Smoked pork chops are party-pleasers in any gathering. Pork, especially the thinner chops, does not take a long time to cook. The meat is very easy to smoke and the best flavors are brought out by simply seasoning with salt and pepper or using a dry rub. What you really need to watch out for is the most common culinary offense: Overcooking the pork chops.
Thanks to the electric smoker, you can avoid this nightmare from happening! There’s no more risk of drying out the meat. Micromanaging pork chop-cooking is a thing of the past, yet you can come up with the traditional taste of the dish. Pork chops come out juicy, moist and tender as it is cooked slowly and gently under the heat of the contemporary smoker.
Try out this timeless recipe for smoked pork chops using the fast and efficient Masterbuilt or any of the best smoker brands of today. It’s time you learn how to cook smoked pork chops like a pro restaurant chef!
How to Cook Smoked Pork Chops
Have fun prepping a great dish for everyone with this 4-step electric smoker pork chops recipe:
- Preheat Your Electric Smoker. Set the temperature to 225F.
- Put The Wood Chips. Add your choice of wood for cooking pork chops in your smoker.
- Season The Pork Chops. Rub the meat with your favorite spices to infuse your desired flavors.
- Smoke ‘Em Up! Pork chops can be done in as little as 40 minutes, and can take approximately two to four hours depending on the thickness of meat and your smoker’s temperature setting.
Your smoked pork chops are safely done once the internal temperature reaches 145F. At this temperature, pork is cooked to medium and will appear slightly pink. The meat does not necessarily have to be smoked well-done to be deemed safe to eat. To be certain, use a digital meat thermometer to acquire the reading.
Using a Masterbuilt electric smoker, pork chops typically take about 1 1/2 hours to cook to perfection, under a 225-degree Fahrenheit temperature setting. Apple wood is a great selection, preferably for a recipe that calls for ingredients such as tart apple. Upon smoking and checking for the right finished temp, let rest for 3 minutes and serve your aromatic, homemade pork chops!
Smoked Pork Chops Cooking Tips
-Use a disposable pan crafted from aluminum or line a rimmed pan with foil for almost effortless clean up. Place the smoker rack atop the foil-lined pan to elevate the chops and keep it that way. Smoke can then get through underneath the meat such that all sides are smoked evenly.
-Keep the electric smoker’s door closed to maintain a steady temperature, which is ideally at 225-250F for state-of-the-art smoker appliances.
-Mesquite and oak tend to overpower the flavor unless you put in very small amounts in your electric smoker. Fruit woods, like apple, pear, or hickory are great to go with pork chops for these types of wood impart sweet wood flavors to the meat.
-What’s great about an electric smoker is automation. Once internal temperature of meat has reached 145F, the digital electric smoker switches to warm mode. This puts a halt to the cooking process, thereby preventing dried-out, tough and chewy pork chops.