Guide to Grilling the Perfect Pork Chop from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Step-by-step instructions to help anyone grill like a professional.

A great pork chop, grilled with the addition of apple or cherry smoke is quite a treat. These instructions should help you serve a perfect chop every time.

Step One: Pork Chop Selection

You'll need bone-in pork rib chops, at least two inches thick, so we're talking about a chop that includes at least two rib bones and weighs between three-quarters and one-and-a quarter pounds. Once you've found a source for these chops, you'll want to select ones that strike a good balance between light and dark meat. 50/50 is ideal, but you'll be lucky to find cuts with more than 30% dark meat. The chops should be close-trimmed (either by you or by your butcher) so that there is a very thin layer of fat around the outside. If you can't find a local source, the Berkshire bone-in pork chops from Allen Brothers (www.allenbrothers.com) are a good option.

Step Two: Preparation

Start soaking some apple or cherry wood chips at least an hour before grilling. Snap one of the chips in two after a while to ensure the liquid has penetrated thoroughly.

If you have a Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Dual-Fuel grill, we suggest you grill your steaks over chunked hardwood or branches from apple and/or cherry trees (Kalamazoo woods available online). Using natural wood as your grilling fuel, you can ignore the directions regarding wood chips.

The chops should be at room temperature before you start grilling, so prepare them about 20 minutes before you'll be ready to put them on the grill. Rinse the chops in water and dry with paper towels. Season the chops generously with your favorite dry rub. We recommend our own Big Shoulders Steak and Chop Rub, but you should be able to get a flavorful result with nothing but a little coarse sea salt and a freshly cracked black pepper. Please note, if you purchased vacuum-packed frozen chops, they may have been injected with a solution. If so, avoid adding much more salt.

Once the chops are prepared, it is time to prepare the grill. On a standard Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet grill, prepare for indirect grilling at 400 to 500°F. If you have our gourmet dual-fuel drawer system, then you'll want to prepare for indirect grilling at the same temperature, but use hardwood for the fuel, supplemented/started with your gas burner. In either case, get your smoker drawer started with a layer of dry wood chips underneath a layer of soaked wood chips as your grill pre-heats (If you do not have a smoker drawer, prepare two tinfoil smoker pouches - start with one and then replace with the second if the first stops smoking). If you have one of our smoker box models, you'll want to prepare for smoking with apple or cherry wood rather than using the smoking drawer.

Step Three: Grilling

Once the grill is ready and the chops are up to room temperature, start by searing the chops on each side. If you have a searing burner, please use it for about one minute per side. If you do not have a searing burner, sear each chop for about two minutes per side directly over the flame.

Once the chops are seared, move them to the part of the grill without flame and proceed with indirect grilling. Again, you should be grilling with indirect heat between 400 and 500°F, and using apple or cherry wood smoke to add flavor. Keep the hood closed as much as possible, but turn the pork chops every 5 minutes. It is also a good idea to rotate the chops position on the grill every ten minutes to avoid having some of the chops nearest the heat source for the entire cooking time while others are away from the heat source the entire cooking time.

The chops should be ready after about 35 minutes of grilling.

Step Four: Resting the Chops

Remove the chops from the grill when they reach an internal temperature of 155°F (using a meat thermometer). Let the chops rest for about three minutes on a platter, covered loosely with tinfoil, and they will continue to rise in internal temperature. If you've timed it right, the chops will be fully cooked, but still very juicy and tender.

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