Apple Bourbon Smoked Pork Chops

Whenever I think about bourbon I remember a story my grandmother used to tell me when I lived with them during my time in graduate school. It was the early 1950′s, and my grandmother lived in the Delta Gamma sorority house on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder. The house was run with precision by an eagle-eyed house mother who allowed no boys, no drinking, and no shenanigans on the premises. Girls who wanted to “live a little” had to either do it before 9 pm and feign innocence when walking past her desk or try (often unsuccessfully) to sneak out after hours. There was, however, one exception. A girl in the house had a doctor’s note prescribing a shot of bourbon for her monthly “female troubles”. She would lie in bed sipping a glass of bourbon while the other girls looked on with envy. This story always makes me laugh, because while bourbon can definitely cure what ails you, what doctor would prescribe it for a 1950′s sorority sister, and why didn’t everyone in the house track him down?
In the summertime my bourbon bottle often migrates to the back of the cabinet. Warm weather calls for gin, vodka, tequila, and other “cooling” spirits. However when added to a slow cooked barbecue sauce, bourbon sheds its warm winter coat and can party hard with pork and pineapple. This recipe for apple bourbon smoked pork chops comes from the incredible cookbook Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book. Written by legendary pitmaster Chris Lilly, it is a masterpiece of incredible BBQ recipes which came to my attention when Todd & Diane, Jen, and other bloggers attended a weekend “grilling university” featuring his instruction and recipes.

Apple Bourbon Smoked Pork Chops-4

Making Apple Bourbon Smoked Pork Chops

The dish begins with quality pork chops, cut in the thick Iowa Chop style, with a moisture locking ring of fat and big meaty bone. The meat is rubbed with mix of classic BBQ spices including brown sugar, paprika, cumin, and ginger. A base sauce recipe is sweetened by sautéed apples and kissed with caramel notes of bourbon. When slowly cooked over coals spiked by smoking pieces of apple wood the pork chops turn into succulent slabs of porcine perfection. Moist, tender, and running with sweetly flavored juices no one will dispute that these are award winning pork chops.

Apple Bourbon Smoked Pork Chops

Apple Bourbon Smoked Pork Chops (Printable Recipe)
Serves 8
Ingredients:
Dry Rub:
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
6 1/2 teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons Paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground Cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger
8 Thick-cut Pork Chops, about 5 1/2 lbs
1/2 cup apple wood chips
Apple Bourbon Barbecue Sauce (Recipe Below)
Directions:
Combine all of the dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl until well mixed. Rinse pork chops, pat them dry with paper towels and set them on a large plate. Generously sprinkle the dry rub on top of the pork chops. Pat the rub gently into the meat. Flip the pork chops over and repeat to add rub on the other side. Cover the pork chops with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge until ready to use (up to 1 day ahead).
Soak the apple wood chips in water for at least 1 hour before using.
When ready to cook the chops, prepare a charcoal or wood fired grill for indirect cooking. This means that the coals will be on one side of the grill and you will put the food on the other side, not directly above the coals. Pre-heat the grill until it maintains 250 degrees. Use a grill tool to lift up one of the racks and add the soaked apple wood chips. Replace the rack and set the pork chops on the grill, leaving a little space between the chops for air circulation. Close the lid and cook the chops for 2-3 hours, until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
le='font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: left;'>Once the chops reach 145 degrees, paint both sides generously with the apple bourbon barbecue sauce. Continue to cook the chops over indirect heat until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Remove the chops from heat, and serve immediately with any extra sauce on the side.
Apple Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
Makes 3 cups
(Don’t be afraid of the long list of ingredients, this sauce comes together in 15 minutes.)
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup diced Sweet Onion
1 firm apple, peeled and coarsely grated (about 3/4 cup)
3 Tablespoons Bourbon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cayenne Pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Cumin
2 cups Ketchup
1/2 cup Distilled White Vinegar
1/2 cup Cola
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
6 Tablespoons pure Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon Molasses
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons Liquid Smoke
Directions:
Place a small skillet over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion and saute for 4 minutes, until the onion is soft. Next add the grated apple, bourbon, salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and cumin, and saute for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and set it aside.
Place a large non-reactive saucepan over medium-low heat. Add all of the remaining ingredients, stirring until they are well combined. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the apple onion mixture to the sauce and continue to simmer for another 2 minutes. The sauce should be thick and fragrant. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool. Once the sauce is cool transfer it to a sealed container and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
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