How Do You Make Perfectly Juicy and Tender BBQ Pork Chops On You Smoker?
Frustrated by dry pork chops every time you smoke or grill? In this episode, we teach you how to make the best pork chops every time on your smoker!
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In this episode, Leah and Al demonstrate how to properly brine, smoke, and sear pork chops so they come out perfect every time. #thepigswerevegan
You can see the full directions and a more detailed discussion at https://www.eatmorevegans.com
We got our hands on some amazing Tamworth porterhouse pork chops from Heritage Foods USA as a part of their very special Pork Chop 4-Breed Tasting Kit (https://bitly.4emv.com/HF_ChopKit). Scroll down for some background on these amazing Tamworth pigs.
NOTE: We are not an affiliate and Heritage Foods isn’t a sponsor of EMV, but we are fans of each other so they gave me a coupon code just for Eat More Vegans fans that will give you 20% off any of their pork products. Use coupon code “Heritage20”.
The porterhouse pork chop is a fantastic cut, just like a porterhouse steak. Each chop has two distinct muscles – both the tenderloin and loin – each with a different density and marbling structure, giving two distinct textures and flavor profiles.
For this cook, we used an overnight wet brine with water, sugar, kosher salt, black peppercorns, thyme, juniper berries, and garlic cloves. Pork takes really well to wet brines, as it will take on the flavor and aroma of those aromatics.
For the perfect smoked pork chops, we used the Reverse Sear cooking method on a Big Green Egg XL. Instead of firing up a hot grill and just searing them to temperature, we smoked low and slow on the BGE over FOGO hardwood charcoal and applewood chunks for about an hour at 225°F until the internal temperature was about 125°F. Then we let them rest for a few minutes while we cranked the Big Green Egg up in temperature until the Grill Grates were at 650°F for searing. We seared for 2 minutes on each side to get that amazing Maillard reaction on both. A few more minutes of rest and it was time to taste.
One look at Leah’s face when she tasted these chops and you’ll know that this method absolutely nailed it.
If you want to get your hands on any of the equipment or food you saw in the video, there are links to just about everything below. We make a few sheckles if you use those links to explore (except for the Heritage Foods link – you get a discount instead of us getting an affiliate share), so if you learned about something here and you’d like to support us please consider clicking through*.
About the Tamworth Pigs:
The Tamworth, also known as Sandy Back and Tam, originated in central England in Staffordshire. The breed takes its name from the village of Tamworth in Staffordshire. Tamworth pigs were first imported to North America by Thomas Bennett of Rossville, Illinois in 1882. Many more Tamworths were imported into Canada after 1888.
These particular chops come from oat-fed Tamworth pigs raised by Craig and Amy Good, of Good Farms, just north of Manhattan, Kansas, affectionately known as “the little apple.” Appropriate, then, that we smoked them in Brooklyn NY in the Big Apple! Craig learned to breed pigs from his father who taught pig husbandry at Kansas State.
If you have any questions please leave a comment below and we will reply. Thank you so much for watching! See you next week on Eat More Vegans!
Food:
Heritage Foods Pork Chop 4-Breed Tasting Kit: bitly.4emv.com/HF_ChopKit
Kosher Salt – https://amzn.to/30DahHp
Juniper Berries – https://amzn.to/2OSgzxY
McCormick Culinary Whole Black Peppercorns: https://amzn.to/37nNRf6
Cooking Equipment Used in This Video:
GrillGrate Searing Grates – https://amzn.to/2G2BlpY
Boos Block – https://amzn.to/367idSs
Boos Block Oil and Cream – https://amzn.to/2NJ3u9N
Butcher Block Table – https://amzn.to/365U3Yx
Dalstrong Knives Gladiator Series – https://amzn.to/30D29Xo
Nitrile Gloves – https://amzn.to/2G7AmVC
Checkered Chef Baking Sheet and Rack Set – https://amzn.to/37b5boi
Checkered Chef Cooling Racks Only – https://amzn.to/2NJLSdX
Reynolds Wrap Pitmaster’s Choice Foil – https://amzn.to/37bo0Ys
Work Sharp Culinary E5 Kitchen Knife Sharpener – https://amzn.to/2NHcPyZ
Thermoworks IR Thermometer – http://bit.ly/2tmzQjQ
Thermoworks Time Stack – http://bit.ly/2RMgr51
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Original of the video here
BBQ Sause Recipes
BBQ Chicken Recipes
BBQ Pork Recipes
BBQ Beef Recipes
BBQ Turkey Recipes
Video Transcription
(upbeat music)- Hey, welcome Back.I’m Al from Eat More Vegans.- And I’m Leah from Eat More Vegans.- And today, we are going to
cook and eat another vegan.But not a vegan person, right?- No.
– No.What kind of vegan are we
going to cook and eat today?- Well, today, we are going
to cook and eat a pig.- Right, a vegan pig.We’re going to eat a couple
of porterhouse pork chopsfrom Tamworth pigs.Now, Tamworth pigs come
from Tamworth in England.It’s a town in Staffordshire.It is one of the oldest
heritage breeds of pigsthat can be traced back.It’s actually a red pig,not a white pig like your buddy here.And very lean, very muscular.Should have a good amount
of intramuscular fat.Why do we care about
the intramuscular fat?- Well, it helps keep the meat more moist.- Right.Moist and tender, and it’s also
going to do a lot for flavor.So, here’s our program today.Leah, today we’re going to
start by making a brine.Now, last time you and I
were in the kitchen together,we made a dry brine.This time, we’re going
to make a wet brine.What do you think the difference is?- Well, I think the dry
brine has some salt or sugar.- Right.- And this brine has a
lot more water involved.- Right.So, we call it a wet brine becausewe’re going to put it in water.It’s going to do the same basic thing.It’s going to pull the
moisture out of the meat.Because of this wet brine,we’re going to use a lot of aromatics.So, we’re actually going
to get a little flavorinto the meat as well,while it’s brining overnight.So, should we go ahead and
put our brine together?- Yep.- All right.So, we’re going to start
with two cups of water,and then, Leah, we’ve got a
half a cup of sugar there.Now, a half a cup of kosher salt.How ‘about we throw in
some black peppercorns?Should we do some thyme?
– Yep.- Then, one of the we
don’t cook with a lotis juniper berries,but we’ve got a half a tablespoon
of juniper berries there.Then, the last ingredient is garlic.So, I’ve got about half a dozen,I think five garlic cloves here.All right.Well, I’m going to go
throw this on the stove.All I’m going to do is bring it to a boil.As soon as it boils,I’m going to take it off the
heat and shut the flame off.Throw some ice in there and
some ice water to cool it off.The sugar and salt should be dissolved.We should have a really aroma herein the kitchen of
juniper berries and thymeand all this good stuff in there.Then, once it’s cool,we’re going to put the
pork chops in the brine.While it’s boiling,we’ll take a break and maybe
we’ll trim those pork chops up.Let’s do it.(upbeat music)While that boils,let’s go ahead and trim these chops, huh?By the way, these Heritage chopsare going to be a little bit smallerthan what you’re buying
in the grocery store.The reason is,these don’t have all those
crazy growth hormones.They haven’t been pumped
up with antibioticsand all kinds of other stuff.This is a naturally grown pig.Let’s go ahead and trim these up.Leah, you notice that we’ve got
good intramuscular fat here.Remember what that’s called?- That is called marbling.- [Al] That’s the marbling, right?Then, we’ve got a little
bit of a layer out hereof fat that isn’t going to
add any value to the meatwhen we cook it,so let’s go ahead and trim that.What happens to the rub when youput it on the fat instead of the meat?- [Leah] Well, that’s bad
because the fat soaks upall of the spices and
the meat gets hardly any.- Right, so it’s not
going to get to the meat.We’re going to trim it.Then, we also, we want
nice round corners here.We want this whole thing
to be rounded all around.The reason is because
we’re going to smoke these.We’re going to cook them
using a reverse sear method.Little bit of body fat
on the side of this piececan definitely come.Okay.We’ve got two well-trimmed
Tamworth porterhouse pork chops.Leah, would you grab the
bowl there for brining?Thank you very much.All I’m going to do is put these in here.Then, after that brine cools down,I’ll be able to fill up
the bag with the brine.Let’s get the brine off the heat.We’ll put some ice in it to cool it down.We’ll be right back to fill it up.(upbeat music)So we’ve made the brine.We brought it to a boil.We let it cool.We threw some ice in it.Now, I got to tell ya,there’s no smellivision on YouTube,so you can’t smell this,but those juniper berries
and the thyme, boy.Just really smells delicious.Now, what we’re going to do isput in the bag here with the pork chops.I’m not going to sift it.I’m going to put all of those aromatics,that garlic, those juniper berries,the thyme, all in here.Then, I’m going to try take as much airout of this bag as I can.I’m going to zip it almost all the way up,and then I’m going to push it untilI’ve got nothing but liquid
coming up to the corner.All right.Now, I’ve got a nice, easy liquid brinethat this will be able to sit in.These chops, over the course of the next,I don’t know, probably 24 hours-ish,are going to have moisture pulled out,they’re going to absorb
some of the salt and water,and they’re going to
absorb all that wonderfularoma and flavor from the juniper berries,from the thyme,from the garlic,little bit of the sugar.These will be ready tomorrow.We’re going to do a reverse sear on themand get some smoke on them,and boy, they’re going to be delicious.I hope.All right, Leah.What do you say we put these in the fridgeand call it a night and go to bed?- Yeah.- Okay.(upbeat music)Welcome back.The pork chops have been
sitting in the wet brine,what, about 24 hours, Leah?- Yeah.- It should’ve had a good
opportunity to get thataromatic scent in,get the flavor penetrating,and for the salt that was in the wet brineto penetrate deep into the meat.Should have a really nice lookingcouple of pork chops
when we take these out.By now, you’re used to
seeing me working witha drying rack and baking tray.I’m just going to shake a
little bit of the wet brine off.There we go.Got some of those juniper
berries that are clinging on.We’ll get those off of there.Leah, would you hand me a paper towel,so I can dry these down a little bit?Thank you.(upbeat music)It’s time to put a BBQ rub on.I like to use my own style of rub.You can use any BBQ
rub that you like here.I like a sweeter rub with pork chops.Leah, you like a sweeter
rub with pork chops, right?The rub that I use at home,which hopefully someday
we’ll have ready for you guysto buy online,I use dark brown sugar, I use salt.I use just a little bit of salt becauseI usually brine the pork.I use paprika.I use ancho chili powder.All of these things are
common to find in common rubs.I’m going to put a really light dusting.I’m going to get it all the way around.Notice I’m holding the
shaker way up in the air,so I get a nice, even coating.Remember, these Tamworth pork chopsare going to have a lot
of flavor themselvesas a Heritage chop.If you’re using a cheap store-bought chop,then maybe you want to put
a little bit more rub onthan I’m putting,but you really don’t need a lotif you’re using a good
piece of vegan meat.Let’s give those a couple of minutesfor the rub to start to absorb,and then, we’ll go out
and get them on the grill.When we get them on the grill,we’re going to do a process
called a reverse sear.You might’ve seen us do that
in a steak video recently.A reverse sear allows us
to bring the temperatureof the pork up really slowlyand get the flavor of the
smoke around the pork chop.We’re going to pull it about
15 degrees before it’s done.Before it reaches a temperature
we want to serve it at.Then, we’re going to bring the temperatureof the grill up to a searing temperature.We’re going to put on some grill grates,and then, we’re going to
get a really good sear.Get that Maillard reaction.Have these things get a
nice browning on them.Then, they’ll be ready to eat.We’ll see you outside in a minute.(upbeat music)Welcome back to the backyard.We’re using the extra large Big Green Egg.His name is Darth.We’ve got him set up and
running at 225 degreeswith Fogo hardwood charcoaland a little bit of applewood
for good quality smoke.We’re going to do our reverse
sear on those pork chops.First thing I’m going to dois go ahead and put them
right into the middle.I want to make sure that I’m putting themover top of my heat baffle,so that the direct heat
doesn’t get on them at all.I’m going to put in a thermometerinto each of them,and I’m going to try to
get right to the centerof one of the meatiest
portions of the pork chop.Even thought these are two
different size pork chops,with the low temperature
that we’re cooking atsince we’re doing low and slow cooking,they should cook in about
the same amount of time.Let’s go ahead and get this
grill closed back down.Get them smoking.Should be about an hour until
these are ready to come off.Then, we’ll be talking about searing.(upbeat music)Okay, so the pork chops
are at about 125 degrees.They’re not done.But they’re cooked all the way through.We’re going to take them off now.We’re going to wrap
them up, keep them warm.We’re going to fire this grill upand get it ready for searing.So Leah, can you wrap those
really tight for me please?Then, put them in the cooler?- [Leah] All right.(upbeat music)- Perfect.Now, while we’re over here at the grill,I’m actually going to take
the heat deflector out.I’m going to open this up and
get to searing temperature.I’m going to open up my vent
all the way on the bottom.I’m going to open up
all the way on the top.And now I’m going to put
my full-size grate back on.We’re not going to cook it on this.We’re actually going
to cook on grill gratesthat I’m going to get nice and hot.(upbeat music)I’m going to put these
right over the flame.That’s going to be our searing
surface for the pork chops.We’re looking for those to
get up to about 550 degrees.Maybe 600 degrees.We’ll get a great sear.We’re going to pull
that Maillard reaction,which I’ll talk about in a
second on the pork chops.They’re going to be ready to eat.See you in a few minutes
when we’re up to temperature.(upbeat music)The grill is at about 650 degreeson the grill grates.We’ve got these oiled
down with avocado oil,which is a high smoke point oil.Now, it’s time to get
a sear on those chops.Leah, you want to pull
those out of the cooler?So Leah, we’re going to sear these,and we’re going to get a reaction.Do you remember the name of the reactionthat we’re going to get on these?- [Leah] The Maillard reaction.- [Al] The Maillard reaction, right.Is that named after your backyard?No, it’s named after the
French chemist, Maillard.Yeah, okay.What our goal here is to take these chops,which are almost done all the way through,and we’re going to cook
’em the rest of the wayon this high heat grill grate,trying to get a browning reactionthat’s going to affect
the enzymes and proteins.That’s where that wonderful tasteof grilled food comes from.We’re going to do this using four minutes,like we did steaks.Remember how we did that?One minute and then we turn ’em.Then one minute and then we turn ’em.The one minute and we flip ’em.You remember all of that?Okay, when I tell you,you go ahead and hit start.You ready?- Yep.- [Al] All right, start them all up.(device beeping)Now, these grill grates
might be one of the bestinventions in grilling.This allows the grate to get
to a super high temperature,way hotter than a smoker would getand to concentrate that heat.It’s also going to keep us from
having really bad flare ups.Leah noticed that we’re doing thiswith the grill dome open.The reason is we’re not
trying to create an ovenand cook them like we did before.The goal of this is to just
keep those grill gratesreally hot, create that Maillard
reaction on the pork chops.(upbeat music)The reason that we flip ’em overinstead of turning them
and then flipping ’em,we really don’t want to
create too much heat.We want to let that heat
that we just createdcome back off the top while
the bottoms are cooking.Then, we’ll flip ’em back over
when it’s time to turn ’em.This time, I’m going
to flip ’em over again,and I’m going to turn
them about 45 degrees.(upbeat music)Okay, this is our last flip.Oh, look at that pattern.These look delicious.One more minute until these
are ready to come off.(upbeat music)- [Leah] Five, four, three, two, one.- [Al] Okay, let’s pull both of these off.We’re going to bring them inside.We’re going to let them
rest for about five minutes.Then, if we did this right,we’re going to taste the
yummiest, juiciest pork chopswe’ve ever made.Are you excited?- [Leah] Yeah!- Okay, we’ll see you inside.(upbeat music)Welcome back.It’s the best part of the
Eat More Vegans videos.This is where you get to
watch Leah enjoy the food.(upbeat music)Are you ready to eat
some vegan pork chops?- [Leah] Yes!- I was in a meeting a couple of weeks agoin my other job with a guy named Tom,who told me that he wanted
to learn how to maketender and moist pork chops.I told him that I thought
I knew the secret.Let’s go ahead and cut
this meat off the bone.Let’s see, what do you think?I think it looks pretty juicy.It’s done perfectly.Let’s cut a couple of slices.(upbeat music)Then, I’m also going to take
the tenderloin off of the bones,so we can taste that as well.I don’t even think I
need a knife for this.I think I can just pull that right off.Let’s take a couple of
slices of the tenderloin.Now, this is a small chop.Remember, we talked about
earlier in the videothat Heritage meats are
often going to be smallerthan what you’re getting
in the grocery storebecause they’re not pumped
up on growth hormones,but it’s going to be way tastier.All right.Leah, you ready?There you go, are you ready?- Yep.- Cheers.(upbeat music)Oh, that’s really good, isn’t it?- That is the best pork
chop I’ve probably ever had.- Tom, if you’re watching,I think we figured this out for you.Ready to try the tenderloin portion?There you go.You ready?Cheers.That’s so moist.You okay over there?(both laughing)So, here we have Heritage veganTamworth porterhouse pork chops.Right?We used a wet brine
that we made last night.We kept them overnight for
24 hours in the wet brine.Today, we took them out of the wet brine.We put a quick rub on ’em,and then we did a reverse sear.We smoked them at 225
degrees over applewood.We brought ’em up to about 125 degrees.We took ’em out.Leah put ’em in the cooler.We brought the temperature
of the grill up.Then, we seared ’em on about
600 degree grill gratesfor four minutes.Brought ’em in and let
’em rest for five minutes.I think we know how Leah
feels about the pork chops.(laughs)The result is, once again,I feel bad for you people
that you don’t get toeat this with us,so try this recipe,pick up some good Heritage vegan pork,make this at home,and hopefully you’ll be able
to enjoy it as much as we are.We’ll see ya next week on Eat More Vegans.Please, if you’re not a subscriber,make sure you smash that subscribe button.Hit the bell for notificationsso you know when our next video comes in.We’ll see ya next time on Eat More Vegans.(upbeat music)
“How Do You Make Perfectly Juicy and Tender BBQ Pork Chops On You Smoker?” Follow Al at Eat More Vegans! Those look absolutely delicious and perfectly prepared!