These smoked pork chops are one of my favorite pork recipes to make on my Traeger pellet grill, and super-easy to follow.
Coated with our homemade pork seasoning, and then cooked low-and-slow on the smoker, this smoked pork chops recipe is a perfect option for a weeknight meal where you don't have a lot of time to prep!
How To Make Smoked Pork Chops
The key to making great smoked pork chops is to start with bone-in chops.
Bone-in chops are just more flavorful and moist than their boneless counterpart. They also look much better on your plate!
Then we're hitting our bone-in chops with our homemade pork chop seasoning, and tossing it on our Traeger.
After that, it's just a matter of letting the Traeger do its thing for this smoker recipe.
Once the chops hit an internal temperature of 145F, we're hitting them with a sear gun to get a nice crust on the outside.
Serve with a side of smoked corn on the cob and a green salad, and you've got yourself a delicious, easy weeknight dinner!
Smoked Pork Chops Ingredients
Serving Size: 2 pork chops
- Pork chops (2 chops). Bone-in. At least 1" thick.
- Olive oil (2 tsp). For brushing the chops to get the rub to adhere.
- Pork seasoning (1 tbsp). We used our homemade pork chop seasoning, but you can use whatever you like!
The Directions
1. Preheat your smoker to 225F. For this cook, we used apple pellets.
2. Pat your pork chops dry with a paper towel. Then, apply the olive oil and rub it in evenly on the chops.
3. Apply your dry rub. Again, we used our homemade sweet pork chop seasoning—which is brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and other seasonings—but feel free to use your favorite one here. Allow the rub to adhere to the pork for at least 10 minutes.
4. Put the pork chops directly on the grill grates of your smoker. Insert a meat thermometer probe and set an alert for an internal temperature of 145F. This should take around 90 minutes.
5. Once the pork chops hit 145F internal, remove them from the smoker, and place them on a wire-rack or baking sheet. Use a sear gun and blast the pork chops with the flame, about 30 seconds per side. This will develop a nice crust. You can also use GrillGrates.
6. Let the pork chops rest for 5-10 minutes. Then serve and ENJOY!
Cooking Temperature & Time
- Cooking Temperature. We smoked these pork chops at 225F until they hit an internal temperature of 145F. Then, we transferred them to a baking sheet and blasted them with a sear gun for about 30 seconds per side.
- Cooking Time. These smoked pork chops took about 90 minutes to cook on the Traeger. Your time will depend on how thick your chops are and how good your heat retention is in your smoker.
Lamb Chop Smoking Tips
- Be mindful of cooking time vs. cooking temperature. With pork chops, you want an internal temperature of 145F. This is best measured with a meat thermometer. While cooking time offers helpful guidance, it won't tell you when your chops are "done".
- You don't need a marinade for these pork chops, especially since we're smoking them. A simple dry rub is more than enough flavor here.
- We recommend going with a fruity-flavored pellet here. It will enhance the flavor of the pork. Both cherry and apple pellets pair really well with pork chops.
- If you want to go an extra step, you can brine the meat ahead of time to prevent the pork chops from drying out.
Bone-In Pork Chops vs. Boneless Pork Chops
I really prefer the taste of bone-in pork chops vs. their boneless counterpart. I think they have more flavor, and are more tender. Just personal preference.
Plenty of folks like boneless pork chops as well.
Bone-In Pork Chops
Bone-in pork chops, of course, have the bone left in. And it's this bone that impacts the flavor and moisture retention of the chops.
In my experience, bone-in chops have a much juicier, much tender flavor, thanks to the extra fat. This extra fat also makes it harder to overcook the pork chop.
Boneless Pork Chops
Boneless pork chops have their bone removed, and honestly, the only advantage of these is that they're arguably easier to cut, and they can cook a little faster if you're in a hurry.
But they most definitely lack the overall flavor of bone-in chops.
Recommended Tools & Equipment
- Traeger Grill. I love my Traeger 780 for all things smoking!
- Pellets. I've really been digging the pellets from BBQ'ers Delight.
- Meat Thermometer. I use this MEATER to keep an eye on the internal temp during the cook, and then just to be sure, I also check it with this Thermapen One at the end of the cook just to be extra sure.
Other Smoked Pork Recipes To Try
Best Smoked Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 2 pork chops bone-in
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 225F. For this cook, we used apple pellets.
- Pat your pork chops dry with a paper towel. Then, apply the olive oil and rub it in evenly on the chops.
- Apply your dry rub. Allow the rub to adhere to the pork for at least 10 minutes.
- Put the pork chops directly on the grill grates of your smoker. Insert a meat thermometer probe and set an alert for an internal temperature of 145F. This should take around 90 minutes.
- Once the pork chops hit 145F internal, remove them from the smoker, and place them on a wire-rack or baking sheet. Use a sear gun and blast the pork chops with the flame, about 30 seconds per side. This will develop a nice crust.
- Let the pork chops rest for 5-10 minutes. Then serve and ENJOY!
