Korean Inspired Smoked Pork Chops
Thick cut pork chops seasoned with a Korean chile rub are smoked and seared to finish on a pellet grill and topped with a gochujang compound butter.
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 220kcal
Ingredients
- 4 (12 ounce) Pork Chops Loin Chops 1 ½" to 2" thick*
- 2 teaspoons Toasted Sesame Oil
- ¼ cup Korean Chile Flakes Gochugaru
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 2 teaspoons Black Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
For the Gochujang Butter
- 1 stick (4 oz) Salted Butter , room temp or softened
- 1 Tablespoon (18g) Gochujang
- 1/2 Tablespoon (11g) Honey
- 1-2 cloves Garlic
- 1 handful Chives
Instructions
- For the gochujang butter, mix all the ingredients together in a food processor or with a whisk. Add the blended butter to a piece of plastic wrap and roll it to seal. Place in the refrigerator to firm before serving.
- For the pork chops, pat the pork dry with a paper towel before rubbing the toasted sesame oil on all sides. Mix the gochugaru, salt, pepper, and garlic powder together before seasoning the pork on all sides. (For best results, you can season and place on a wire rack in the refrigerator the night before.)
- To smoke the pork chops, heat a smoker to 225ºF with the lid closed. Once the grill is up to temperature, add the pork chops and cook for 50-60 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 110ºF.
- Transfer to a sheet pan and tent with foil off the smoker. Increase the temperature of your smoker to 500ºF or as hot as it can go.
- Once hot, drizzle or spray a little olive or vegetable oil on one side of the pork chops and place on the grill grates. Close the lid and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the pork chops develop a nice crust on one side. Flip and cook an additional 8-10 minutes or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145ºF.
- Transfer the pork chops to a wire rack and rest for 10 minutes before serving with a slice of the gochujang butter.
Notes
*It's very important to use thick cut pork chops for this recipe. The chops need to be at least 1.5" thick. Otherwise, you'll just want to grill them hot and fast. I buy a huge packs of thick pork loin chops from Costco for $2.79/pound.
I developed this recipe using a Weber Searwood XL with Weber Grillmaster blend pellets, which is a blend of maple, hickory, and cherry. I would recommend sweeter fruit woods for pork chops.
The nutrition facts are for the pork chops on their own. If you serve each half of a pork chop with about a tablespoon of the gochujang butter, it adds around 90 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 3 grams of carbs.
Nutrition
Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 9g