GrillAmerican
Grilled thick pork chops
Bone-in, 1½ inches, two-zone fire. The oven chop’s outdoor twin — same 140°F blush, with a grate crust.
Made it?
50 min · 20 min hands-on · pull 140°F · rest 8 min
Ingredients
2 lb on the fire · ~1.4 lb to the table · 3 plates at 8 oz
- bone-in pork chops, 1½ inches4 (2 lb)
- kosher salt2 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- oil1 tbsp
Method
- 1
Salt 45–90 minutes. Skip a wet brine if the label says enhanced.
- 2
Indirect 350°F to 130°F, lid down. Then 60–90 seconds per side over direct heat, including the fat edge.
- 3
Rest 8 minutes to 140–145°F. That is juicy modern pork, not 1995 pork.
If you don’t have it
- Bone-in thick chops → The oven-brined chops already in the library. Same pull temp. Grill is the crust; oven is the weather backup.
- Dry brine → Skip salt if the label says enhanced. Injected pork plus more salt is a ham.
Same cook, different day
Mustard-herb
A nicer chop. Dijon and herbs after the reverse, then the sear.
Apple-glazed
You want sticky. A thin cider glaze in the last minute of the sear. Sugar earlier will burn.
Thin-chop exception
All you have is ¾-inch. Skip the reverse. Hard sear 2 minutes a side. Do not walk away.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making potatoes au gratin.
In the oven the last 70 minutes of a roast, or while steaks reverse. Yukon Golds, ⅛-inch, layered with cream, garlic, salt, Gruyère. 350°F until a knife meets no fight, then a brief broil.
1 hr 15 min
- With this dish, try making grilled asparagus.
When the meat comes off to rest. Thick spears, oil, salt. Hot grate 2–3 minutes, roll, another minute. Lemon. Pencil spears go in a hot skillet, not on the bars.
10 min
- With this dish, try making mashed potatoes.
Start when the roast has 30 minutes left, or while a steak rests. Russets, salted water, drain hard. Rice or mash. Butter first, then warm cream. Do not put them on the fire — they want a pot.
35 min