Prep some thick-cut pork chops with this simple rub in the morning, and make these amazing Sweet & Spicy Pork Chops for a fast weeknight meal.
Sweet & Spicy Pork Chops
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I love pork chops. In fact, we don’t eat them often enough for my taste. Gone are the days of over-cooked, over-dry pork chops. The recommended minimum internal cooking temperature for pork is 145 degrees F. With a good meat thermometer and a tiny bit of prep work, you can have moist, flavorful pork chops any time you want. Toss these on the grill, and dinner is ready in just a few minutes!
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I prepared these pork chops with a rub. Mix together brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder (see recipe below for amounts). Toss your pork chops in a Ziploc bag, and pour the spices over the chops. Give the bag a shake, and give the meat a good rub so all the surfaces are covered with the sugar-spice mixture. The put it all in the refrigerator for a few hours.
When you’re ready to cook, take the chops out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes ahead so they can warm up a little bit. Preheat your grill to high.
When the grill is hot, take the chops out of the bag, shake them off a bit, and toss them on the grill. Put the chops away from the direct heat, so not right in the center of the grill. The brown sugar will caramelize (which is awesome), but then it will burn if you’re not careful (which is not awesome).
It’s just a little bit tricky to get it just right… You want the high heat to sear the outside of the chops quickly to keep all the moisture inside. But you don’t want the heat too high so the sugar burns too fast.
Stay close and pay attention.
Depending on how thick your pork chops are, they will need to be on the grill for about 7-10 minutes total. Just like with steak, the goal is to only flip them over once. If you need to turn them more often to keep the sugar from burning, do that. The sugar will stick to the grill a little bit, so you can’t use the same “if it sticks to the grill it isn’t ready to turn yet” rule that I told you about with this steak recipe.
Use a meat thermometer (the probe cables on this one will work with your grill) so you know when the pork chops are done. Remember, we are looking for 145 degrees F for a fully cooked pork chop. At this point, the juices should run clear and the meat should be white throughout. There may be a little pink tinge, and that’s okay as long as the thermometer registers 145 degrees F. Rest the cooked pork chops under loosely tented aluminum foil for 3 minutes before serving.
Are you wondering what other meat you could toss on the grill? This post will tell you all about it! And did you know that pork chops and some steaks are the same cuts of meat? Check it out!
Enjoy!
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Printable Recipe Card for Sweet & Spicy Pork Chops
- 4 thick-cut pork chops
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 2 Tablespoons paprika
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1-1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and spices.
- Place pork chops in a large Ziploc bag. Pour sugar-spice mixture over pork chops.
- Seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Shake bag and rub pork chops until the meat is evenly covered with the sugar-spice mixture.
- Refrigerate for 4-6 hours, or overnight.
- Remove pork chops from refrigerator approximately 30 minutes before cooking.
- Preheat grill to high.
- Shake off excess sugar, and place pork chops on the grill, away from the direct heat.
- Grill on high heat for 7-10 minutes total, until a meat thermometer registers 145 degrees F at the center of the meat. Turn chops on the grill as needed to keep the sugar coating from burning.
- Rest pork chops for 3 minutes under loosely tented aluminum foil.
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