BBQ52/17: Monster Pork Chops

BBQ52/17: Monster Pork Chops – Smoked and Grilled in the style of the butcher and the boar!

I bought a new book recently – Project Smoke by Steven Raichlen. It’s got some great recipes in there and I have added a lot to my “to do” list. One that really stood out was “Monster Pork Chops” mainly because the photo looks awesome! Here is a photo from his Facebook page (not my photo!): 

I ordered the pork chops from Turner and George. I went for the Pork Loin cutlets 4x300g for £12.60 but asked them to cut the chops as 2x600g instead of 4x300g.

The chops arrived, they were hefty but looked great:

pork chops

The recipe calls for the chops to be brined for 12 hours. I have brined meat before and haven’t really noticed a difference against not brining it but this time I followed the recipe: Hot water, sea salt, sugar and Prague powder #1 stirred until dissolved then cold water added. You leave the brine to cool to room temperature then pour it over the chops, cover with clingfilm and stick it in the fridge.

I took the chops out the next day and patted them dry, I could feel from touching them they were a lot softer. Very interesting!

I got the smoker ready aiming for 225F. I left it a while to settle down then added a few chunks of Whisky oak and Pear then placed the chops on:

pork chops

The recipe says to take the pork chops to 145F (62C) internal temperature and it should take 1.5 to 2 hours at 225F. I kept an eye on it and kept adding pear chunks, it hit 63C after 2 hours and 15m. I used pear chunks as I haven’t used it before but have used a lot of apple and cherry with pork so wanted to give it a try. It gave the meat a great colour!

pork chops

I had seen the temperature approaching the target point and had fired up the chimney starter with some Alder wood from Oxford Charcoal. Once the chimney was ready I poured it in the BBQ and placed my grill grates on top leaving them for 15 minutes to get up to heat.

Whilst the BBQ was heating up I had taken the chops inside and used my spice shaker to apply the rub I had made the night before: Chipotle powder (recipe says to use ancho but I didn’t have any so used chipotle!), dark brown sugar and coarse sea salt. I applied this liberally over all sides of the pork then put them on the grill:

pork chops

The recipe says to grill them 2 to 3 minutes per side, rotating a quarter turn halfway to get the grill marks and remember to grill the edges too:

pork chops

I love this next photo, the colours are fantastic – I think it’s one of my favourite BBQ photos I have taken so far!
pork chops

Once I was happy the grilling was complete I took them off to rest for a bit:

pork chops

pork chops

Served up with the always awesome Kenji roast potatoes – beef fat again:

pork chops

This was a truly great meal, I cannot tell you how much we enjoyed it! I have never eaten pork that was as tender, juicy and full of flavour as this. It really was incredible! Turner and George definitely provide top quality meat but the brine, smoke and grill with the rub must have been the winning combination because it was one of the best things I have cooked so far. With the first bite I had a bit of a wow moment then waited and watched my wife have the same reaction as she eat her first bite! Bargain for under £13!

I wouldn’t change anything with the recipe of the cook, it was spot on!

If anyone fancies cooking it the recipe is online here: http://barbecuebible.com/recipe/triple-thick-pork-chops/

Let me know if you cook it. Hope you enjoy it too!


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2 thoughts on “BBQ52/17: Monster Pork Chops

    1. Hello, it’s been a while since I cooked this but looking online 1 cup is 128g so I would probably have gone with that.

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