Juicy Grilled Pork Chops Recipe
A method for cooking thick-cut pork chops on the grill
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ inch thick boneless pork chops
- Pork seasoning/BBQ rub of your choice
Brine
- 1 quart water
- 32 oz by weight ice
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tsp whole peppercorns
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
Instructions
The day before you cook
- Bring the quart of water to a boil, remove it from heat.
- Add the salt, pepper, bay leaves, spices, and garlic to the hot water and let them steep for a few minutes.
- Cool the brine by adding the 32 oz ice to the hot brine, cooling it and diluting it to an appropriate level.
- Use your Thermapen ONE to verify that your brine is cooler than 70°F (21°C).
- Transfer the brine to a sealable container and submerge your pork chops in it. Allow them to brine overnight in the refrigerator.
The day of the cook
- Cook the chops
- Set up your grill for direct cooking and preheat it. You want the surface temp of the grill to be at least 425°F (218°C). Use an IR thermometer like IRK-2 to check it.
- Remove the pork chops from the brine and pat them completely dry.
- Once patted dry, apply dry rub to both sides of the chops.
- Oil your grill grate, then place the chops on the hot grill. Cook them, turning about every 90 seconds until a Thermapen ONE inserted into the center reads about 135°F (57°C). This should take about 5–7 minutes.
- Pull from the grill and allow to rest on a cutting board, tented with foil, for about 5-10 minutes.
- Serve the chops!
- You can see the two muscles with different colors in this pork chop. Color is NOT an accurate indicator of doneness!
