grill Pork Chops Without Drying Them Out
Follow these four cardinal rules for perfect, juicy grilled pork chops.
- Use Thick-Cut, Bone-In Pork Chops. A thicker chop can better withstand the heat of the grill. The bone also helps insulate the meat and keep the pork chop moist.
- . Coating the pork with a rub or marinade that contains salt is key to ensuring that the pork turns out juicy, not dry. Salt tenderizes meat and helps it retain water, keeping your pork chops moist.
How Long Should You Marinate Pork Chops
For ultra juiciness and best results, pork chops should be marinated for at least an hour. Even better for at least two hours! Check out my recipe below. You could even have them marinating for 6 to 8 hours or overnight depending on the type of marinade.
A longer soak helps the meat tenderize. Know, however, that marinades only reach the outer part of thick meat. It never really gets to the center of thick cuts. Still very tasty, though!
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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!
What Temperature Should Pork Be
Pork is the other white meat. Similar to chicken, there is a safe-to-eat temperature for pork that you should be looking for. Pork needs to be 145 degrees F to be considered safe to eat.
In this recipe I state to cook to 140 degrees and then tent for 5 to 10 minutes. The temperature of the pork will continue to rise to the safe temp once taken off the grill. If you wait to remove it at 145 degrees, itll most likely be tough by the time you take a bite.
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Best Grilled Pork Chops Recipe
Pork chops are a simple cut of meat that is ideal for marinating and then char-grilling. They are so good and grilling is my favorite way to cook them! With the bone-in and seasoned with lots of garlic, savory flavors, and a dash of honey. Then grilling them to juicy, tender, finger-licking good perfection!
And this recipe is so simple! You can easily make it ahead of time. With little to no prep at all, its the perfect quick and easy main dish. Once you make the 3-minute 5 ingredient marinade and then let the flavors meld into the pork chops for about 30 minutes, they only take about 16 minutes to cook!
Grilled pork chops are a fantastic option for a weeknight dinner or a weekend backyard BBQ! Just add a few sides like my Potato salad, Mashed Potatoes or Coleslaw. Or, my Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables and Cauliflower Rice if youre trying to keep it extra healthy, low carb, or keto!
