Ease of Preparation: Moderate
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
8 11/4 inch pork chops bone in center cut
Brine:
½ cup of salt (125ml)
2 teaspoons whole peppercorns (10ml)
1 cup maple syrup (250ml)
2 cinnamon sticks (2 inches in length)
2 cloves of garlic sliced
12 thin slices of ginger
2-4 juniper berries
2 cups apple cider (500ml)
2 cups water (500ml)
Pepper to taste
Olive oil from drizzling
1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary (15ml)
1 cups of dry apple wood chips (250ml)
2 cups of apple wood chips soaked in cool water for 1 hour (500ml)
Method:
Combine the brine ingredients in a large pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the brine from the heat. It is now important to allow the brine to cool completely.
Place pork chops in a sealable plastic bag and pour the cool brine overtop.
Seal the bag and place the chops in the refrigerator to marinate for 12 hours.
Remove chops from brine and place them on a clean baking tray. Pat them dry.
Season the pork with pepper –no salt as the brine as salted the meat already and drizzle them with olive oil. Sprinkle the chops with fresh rosemary.
Prepare a smoke pouch. Lay out a large sheet of tin foil. Place 2 cups of the drained, well soaked wood chips and one cup of the dry chips at the center of the foil. Wrap the foil around the wood chips to make a sealed pouch slightly smaller than your barbeque burner. Using the tines of a fork poke holes into both sides of the package through which the smoke will escape.
Prepare barbeque for indirect smoking AND direct cooking. Remove the grate from one burner to the far side of the grill and turn this burner on high. Place the smoke pouch here.
Turn on the middle burner on to medium high 375F temperature. Oil the grill grate.
Leave the 3rd burner off.
Close the lid of the barbeque and wait for smoke.
Place pork chops over the direct heat first and grill for two minutes per side until nice char marks are achieved.
Shift the chops over to the far grate where there is no direct heat – the furthest point from the smoke pouch.
Turn off the middle burner so you have one burner on with the smoke pouch and 2 burners off.
Close lid. Adjust heat to read 220°F (104°C).
Smoke for 30 minutes.
Remove the meat from the grill. Tent loosely with tin foil and rest the pork chops 10 minutes.
Serve with peach or apple chutney.
