Smoked Double-Thick Pork Chops
By America's Test KitchenPublished on November 9, 2012
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour marinating and 20 minutes resting
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Ground fennel can be found in the spice aisle of most supermarkets.
Instructions
- Combine sugar, fennel, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, and pepper and rub mixture all over pork chops. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Soak wood chips in bowl of water to cover for 15 minutes. Spread the soaked, drained wood chips in the center of a 15 by 12-inch piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fold the edges of the foil toward the chips, leaving a 5-inch window for smoke to escape. Open bottom vent on grill. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (about 100) and burn until charcoal is covered with fine gray ash. Pour hot coals into pile on one side of grill and lay foil packet over coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, open lid vent halfway, and let grill heat for 5 minutes. Scrape cooking grate clean.
- Arrange chops, bone side toward fire, on cooler side of grill. Cover, positioning lid vents directly over meat, and cook until chops register 145 degrees, 50 to 60 minutes (if your chops are less than 2 inches thick, start checking them for temperature after 30 minutes). Slide chops directly over fire and cook, uncovered, until well browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and let rest 20 minutes. Serve.
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour marinating and 20 minutes restingYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Most grilled double-thick pork chops recipes result in a charred exterior and raw meat, or gray meat that tastes steamed. We wanted our Smoked Double-Thick Pork Chops recipe to have great taste, color, and tenderness. Cooking our pork chops over indirect heat made for juicy and tender meat, but it wasn’t the best method for adding flavor. For that, we added some hickory chips to the wood to infuse the pork with a nice level of smoke flavor. Coating the double-thick pork chops with a rub of brown sugar and potent herbs and spices helped produce a flavorful crust, and quick grilling over hot coals at the end of cooking gave the crust a crisp texture and rich mahogany color.
Before You Begin
Ground fennel can be found in the spice aisle of most supermarkets.
Instructions
- Combine sugar, fennel, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, and pepper and rub mixture all over pork chops. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Soak wood chips in bowl of water to cover for 15 minutes. Spread the soaked, drained wood chips in the center of a 15 by 12-inch piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fold the edges of the foil toward the chips, leaving a 5-inch window for smoke to escape. Open bottom vent on grill. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (about 100) and burn until charcoal is covered with fine gray ash. Pour hot coals into pile on one side of grill and lay foil packet over coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, open lid vent halfway, and let grill heat for 5 minutes. Scrape cooking grate clean.
- Arrange chops, bone side toward fire, on cooler side of grill. Cover, positioning lid vents directly over meat, and cook until chops register 145 degrees, 50 to 60 minutes (if your chops are less than 2 inches thick, start checking them for temperature after 30 minutes). Slide chops directly over fire and cook, uncovered, until well browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and let rest 20 minutes. Serve.
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