Sunday, January 10, 2010

Pork Chops

I've found pork to be one of the least expensive and easy meats to smoke. Pork seems to be forgiving when it comes to temperatures and cooking times and its bacteria die at a lower temperature than beef or chicken. Tonight I did a pork chop and it came out great with little effort. Traeger makes a spice sample kit that contains rubs for common types of meats and I have been impressed with all of them. So I just grabbed the pork at the grocery store, rubbed on the spices, and threw it on the smoker until it reached temperature. Pork seems to always
come out juicy and tender and takes the smoky flavor really well, so it is perfect for a fast and easy dinner.




3 comments:

Bent said...

Hey Bobby, I left a comment earlier but I guess it didn't stick! Nice Blog... I am excited to follow it. I will link to your blog from mine.

I love your smoker. What is the price range on those? I went to the website but they only had prices on the commercial variety.

Well, you have seen mine. It doesn't have a auger feed, but I use hardwood charcoals and wood chunks that I feed in manually. Mine is also several years old and is starting to show some wear and tear, so I plan to upgrade this Spring ... I grill year-round, but you just cant find good BBQ deals in the winter around here -- go figure!

BTW, I suspect you know those are center cut pork chops in your pictures right? The tenderloin is round cylinder shape about a foot or so long and kind of looks like a skinned dogs tail! Still, those chops look good. You must be cooking low and slow to keep them moist on the grill, huh?

One trick I like with pork (if you have the time) is to brine it. You can use saltwater brine with your favorite herbs ( 1 cup table salt to one gallon of water, or enough to float an egg). Soak your pork over night in the brine and you will be amazed at how moist it ends up.

To tenderize and moisten pork you can soak it overnight in apple juice, which is excellent way to make ribs just flake off the bone. Dark beers are also excellent brine/marinade for pork.

So, I guess I will start leaving more grilling tips on my blog to keep you coming back! I hope you keep it up too. Sometimes its hard to take the time, but just know that I am looking forward to reading your posts and maybe that will keep you motivated...

I have excellent steak tips by the way... I'll grill some extra thick top sirloins this weekend (I'm on a diet, but I can tell Sue that I'm doing it for you, so maybe I can get away wit it!)

Take Care,

Jeff

Bent said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog bobby. I am seriously considering getting one of those. But it's a toss up between that or this Primo Ceramic Grill & Smoker: http://www.primogrill.com/products.html

Bent said...

Well I guess this Weber is cool too. The gas ignites the coals or hard wood chunks:

http://www.weber.com/grills/default.aspx?glid=4&mid=25

I got a couple of months to decide, but dang I kind of want them all for different reasons. Maybe I can start a backyard cooking show and buy them all ;-)