If you're tired of always sautéing or grilling pork chops, try smoking pork chops to keep the meat tender and give it a delicious smoky flavor. You can buy smoked pork chops, but smoking your own on an outdoor smoker or a stovetop smoker lets you control all the seasonings and choose a really nice piece of pork. Serve smoked pork chops with your favorite barbecue sauce or chutney to add an extra kick of flavor.
Step 1
Rub the pork chops with your favorite spice rub or a combination of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the meat in a plastic zip-top bag and let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour or two.
Step 2
Preheat your outdoor smoker, if you are using one, to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Set up the smoker for indirect heat by heating only one element or moving lit coals to the perimeter of the smoker to leave a space where you can set the pork on the smoker above a flameless area. Place a handful of soaked hickory or apple wood chips on the smoker's heat source.
Step 3
Prepare a stove-top smoker, if you are using one, by placing apple or hickory wood chips on the bottom of the smoker pan and placing the cooking pan on top of the chips.
Step 4
Place the pork chops in the outdoor smoker, close the lid and allow the chops to cook for one hour and 10 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 5
Set the pork chops on the cooking grate inside the stove-top smoker and close the lid almost all the way. Set the smoker on the stove over medium heat. Close the lid completely when smoke starts to waft out of the opening. Allow the pork to cook in the closed smoker for 30 minutes.
Step 6
Use a meat thermometer to check the pork chops for doneness. Use tongs to remove the chops from the smoker when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 7
Use tongs to place the cooked pork chops on a serving dish. Serve the pork hot with your favorite sweet or savory dipping sauce.
Tips and Warnings
- Properly cooked pork chops will be firm to the touch.
- Use the meat thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature of the pork and remove the chops from the heat as soon as they are done to prevent overcooking.
Things You'll Need
- Spice rub or a combination of salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Plastic zip-top bag
- Hickory or apple wood chips
- Outdoor charcoal or electric smoker or stove-top smoker
- Meat thermometer
- Tongs
- Serving dish
- Sweet or savory dipping sauce (optional)
References
- Food Network; Pat's Smoked Pork Chops; The Neelys
- Emeril's.com: Hickory-Smoked Pork Chops With Braised Greens and Green Onion Rice Pilaf
- Food Network; Kiawe Wood-Smoked Pork Chops With Green Apple Chutney and an Apple-Soy Glaze; Emeril Lagasse; 2002
- USDA; Meat Preparation; Safety of Fresh Pork; From Farm to Table
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