Kermit’s Second-Favorite Pork Chops

Kermit the Frog’s first love is Miss Piggy, but the last time we went out for drinks, he told me he liked thick pork chops. Could this be why they broke up? Pork chops are best when cut thick, at least 1 inch; thin chops are easy to overcook. You can ask your butcher to cut the chops thicker than those on display.

This is one of the rare occasions when I prefer a wet brine, because a bit of water is drawn into the meat, and this lean cut needs all the water it can get. I recommend you cook low and slow with indirect heat at about 225°F. Low and slow is especially important for shoulder chops, which have a lot more connective tissue.

Makes 2 servings

Takes about 5 minutes to prepare, 2 hours to wet brine, and 45 to 60 minutes to cook

• 2 pork chops, at least 1 inch thick
• 2 cups The Simple Blonder Wet Brine (page 160)
• 2 teaspoons Meathead’s Memphis Dust (page 167)
• ½ cup Columbia Gold (page 177; see Note)

1. Prep. If you have loin chops, there might be a band of fat around the perimeter. Beneath the fat is a thin layer of connective tissue called silverskin. You need to trim off the fat and silverskin because as it cooks, it shrinks and causes the meat to form a cup.

2. Pour the brine into a 1-gallon zipper-top bag or nonreactive bowl. Add the chops and refrigerate for 2 hours.

3. Season the chops with Meathead’s Memphis Dust just before cooking.

4. Fire up. Set up the grill for two-zone cooking and shoot for about 225°F on the indirect side.

5. Cook. Toss in some wood and cook on indirect heat with the lid down. When the meat hits about 125°F, paint one side of the chops with the sauce. Move them to direct heat, sauce down, paint the second side, and leave the lid open. After 3 minutes, flip the chops and cook for 3 minutes longer. You’ve got to be careful here: The sauce will blacken unless the chops are watched carefully. They are ready to remove from the heat when the centers reach 135 to 140°F. You may see a little pale pink in the meat. When there is still a hint of pink, it is at peak tenderness and juiciness. Don’t worry about trichinosis. It is never found in modern USDA-inspected pork. For all practical purposes, it is extinct.

Note: You can use your favorite barbecue sauce instead of the Columbia Gold, but I’ve tried them all and this mustard-based sauce is by far my favorite.

Don’t Stuff the Chop

I don’t recommend that you stuff pork chops. Stuffed chops are made by cutting a slit into a thick chop, working a knife around to create a pocket, and stuffing filling in the pocket. By the time the center of the stuffing is warm enough to kill bacteria, the meat, which is now really two thin chops sandwiching the stuffing, is overcooked. If you must stuff a chop, precook the stuffing so you can get the meat off the heat sooner, and cook the chops at 225°F and no hotter.