Cooking pork chops on a pit boss pellet grill

About my Pit Boss Brunswick

I use a Pit Boss Brunswick Platinum, which has been a total game changer for how I do smoking.   Pellet grills in general are very low maintenance while smoking, and I think of my Pit Boss as a smoking oven.  I just make sure the pellet tray is full, plug it in, set the temperature and let it run.   My last offset smoker had to be adjusted constantly to keep temperature, and you had to have a degree of skill to keep your food from tasting like an ashtray.   The Pit Boss on the other hand is easy enough for complete beginners to use and reliable enough for me to keep using. 

It also doesn’t hurt that I got my Pit Boss Brunswick on an awesome clearance sale at Walmart last fall.  Be sure to poke around your garden center around the end of the season to see what kind of deals they have.  I had to check a couple times before they were on sale.
I overall recommend the Brunswick, but if you want a more detailed review, I found this YouTube review helpful.

Make Smoked Pork chops for dinner or meal prep for lunches

I made these pork chops for my lunches this week.  They’re small enough to fit a bunch in the smoker, and they cook fast enough to contain in a Sunday afternoon.  These pork chops also don’t need to rest very long and they don’t need any further processing or chopping after the smoke.  Going from the smoker to packing tupperware was incredibly fast and easy.

Of course, you could also go straight from the smoker to a plate and feed a whole family dinner.   To each their own!

How to increase the amount of smoke in your Pit Boss pellet grill

While I love my Pit Boss, I find it doesn’t produce nearly enough smoke on its own to provide a rich smoky flavor.  Sure, there is an auger button that will push more pellets into the fire, but the whole point of a Pit Boss is to smoke without babysitting the grill. 

My solution is to use a smoke tube.  I’ve written about it in a few of my other smoked meat posts, and I continue to stand by it.   The tube looks like a cheese grater that you fill with pellets and light on fire.   Inside the smoker it smolders and adds smoke to the chamber.

Since starting to use a smoke tube, all of my Pit Boss meals come out with a nice smoke ring and rich smoky flavor.

Do smoke tubes affect how the Pit Boss works?

In short, no, there is no effect.  The Pit boss will sense any increase in temperature and adjust its own heating element accordingly.  In truth, the smoke tube doesn’t create a ton of heat since it is only smoldering a small number of pellets at a time.

How to avoid a dried out pork chop

Pork chops are one of those meats that will dry out quickly if you’re not careful.   Some recipes soak their pork overnight to increase its moisture content to survive the smoke.  I prefer to simply start with well defrosted meat and keep an eye on the pork chop’s internal temperature.   If your pork chop is partially frozen, it will take longer for the center to reach temperature and the outside will start to dry out. 

Since you only need to get the pork to around 150, it won’t spend much time stalling, which is when you might risk drying the meat out.   Stalling refers to a behavior seen in smoked meats between 145F and 165F where the meat cools itself off as it evaporates liquid.  The meat will spend a disproportionately long time trying to climb from 145 to 165F.

Should I smoke pork chops with the bone in or out?

You can smoke both bone in and boneless pork chops.   I prefer smoking boneless pork chops because it’s easier and cheaper to buy a whole pork loin and slice them myself.  Bone in pork chops will smoke fine.  My only advice is when you set up your temperature probe, be sure the probe is not in contact with bone, as this will throw off the temperature readings.  Bone conducts heat faster than muscle, and you’ll think the pork is done early.

What should I serve my Pit Boss Smoked Pork chops with?

Smoked pork chops go great with a number of BBQ sides, such as:

1. Smoked Sauerkraut – I made this at the same time as the pork chops, and they worked together great!
2. Potato Salad
3. No Yogurt Naan
4. Yellow Rice

Recipe for Pit Boss Smoked Pork Chops

Pit Boss Smoked Pork Chop

Smoked Pork chops are a quick smoke on your Pit Boss and taste great

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 15 mins

Course Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings 5 Pork Chops

Calories 231 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Pit Boss Pellet Grill or other smoker

Ingredients  1x2x3x

• 5 6oz pork chops
• 4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
• 1 pinch table salt
• ¼ cup olive oil

Instructions 

• Start by mixing the lemon pepper and salt together in a bowl, then rub down both sides of your pork chops in the spice mix. Then rub the pork chops with the olive oil

  

• Next, preheat your Pit Boss or other pellet smoker to 250F. If you’re using a smoke tube, start it now.

• Once preheated, lay out your pork chops and push a meat probe through the center of the meat. If the probe is too long, stick the far end into another pork chop.

  How long do I cook pork chops on Pit Boss Grill?

  Place the pork chops in the smoker, insert a temperature probe into the thickest part of one of the pork chops, and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 145°F, or about 1 hour 30 minutes. The pork chops should have developed a good color and be juicy, but no longer be pink in the center.

  How do you cook boneless pork chops on pit boss pellet grill?

  Pit Boss Smoked Pork Chop Once preheated, lay out your pork chops and push a meat probe through the center of the meat. If the probe is too long, stick the far end into another pork chop. Smoke the pork chops until they reach 150F. It should take about 2 hours.

  How long does it take to smoke pork chops at 225?

  Preheat smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit (F) using fruitwood. Place seasoned pork chops on the smoker and smoke for 30 – 45 minutes. Pull the smoked pork chops when the internal temperature of the steaks is 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

  Do you flip pork chops on pellet grill?

  For a 1 1/2 inch pork chop, grill for 15 minutes, flip the chops over, and grill the other side for 15 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes. If you're working with a thinner or thicker chop, adjust accordingly. You want the internal temperature of the chop to reach 145 degrees Fahrenheit.