It’s grilling season and this Lemon Herb Grilled Pork Chops Recipe was last week’s star of the show! I threw together a simple, tangy marinade and let the pork chops sit overnight, then Mr Magpie grilled them up the next night. It really doesn’t get easier than this!
Grilled Pork Chops for Summertime Cooking!
We brought a brand new BBQ this year to make sure that we were getting out a ton of new grilling recipes for you guys this summer! I don’t even want to talk about how bad my old BBQ was….let’s just say that it was astonishingly terrible and I can’t believe that we were even still and yet using it up to a month ago haha! Oh man. Our climate here in Edmonton is terrible on anything left outside and there’s no room to store the BBQ inside during the winter. I’m going to have to figure out how to baby this new one now! Advice?
On to the grilled pork chops!
Do I use bone-in or boneless pork chops?
You can use either in this recipe, the choice is up to you. I will say that anecdotally I find that bone IN pork chops tend to be juicier after cooking. I’m sure that having the bone in helps keep the pork chops from drying out. Again this is just my personal preference but whenever I have used boneless they tend to dry up.
Safe Cooking Temperature for Pork Chops
We don’t have to cook the ever lovin’ heck out of pork anymore! Oh my word, the first time I served a pork roast that had a pink tinge to the meat I am pretty sure that my Mom turned green at the thought. With every pork recipe here on The Kitchen Magpie I remind everyone that the finishing temperature for pork has changed. While you do still have to cook ground pork to at least 165 °F. you can now cook roasts, tenderloin and pork chops to 145 °F. This is thanks to farming standards getting better and better over the years, so now the hockey pucks that used to be called grilled pork chops are now a thing of the past!
How Thick Should Pork Chops Be for Grilling?
I prefer to get thick cut pork chops as they are juicier and more tender after you grill them. I love the ones from Costco’s meat department the best, the quality is great and they are the perfect thickness, almost an inch thick! As you can see they are also bone-in pork chops and these were extremely tender and juicy. I buy the large packs at Costco and then package them up into sets of 4 pork chops, place them in freezer safe bags and then freeze until I am ready to use them. In fact, I have another set of four pork chops that I defrosted and are in another marinade right now and we are grilling them up tonight, so watch for that recipe in the next week or so!
Grilled Pork Chops Tips & Tricks
- I really advise that you marinade these overnight, almost 24 hours. These pork chops were left in the fridge for just over 24 hours ( I prepped them at lunch the day before) and they were just bursting with flavour. I also love the fact that I know that I have dinner ready and prepped to go waiting in the fridge. Such a satisfying thing, isn’t it?
- Buy thick pork chops. Just like you wouldn’t buy a thin minute steak to throw on the grill, don’t buy thin pork chops. High heat cooking means that you need to have a nice thick piece of meat otherwise you are going to have shoe leather. (learn more about pork chop nutrition)
- Do cook them to 145°F and try pork at this temperature. I know, I know, it really does take an altered state of mind to get around the fact that pork is usually pink at this temperature. But oh, once you start you will never go back to eating dry pork chops again!
Happy grilling! I am so thrilled that summer is here and it’s grilling season! ( yes, we do grill all year but we really give the BBQ a workout in the spring and summer months more).
Love,
Karlynn
Lemon Herb Grilled Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 4 large bone in thick pork chops
Instructions
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and seasoning.
- Place the pork chops in a large plastic resealable bag and pour the marinade over top, coating them pork chops on both sides.
- Seal the bag and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- If you can, turn the bag once in a while to coat the pork chops evenly.
- When you are ready to grill, preheat your outdoor grill on medium high heat, around 375-425 °F. Make sure to lightly oil the grill grate to prevent sticking if needed.
- Remove the pork chops from the marinade bag place the pork chops on top of the grill. Take some of the remaining marinade and brush on top for one last flavour boost.
- Cook the pork chops for 7-10 minutes on each side OR until they reach an internal temperature of 140 °F. Remove, tent with tinfoil and let rest for a few minutes ,then serve. ( The temperature will raise if you tent them, but if you don’t want to tent them, cook them to 145 °F.)
Notes
Nutrition
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Mala says
Hi! I am new to grilling and we don’t have an outdoor grill. Can i do this in the oven? Or stove top? (Please excuse the ignorance level I am displaying…)
Karlynn Johnston says
No worries at all! You can totally marinate these then bake them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 ° until they reach 145 °F in the middle.