Grilling Pork Chops to Perfection

I LOVE GRILLING PORK CHOPS. HERE'S WHY.

Yep, I do love grilling pork chops... But I have some other big news to share with all my readers today first. For the last year or so, my wife and I have been working on moving our family to the south of France. It has been a crazy journey and it is almost complete! We're going to be moving in early June 2016 (less than a month- I'm freaking out!) for at least a year if not more. I'm going to start posting up a side thread of blog posts with pictures of where we are going, the outdoor markets as well as some of the other fantastic food experiences while we are there. If you're interested in following this journey- you can subscribe to get updates at all points in the journey!

Ok- so back to grilling pork chops. Here's what I love about it: pork chops are really easy to make and with just a little salt and pepper will taste amazing. No need for sauces, compound butters or anything else. The secret to grilling pork chops is simple: buy pork that is well marbled. If you look at the picture in Step 1 below, you'll notice that the pork has some fat throughout the chop. Read this: fat = flavor when it comes to pork. Most grocery stores have low-fat pork chops that are all pale pink in color. To get chops like these, you're going to need to visit your local butcher shop. It is so worth the extra stop home from the market.

HOW TO GRILL PORK CHOPS

You'll see a step-by-step guide below on how to grill pork chops. I do need to explain a couple things to make it easier though. Here's the scoop:

1. Bringing the pork to room temperature isn't necessary, but a really good idea. This is particularly true if you are using thick cut pork chops like I am. Here's why: the meat near the bone is going remain cold longer than the meat on the outside of the chop. If you have ever had overcooked meat on the outside of the chop and raw meat near the bone, it is because the pork chop was cooked right after being brought out of the fridge. Let the meat come to room temp with the seasoning on it.
2. Season early and liberally. If you season the chops before letting them come to room temperature for about an hour, the salt will start to do its job of pulling moisture out of the chop. Less moisture means more flavor. Don't worry about the salt drying out the chop, that won't happen. It takes days (sometimes weeks!) of curing to dry out meat with salt.
3. Gas Grill: I'm using a gas grill for these chops. I'm not a huge fan of charcoal and don't have the experience to accurately describe how to cook with charcoal.
4. Varying The Temperature: If you get thick cut pork chops, we're going to need them to cook through without burning on the outside. To do this, we are going to need to vary the temperature on the grill. So here's how we do it:
   1. Preheat all burners on the grill on the highest setting. Let the grill get nice and hot.
   2. When you add the chops, put them first on the right side and turn the heat to low.
   3. When you rotate the chops, move them to the left side. Turn the heat to low on the left side and the heat back to high on the right.
   4. Continue to change the temperatures from low to high as you are rotating and flipping the chops from side to side. The temperature under the chop should always be low and on the side without the chops it should be high to keep the under-hood cooking temperature as high as possible.