I like to grill in the summer, it takes the heat of cooking out of the house and lets me get a bit of fresh, albeit smoky, air. This recipe is also super-easy, the hardest part is getting the charcoal started.
What you will need:
1 – charcoal grill or smoker, if smoker, set the charcoal pan in the second level brackets from the bottom (closer to the meat), for a regular grill, place the grill as high above the coals as allowed, usually 8-12 inches is good, you don’t want it too close.
2 – Hickory, maple, apple or mesquite wood chips (see note below)
1 – medium mixing bowl
1 - large fork
1 - sharp knife
- Salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- Ground garlic ( I like the garlic grinder you can buy now, rather than powdered garlic)
- As many 1-2 inch thick pork chops as you need, don’t get thin ones or they will turn out like leather, 1 inch is the minimum with 2 inches being optimal.
- Platter large enough to hold the pork chops during preparation
- Charcoal – I like Kingsford, not the self-starting kind either
- Charcoal starter
- Long fireplace matches or long butane starter
Be sure to place the grill or smoker outside with plenty of ventilation and nothing over hanging it if possible.
Step 1: Fill the bowl half way with water and place 2-3 handfuls of the wood chips in it to soak (see note below for Mesquite)
Step 2: Remove the grill or smoker cook rack and place enough charcoal in the grill or smoker to cover the bottom with a 2 briquette thickness (smoking generally takes longer than regular grilling)
Step 3: Liberally douse the briquettes with Charcoal starter
Step 4: Carefully light the briquettes with match or butane starter
Step 5: Take the pork chops from their package and lay them on the platter
Step 6: Lightly salt and pepper
Step 7: Lightly dust with garlic, with the grinder I do about a full turn per side of pork chop.
Step 8: Turn over the chops and repeat step 5 and 6
Step 9: Once the flames have died away and the charcoal is starting to turn white, carefully remove the wood chips from the water, shake a bit to get rid of the excess water and spread the chips over the coals (usually I do half now and half at the mid point of cooking)
Step 10: Place the grill rack in place and place the pork chops onto the rack
Step 11: Cover the grill, open the bottom or side vents just a little to let air in but cover should hold smoke in (a bit leaking around the edges is ok).
Step 12: Take the platter back in and wash it off, you will use it for the chops once they are cooked.
Step 13: At about the 5-10 minute point (depending on thickness) I like to turn the chops over, carefully uncover the grill, retaining as much heat as possible in the lid and use the fork to turn them over.
Step 14: I usually serve the chops with a vegetable such as Leasuer peas or Stokley Kitchen cut (I don’t like French cut) green beans. If you like you can fix fresh steamed broccoli or carrots, fix your side disk now.
For 1 inch chops expect it to take at least 15-20 minutes to smoke the chops. If you have a smoker, the temperature gage should show in the medium range. For 2 inch chops 30-40 minutes is probably not overly long. Check the chops by carefully lifting the lid (if it is detachable, keep it level to trap the heat inside it and place it bottom down beside the grill while checking the chops) and then use a fork and sharp knife to cut into the thickest part of the chop, it should be white all the way through to be done, this is pork, make sure it is done! If the chops aren’t done yet, carefully put the lid back on and wait another 10 minutes.
Hickory gives a typical barbecue type flavor
Maple or Apple will give a sweeter taste
Mesquite, well, a very strong flavor, use about half as much for your smoking or you will sweat mesquite for a day or two…and so will your guests…I am not kidding here.
The first time with a regular grill you may have to watch a bit close to make sure the meat is far enough above the coals to not get burned. You can try using aluminum foil under the chops (lay them on the foil and cut pieces just big enough to hold each chop) and use that as a heat shield if your grill won’t adjust properly.
