Smoked Pork Chops (2024)

FAQs

How long do smoked pork chops need to be cooked? ›

Place the chops on the smoker and cook until the internal temp reads 145 degrees F with a reliable meat thermometer (approximately 60-90 minutes). Tent, rest, and serve. Remove the pork chops from the smoker. Place them on a plate and tent with foil.

Smoking the pork chops at 225°F for 90 minutes – 2 hours means the pork chops will absorb all of the delicious smoky flavors, without drying the pork chops out. This is what keeps them so tender!

Barbara Rolek is a former chef who became a cooking school instructor and award-winning food writer. The great thing about smoked meats—besides the wonderful flavor—is that they come fully cooked, requiring a simple warm-up on the stove, grill, or oven.

It is important to know that a smoked pork chop is fully cooked, so it is safe to enjoy hot OR COLD. Jeremy and I joke that he can throw one in his lunch pale for a quick lunch on the go or for a protein rich snack… a pork chop snack sounds pretty good to me!

Overcooked Pork Chops Are Tough

This is partly due to carry-over cooking. Even when you take the chops out of the oven or off the stovetop, they still continue to cook a tiny bit due to the retained heat. And it's often this little bit that can take them from tender to tough.

If you have the time, 225°F is an excellent sweet spot for low-and-slow cooked pork butt. At this temperature, you can also use Super Smoke if your Traeger has that capability. You can cook it at 225°F for the entire time, or raise the smoked pork butt after a few hours of speed cooking along.

The actual cooking part is going to be a two step process.

BUT, if you want to really take things to the next level, you might want to consider searing your pork chop after the smoke stage. Contrary to popular belief, searing meat does not lock in any juices.

The short answer is that pork chops can definitely be part of a healthy diet. They are low in fat yet packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals. Keep reading to learn more about the nutritional makeup and potential health benefits of pork chops.

Try serving pork chops alongside something sweet, like homemade applesauce or apple-cranberry stuffing. Plus, you can always switch things up by serving your pork chops with something bright and zesty like the lemon roasted asparagus.

Why is my smoked pork so dry? ›

One of the main factors contributing to a dry pork roast is overcooking, which causes the muscle fibers to contract and release their natural juices — even if it's cooked just a couple of minutes too long. This mistake is often a result of the fear of undercooking pork for safety reasons.

That color doesn't indicate anything nefarious—at 145°F, your pork is at a “medium rare” temperature. You would expect to see some pink in a medium-rare steak, so don't be surprised to find it in your pork chops! If the pink color freaks you out, you can continue cooking it until it reaches 155°F.

One way to determine your porks' doneness is by the color of the juices that come out of it when you poke a hole in it with a knife or fork. If the juices run clear or are very faintly pink, the pork is done cooking. If they're mostly or entirely pink or red, it's best to continue cooking.

Meat Thermometer

The light connective tissue in ribs begins to break down around 195 degrees F. Anything under that temperature and your ribs will be chewy, stringy, and tough. At 195 degrees F, that tissue starts to gelatinize and turn into tasty, melty deliciousness.

Cooked muscle meats can be pink even when the meat has reached a safe internal temperature. Cook all raw pork steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F (62.8 °C) as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source.

Although foods that have been hot smoked are often reheated or further cooked, they are typically safe to eat without further cooking. Hams and ham hocks are fully cooked once they are properly smoked, and they can be eaten as is without any further preparation.