Finished bourbon-brined grilled pork chop with a browned garlic-and-pepper crust
Bourbon-brined grilled pork chop sliced open to show the juicy interiorJuicy all the way through
← Back to Recipes
Meat

Bourbon-Brined
Grilled Pork Chops

Thick-cut boneless chops, a long bourbon brine, a savory garlic-and-pepper crust, and a hot finish on the Traeger. Tender, juicy, and worth repeating.

Cooked on a Traeger Ironwood XL at 450°F.

Brine8–24 Hr
Seasoning Rest1 Hr
Grill Temperature450°F
Pull141°F
Rest5 Min
Why We Brine

The Difference Starts Before the Grill.

Pork chops have a reputation for drying out, especially thick boneless chops. This is how we avoid it.

We use our bourbon brine on both pork and turkey. Our normal brining window is 8 to 24 hours, but we never go beyond 24 hours. For this cook, these chops spent8 hours in the brine.

The bourbon gets the attention, but there is more going on in the brine. Salt seasons the pork, brown sugar and honey add a little sweetness, and orange, thyme, and bay leaf bring another layer of flavor. The result is pork that stays tender and juicy instead of relying on seasoning only at the surface.

After brining, we patted the chops dry, gave them a light layer of seasoning, and let them rest for about an hour before they went onto the Traeger Ironwood XL at 450°F. No low-and-slow cook this time. These went hot and fast.

Bourbon Brine for Pork & Poultry

Full brine recipe coming soon.

Brine, Grill & Rest

Instructions

  1. 01

    Brine the Pork

    Submerge the pork chops completely in cold bourbon brine and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours. Do not go beyond 24 hours. For this cook, the chops were brined for8 hours.

  2. 02

    Dry, Season & Rest

    Remove the chops from the brine and pat them thoroughly dry. Apply a light dusting of Holy Cow, roasted garlic and herb, seasoned pepper, granulated garlic, and just a small amount of Himalayan pink salt. Let the seasoned chops rest for about1 hour before grilling.

  3. 03

    Heat the Grill

    Preheat the Traeger Ironwood XL, or another pellet grill, to450°F. Give the grill time to come completely up to temperature before the pork goes on.

  4. 04

    Grill the First Side

    Place the chops directly on the main grate, close the lid, and cook for 6 minutes. Flip the chops. On this cook, the internal temperature at the first flip was87.1°F.

  5. 05

    Grill the Second Side

    Close the lid and cook the second side for4 minutes. From here, stop cooking by the clock and start cooking by internal temperature. Use short additional flips and rotations if you want more browning or crosshatch grill marks.

  6. 06

    Pull, Tent & Rest

    We pulled these chops at 141°F. Place them in a dish and lay foil loosely over the top. Rest for5 minutes. The chops reached146°F before serving. Always verify the final temperature with a food thermometer and make sure the chops reach at least 145°F before serving.

Notes from the Pit

A Few Things That Matter.

01

The Brine Is the Foundation

We use this bourbon brine on both turkey and pork. Eight hours worked beautifully here, but our normal window is 8 to 24 hours, never longer than 24.

02

Season With a Light Hand

The pork has already spent hours in a salted brine. Build flavor on the outside, but don't bury the chop under another heavy layer of salt.

03

Let the Thermometer Decide

The first 10 minutes give you a useful framework, but thickness, starting temperature, and the grill all matter. Internal temperature gets the final say.

04

Protect the Rest

A loose foil tent holds a little heat without wrapping the chops tightly in steam. These climbed 5 degrees during the 5-minute rest and stayed tender and juicy.

From the Bourbon & Que kitchen: This recipe is based on our documented cook on a Traeger Ironwood XL. The chops were pulled at 141°F, loosely tented with foil, and reached 146°F before serving. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends cooking whole cuts of pork to 145°F with at least a 3-minute rest.
Bourbon-brined grilled pork chop served with a baked potato and roasted asparagus
On the Plate

What We Served With Them.

We served these chops with a baked potato and roasted asparagus with Dijon-honey glaze. The tangy-sweet asparagus works especially well beside the savory pork and the subtle sweetness from the bourbon brine.

Bourbon glass and pig