Grilled Lemon Porterhouse Pork Chops

The principal marinade ingredient for this dish is lemon juice. Lemons add a nice bit of acidity to the pork chops and together with the herbs and spices, makes for a tasty grilled dish. The amount of salt to use is a personal preference; some people like more salt, others like less, and others prefer none at all. The amount of salt used in this dish will likely taste under-salted to most people, since that’s my personal preference. So feel free to adjust the amount of salt. For those that do not want added salt, more lemon juice can somewhat compensate for this.

The strategy to cook the pork chops is to first grill them to get the grill marks, and then smoke them to finish cooking. The thickness of the pork chops affects the cooking time, so you really want to purchase pork chops that are at least 1-inch (2.5 cm.) thick. If the pork chops are thinner, just adding the grill marks to both sides of the pork would fully cook them, and smoking them further would make the pork tough and dried out. So to be able to both grill and smoke the pork, try to purchase thicker pork chops (the thicker the better!).

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2-4	2-4	Pork porterhouse or rib eye chops, about 1 lb. (500 g.) each
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic, crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Dried oregano
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Dried basil
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Dried tarragon
1-2	1-2	Lemons, juiced
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	White wine or dry sherry
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Salt
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Ground black pepper
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil
		Oil for cooking

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
		Tongs and an oil coated paper towel
22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal or gas grill (or larger)

 

Instructions

1. Use pork chops at least 1-inch (2.5 cm.) thick – the thicker the better. Marinate the pork porterhouse or pork rib chops in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the garlic crushed in a garlic press, dried oregano, dried basil, dried tarragon, juice from one- or two lemon, white wine or dry sherry, salt, ground black pepper, and sesame oil. The amount of salt to use is a personal preference, so feel free to increase or decrease the amount. If marinating the pork overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Prepare the charcoal or gas grill for indirect cooking following the manufacturer’s instructions. Light the charcoal or preheat the gas grill accordingly. Soak the smoking wood (hickory, pecan, oak, or any other wood can be used) for one hour if desired. I use dry and not soaked wood.
3. If using a charcoal grill, arrange the lighted coals on one half of the grill. The side of the grill with the coals (the “hot” side) will be used to brown the pork chops and the side without the coals (the “cold” side) will be used to smoke them. For a gas grill, follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to which burners to leave on for indirect cooking. Put the smoking wood onto the coals or as per the instructions for the gas grill.
4. Clean the grate and then, using tongs and a paper towel coated with oil, lubricate the grate to prevent the pork from sticking. Place the pork chops on the hot side of the grill for 2 minutes uncovered. Rotate the pork chops 90⁰ and cook for another 2 minutes uncovered to produce the grill marks. Turn the pork chops over and repeat the procedure to produce the grill marks on the other side.
5. Move the pork chops to the cold side of the grill, cover the grill, and indirect heat will be used to roast the pork chops for 10-15 minutes. For thicker pork chops, the amount of time cooking needs to be increased. The temperature of your fire and previous experience with your grill will determine the total cooking time for the pork chops. Remove the pork chops from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.