The combination of smoke from the grill and a tangy, slightly sweet barbecue sauce often make grilled BBQ pork chops worth the time and effort. If you want pork chops that truly stand out, you’re better off using your own homemade sauce rather than a bottle of store-bought sauce, which is often overly sweet. Use wood chips on the grill to saturate the chops with the flavor of smoke.
Step 1
Soak the wood chips in water for at least half an hour. Prepare the sauce while chips soak.
Step 2
Pour about a tablespoon of oil in the saucepan and turn the heat to medium on the stove. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, and cook, stirring, for about five minutes. Make sure you do not burn the garlic.
Step 3
Stir in the ketchup, molasses or brown sugar, Worcestershire, mustard and vinegar. Let the ingredients simmer, but not boil, for about five minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Add a dash or two of hot sauce if you want a bit of heat.
Step 4
Divide the sauce in half, place one half in a bowl and set aside.
Step 5
Light a charcoal or gas grill as you normally would. Pour the wood chips into the pie pan if using a gas grill, or sprinkle over charcoal if using a charcoal grill. Put the pie pan over the largest burner on a gas grill. If using a charcoal grill, clear a space in the center of the grill and nestle the empty pie pan between the charcoal.
Step 6
Close the grill for about 15 minutes, until the chips start to smoke. Don’t let them catch on fire. If they do, sprinkle water on them to squelch the flames.
Step 7
Coat the outside of the pork chops with a mix of kosher salt and black pepper. Place on the center of the grill, close the lid and let smoke for about half an hour, until the chops heat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit inside.
Step 8
Take the chops off the grill and brush about a tablespoon of sauce on each side. Return to the grill and cook, flipping often and basting with the sauce, for about 10 minutes. The chops are done with they measure 145 degrees Fahrenheit on the meat thermometer.
Step 9
Let the pork chops rest for several minutes after grilling, then serve along with the reserved bowl of extra sauce. Do not use the sauce that you applied to the uncooked pork chops.
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