How To Cook Perfect Pork Chops

The Easy Step-By-Step Guide To Cooking Your Chops To Perfection

You will also notice in the meat doneness table that it is not recommended that you eat pork cooked to anything less than medium.

I cannot stress enough that if you are serious about cooking good BBQ, you need to get yourself an instant-read thermometer probe for checking the internal temperature of meat.

The Meat - Before You Cook

• Buy the best meat that you're happy to pay for. You'll always get a better product from a good butcher than the stuff you'll get in the supermarket.



• Leave the chops out of the fridge for 2-3 hours to come to room temperature. It will sear better and form a better surface crust.



• Pat the chops with paper towel to make sure there is no excess moisture. This will minimise steaming which is less than ideal for the meat.



• Just before grilling, brush or rub oil onto the meat surface. This also allows for better searing and crusting.

The Grill - Before You Cook

• Make sure make sure the grill plate or grate is clean and free of rust.



• For the perfect chop, you will need to areas on your grill; one high heat area and one low heat area. This can be the same area (by turning down the heat) or separate ones



• Rub or brush oil onto the grill in the area you are intending to cook on.



• Pre-heat your grill areas making sure the high heat area has time to get up to temperature

As You Cook

• If you have pork steaks with little or no bone in, reduce the times slightly to those recommended in the following steps.



• Put the chops on the high heat area of the grill and cook until darkly crusted, around 3-5 minutes per side.



• To create a cross-hatching pattern on the meat, lay the steaks at 45 angle to the grill bars. Press the chops onto the bars with your tongs or lifter. After 1-2 minutes, rotate the chop 45, press down and then flip over and repeat.



• Now set the heat to low or move the chop to the low heat area and let it sit for another 7 minutes. This should result in a chop that is cooked to medium. Check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer probe and compare against the doneness chart below.



• Remove the chops from all heat and cover with aluminium foil and let it rest for 5 minutes before eating or slicing. This allows the proteins to relax and results in more tender meat.

Now That It's Cooked

• While the chop is resting, give your grill a quick clean as it's always easier while things are still warm and not congealed.



• Brush oil into any spots on the grill that have dried out as this will prevent it rusting before you use it next.



• Congratulations - you've now mastered a skill that many never do. Enjoy your perfect chop !