Grilled Pork Chops are the classic North American treat dinner, and for a good reason. When done right, they are succulent, tender, and oh so delicious, especially when you make your own seasoning blend to go with them.
Make sure to make your very own Pork Chop Seasoning for this recipe. Or why not make The Best Juicy Brown Sugar Baked Pork Chops instead?
Grilled Pork Chops
Pork chops are not only the quintessentially North American dinner dish, but they are also surprisingly hard to cook them just right.
Unlike when cooking a beef steak, pork chops can go from tender to firm and unpleasant much faster, and they have a bit less fat in them than a steak like a rib eye, resulting in a much more delicate and skillful cooking process.
However, thanks to this recipe, you should be able to make mouth-watering pork chops every single time, so long as you season them right and don’t lose attention when they are on the grill!
Grilled Pork Chops Ingredients
Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.
• Pork chops
• Pork Chop seasoning
How To Make Grilled Pork Chops
• Preheat your grill to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate
• Take your pork chop seasoning and put it into a large flat bottomed bowl or dish
• Take one pork chop and put it into the seasoning, and flip it to coat all sides well
• Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining pork chops
• Grill the pork chops on the grill for 15 minutes, or until they are cooked through, and a minimum internal temperature of 145 Fahrenheit is reached
• Remove from the grill onto a plate and let rest for 3 minutes before serving
How To Cook Your Pork Chops To The Perfect Temperature
The biggest risk when cooking pork chops is that you accidentally overcook them and turn them from tender pork to chewy rubber.
This is especially easy with pork chops as, unlike with other cuts of pork, pork chops are usually cut pretty thin, making it very easy to accidentally cook them too much and end up with something too chewy and without any juiciness whatsoever.
The best way to ensure that you are only cooking your pork as much as you need to is to use an instant-read thermometer.
These thermometers are capable of telling you almost instantly what temperature the inside of the meat is, so long as you put the probe into the thickest part of the meat.
You are ideally shooting for a temperature of 145 Fahrenheit for perfect medium / medium-rare doneness.
However, if you want that little bit of extra juiciness, try pulling the pork chops from the grill the moment that the internal thermometer reads 140 Fahrenheit. Though this is 5 degrees less than considered safe, there will still be a lot of leftover heat within the pork chops that will continue to heat the interior.
This carry-over heat will bring the pork up to the remaining temperature increase needed to be safe while it rests, so make sure that you aren’t skipping the resting step!
How Thick Should Your Pork Chops Be For This Recipe?
Most people don’t really consider the size or thickness of their pork chops – they just pick up whatever is available at the store.
However, the actual thickness and size of your pork chops are going to make a huge difference when it comes to finally cooking them.
Thinner pork chops will tend to be a bit less juicy, but they will also cook super quickly. This fast cooking time lets you cook them on super high heat, allowing you to get really great scorch marks and browning on the surface of the pork chops.
Thicker cut pork chops, however, take a lot longer to cook yet are also way juicier. This means that you need to cook them at a much lower temperature for fear of accidentally overcooking the exterior before the interior is fully cooked.
You want to strike a middle ground and compromise based on whatever is best for you and your cooking method. If you cook your pork chops in the oven, for example, thicker is definitely better, as they cook slower and slower and get really delicious and tender, without much risk of overcooking or turning chewy.
However, for cooking on the grill, try to get a good medium cut – something that is substantial and still “thick” but without being so thick that you might burn the outside.
If you do struggle with not burning the exterior before the insides are cooked, try continuously flipping your pork chops as they cook. The constant flipping will prevent the outside from burning while the inside still gets plenty of heat to help get it cooked through.
Looking for more delicious Pork Chop recipes? Try these out:
• Baked Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops
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Grilled Pork Chops
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium – high heat and lightly oil the grate.
- Take your pork chop seasoning and put it into a large flat bottomed bowl or dish.
- Take one pork chop and put it into the seasoning and flip it to coat all sides well, pressing the seasoning into the pork chop so it sticks well. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining pork chops.
- Grill the pork chops on the preheated grill for 15-20 minutes until they are cooked through and a minimum internal temperature of 145° is reached.
- Remove from the grill onto a plate and let rest for 3 minutes before serving.
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