Recipe courtesy of chef Todd Richards from Lake & Oak BBQ.
Ingredients
- 4 10-oz (283 g) bone-in pork chops (about ½ in (13 mm) thick)
- 4 cups (32 oz) Sweet Tea Brine (recipe follows)
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) blended olive oil
- 1 tsp (5 ml) kosher salt
- 1 tsp (5 ml) coarsely ground black pepper
- ½ cup (4 oz) bourbon
- ¼ cup (2 oz) unsalted butter
- Apple Butter and Spiced Pumpkin Seeds (recipe follows)
Instructions
Combine the pork and Sweet Tea Brine in a large baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Remove the pork chops from the brine; discard brine. Let the pork chops come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Rub the pork chops with the oil, and sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper.
Bring the bourbon to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Set aside.
Set the EGG for direct cooking without the convEGGtor at 450°F/232°C.
Grill the pork chops until golden brown and slightly crispy on the bottom, about 6 minutes, basting occasionally with the bourbon butter. Turn the pork chops and cook until the meat begins to draw close to the bone, about 4 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack; let stand 15 minutes, basting occasionally with any remaining bourbon butter. Serve with Apple Butter, Spiced Pumpkin Seeds and collard greens as a side.
Apple Butter Ingredients
- ½ cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted
- 8 red apples, cored
- ¼ cup (60 ml) packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp (3 ml) ground cloves
- ½ tsp (3 ml) ground allspice
- ½ tsp (3 ml) kosher salt
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Apple Butter Instructions
Set the EGG for indirect cooking with the convEGGtor at 350F/177C. Combine the melted butter and apples in a baking dish, turning to coat the apples in the butter. Bake until the apples are very tender and the skins pop, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Sprinkle the apples with the brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, kosher salt and pepper. Return to the EGG until the sugar melts, about 5 minutes. Remove from the EGG, and let stand 15 minutes. Transfer the apple mixture to a blender and process until smooth. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
Spiced Pumpkin Seeds Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) blended olive oil
- 1 cup (240 ml) pumpkin seeds
- ½ tsp (3 ml) gray sea salt
- ½ tsp (3 ml) curry powder
- ¼ tsp (1.5 ml) freshly ground black pepper
Spiced Pumpkin Seeds Instructions
Set the EGG for indirect cooking with the convEGGtor at 350F/177C. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet in the EGG; add the pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the EGG. Stir in the sea salt, curry powder, and pepper. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
Sweet Tea Brine Ingredients
- 8 cups (64 oz water)
- 8 regular-size orange pekoe black tea bags
- 1 cup (240 ml) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) kosher salt
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) black peppercorns
- ¼ tsp (1.5 ml) red pepper flakes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 star anise pods
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 large thyme sprigs
- 2 medium-size oranges, cut into quarters
- 1 large lemon, cut into quarters
Sweet Tea Brine Instructions
Bring the water just to boiling in a large saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the tea bags. Let stand 5 minutes; remove and discard the tea bags. Add the remaining ingredients, squeezing the citrus juice into the pan as you add them. Return to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let stand 1 hour. Remove the solids and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Makes about 2 quarts.
This was extremely salty tasting!
Lot of prep work with the brine but worth it! Turned these pork chops into a killer meal that everyone was raving about. The chops were obtained from my local butcher and nice and thick. I did them 6mins per side with some apple wood chips at about 400. Came out perfectly cooked and juicy. Not even remotely dry. The pumpkin seeds are super simple and added a nice crunchy accent to the dish. The apple butter sauce was a perfect complement. My family is not huge fans of pork chops and neither am I. But this is one of the better pork chop preps and definitely defied any shortcomings of the usual BBQ pork chops.