Grilled Pork Chops

If your history is like mine, you grew up thinking "steak, burgers, or chicken" when it came to grilling. For a taste revelation for folks from that background, toss some pork chops on the grill. Season them however you like - salt and pepper is adequate, anything else is optional. I know, I know, the internet has a million recipes for brining them, marinating them, saucing them, and otherwise insulting the pig in a wide variety of ways. Trust me. Treat them like steak (but cook them just barely till the juices run clear, which is hopefully longer than you would cook a beef steak of equivalent thickness), you won't be disappointed. If anything, your pork chops will come off the grill with more of the flavor you're looking for than will your steaks, or your chicken or burgers. Pork takes to smoke like no other meat with the possible exception of lamb. If you see things at the store like "pork steaks" or "pork sirloin steaks", they're less-than-the-most desireable chops, and they, just like pork loin or pork rib chops, are very tasty, grilled. Snatch up the bargain, fire up the grill, and give it a try. Most garden-variety 1/2 inch thick chops will need no more than 4 or 6 minutes per side directly over coals. Pork "white meat" (for example, loin center chops) will cook - and dry out - a little more quickly than pork "dark meat" (sirloin, "steaks"). Don't confuse "boneless country-style ribs" with grillable pork chops, the "country-style rib" is not a simple thing to cook (for staters, it's too thick for easy grilling, and what's more, it may be from the butt, or the loin - very different pieces of pig).

If you have pork chops and a kettle grill of the Weber type, try putting all your hot coals on half of the grate, and going 3 mintes per side directly over hot coals, lid on, then moving the chops to the side of the grill with no coals, and letting them bask in indirect heat for a few more minutes, lid on. For a gas grill (and pork chops are absolutely delicious prepared on a gas grill), you know how to translate the charcoal recipe, right?

If you must marinate them, try a few hours in 3 parts olive oil, 2 parts lemon juice.