Best Smoked Pork Chops Recipe (Pellet Smoker)
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Smoked Pork Chops will be the star of your BBQ menu this summer, and they are beyond simple to make! Three ingredients are all you need to make these mouthwatering juicy and tender pellet grill pork chops with an outrageously delicious, smoky flavor!
Get ready to fire up your smoker for one of the best and easiest pork chop recipes ever!!
Even though there are so many different ways to cook pork chops, this one is my personal preference.
It’s a simple cooking method that creates tender pork chops for the whole family to enjoy.
If you’re a fan of pork chips, don’t let this recipe pass you by!
Smoked Pork Chops
Smoked Pork Chops are absolutely scrumptious and incredibly easy to make!
With just pork chops, olive oil, a smoker, and of course, our very own Sweet BBQ Rub, a delicious dish comes together beautifully!
So, if you’re wanting to learn how to smoke pork chops on a pellet grill, you’ve come to the right place!
Ingredients and Equipment
First, we have to get out our smoker of choice! I personally use a Traeger Pellet smoker for smoking pork chops.
However, it doesn’t really matter if you use a pellet, gas, or electric smoker – this smoked pork chop recipe is easy to make!
Our recipe has you smoking the pork chops for 90 minutes, so if your smoker has a large pellet or wood chip box, you can just let it smoke without needing to babysit!
Otherwise, keep an eye on them, and add more after 30 minutes or so if needed.
We’ll be using boneless pork chops for this particular recipe. If you’ll be smoking bone-in pork chops, plan on additional cooking time.
Pro Tips for Smoking Pork Chops
- Ensure the pork chops are at room temperature before smoking.
For best results, take the pork chops out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you begin smoking.
This is to prevent each smoked pork chop from being tough and dry. We want our pork chops to be tender and juicy!
This is also the time when you can add the oil and seasoning if you like, but I prefer to wait until just before I begin smoking them to season.
- Massage the rub into the meat.
Massaging the pork rub spices into the meat helps to infuse the flavors. Also, pressing down on them helps to prevent them from falling off.
- Cook by internal temperature, not by time.
When you make pork chops on a pellet grill, you want to ensure they fully cook of course!
Nobody wants to eat uncooked meat, so for an accurate reading of the internal temperature, use an instant read digital thermometer.
You want to insert the probe into the thickest portion of the meat, and make sure the thermometer is not touching any bone to get an accurate reading.
According to the USDA, 145 degrees F is the safe internal temperature for pork.
This temperature ensures the juiciest and tastiest pork chops without any of the harmful bacteria!
- Choose the right wood (or pellets).
Apple wood chips or pellets are perfect with this pellet grill pork chops recipe, but any sweeter or milder flavor is great too.
Maple, pecan, and hickory are also delicious for smoking pork.
How to Make Pork Chops on Pellet Grill
- Preheat the smoker.
Set the smoker to 250°F, and add your favorite pellets or wood chips. Remember to soak the wood chips if your type of smoker requires it — pellet smokers do not.
- Season the meat.
Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel, then coat both sides of the pork chops with oil. Season the chops with dry rub and work the dry rub in.
- Cook to an internal temperature of 145°F.
Set a timer for 60 minutes, and when the timer goes off check the temperature. It took us a bit longer to smoke the pork chops, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!
- Rest the meat before serving.
This is probably the most important step when smoking pork chops!
Once the internal temperature of the pork chops reaches 145°F, transfer the meat onto a platter and cover with foil.
This will allow the juices to be redistributed through the meat, making it juicy and delicious!
Serving Suggestions
A delicious smoked meal needs some delectable sides to go along with it!
Potato salad goes with smoked pork chops like peanut butter with jelly! My favorites are either Southern Potato Salad or German Potato Salad.
If your smoker is large enough, you could even make a couple of smoked sides like this smoked potato salad.
Otherwise, sides like Italian Mac and Cheese and Air Fryer Green Beans can really bring the dish together and make it a meal!
It would be great to have veggies or something sweet to balance out the smoky flavor of the smoked pork chops.
Go wild and see what side dishes you like the best with your pellet grill pork chops!
Prep Ahead Instructions
If you would like to, you can season the pork chops with the Sweet BBQ Rub up to 24 hours in advance, but it isn’t necessary to do so.
You can just heat up the smoker and start cooking!
Storing and Reheating Boneless Pork Chops
Everyone loves leftovers, and your leftover smoked pork chops will stay fresh when refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
You can also freeze the meat for up to 3 months!
Reheating
To make sure the meat stays juicy, you’re going to want to reheat the leftovers in the oven.
Place the meat in a baking dish with ½ cup of broth or water. I recommend covering the dish with foil to keep moisture in.
When you reheat smoked pork chop, you’ll want to use the oven at a heat of 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of each chop reaches 165°F.
What is the best pork chop seasoning?
There are so many different seasonings that you can add! The best way to season it is to decide the best flavor that you’re looking for.
You can use brown sugar for a sweet flavor, or find a good dry rub as well.
A lot of people will use seasonings like kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, creole seasoning, or a simple spice rub made of simple ingredients.
All are great options that create quite the yummy flavor for a juicy pork chop.
When you’re making this for your own personal consumption, add your favorite seasoning and enjoy!
You can always chance the flavor or use a great alternative depending on the special occasion that you’re cooking them for.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Easy Smoker Recipes
Best Smoked Pork Chops Recipe (Pellet Smoker)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Pork Chops, 1 inch thick
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup TSRI Sweet BBQ Rub
TSRI Sweet BBQ Rub
- 1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons New Mexico Chile powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 250°F. Choose your favorite wood, I am using my favorite blend of oak, maple and hickory on my pellet smoker.
- Pat the pork chop dry with a paper towel.
- Drizzle some olive oil over the pork chops and rub the oil until they are coated.
- Sprinkle each pork chop with the rub. Gently push and rub the seasoning into the meat.
- Place your pork chops in the middle of the smoker on the grates.
- Cook for 60 minutes. Check the temperature. Ours was 150-degrees F.
- Cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160-degree F.
- Once it reaches the correct internal temperature, take off the heat, cover with aluminum foil and rest for 10 minutes.
- Enjoy with your favorite sides!
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published June 2021, updated and republished April 2024
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Made these a few days ago when family friends came over. They loved it!