This week the USDA made an announcement which confirmed that pork only has to be cooked to 145 degrees F followed by a three minute resting period. Goodbye dry pork, hello juicy tender chops! Of course ground pork, like all ground meat still needs to be cooked to 160 degrees F. What did this mean to me? The first thing I did was pulled out a package of boneless one and half inch thick chops from the freezer. It meant we were having a quick and easy dinner of delicious grilled chops!
I previously cooked my pork chops to 160 degrees F but with the 145 degrees temperature there was a noticeable difference. Can you say plump and juicy? I rubbed the chops a few hours before with a smoked salt seasoning. I poured some beer over them after they had a nice sear then finished them off with a little barbecue sauce. The insides were slightly pink and the smoked salt seasoning, beer and barbecue sauce made the pork so flavorful. If you need a quick main course for Memorial Day weekend, this is it.
To celebrate this temperature news, the National Pork Board is having a Twitter Party on Tuesday, May 31st at 7pm. You can join them by following hashtag #Pork145. They will be giving away over 100 prizes with one juicy grand prize. Now for my pork chop recipe. But first drool over some pictures!
Drunken BBQ Pork Chops
4 thick cut pork chops
smoked salt seasoning or your favorite BBQ seasoning or rub
1 cup beer, brought to room temperature
1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
Rub the pork chops with your favorite seasoning 4 to 8 hours before cooking. CLICK HERE to make your own rub. Keep the chops refrigerated until half hour before cooking. Preheat gas grill to high heat. Sear chops about 1 minute on each side with lid closed. Make sure they have nice sear marks. Turn grill heat down to medium. Pour beer over the chops. Cook the chops for 3 minutes on one side then baste with half the barbecue sauce. Flip over chops and cook for 4 to 5 more minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 145 degrees when placed in center of chop. Baste with remaining barbecue sauce. Remove to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Let the chops rest for 3 minutes. Makes 4 servings
***For full disclosure I am getting an entry into the VIP Team Blogger Sweepstakes by posting this information. The opinions are my own and and I was not compensated to do this post.
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OMG, my husband would leave me for this dish! So lovely.
I'm awful at checking temperature on pork to begin with. I usually go based on touch and color!
Those do look like some juicy chops!
Gosh Lisa, how long has it been since we commented on each other's blogs? It was such a pleasure to see your comment. Your pork chops look fantastic. Like you I am thrilled that we no longer have to cook pork to oblivion. Oh happy day.
I never thought I would be excited by an announcement by the USDA, but I am!! Yay! Can't wait to try these!
I am speechless … this is just WOW~
Those are grilled to perfection. I never take the temperature of meat – I just use the finger test.
I suppose I was always living on the edge by slightly undercooking my pork!! LOL
Yummy chops!
You're lucky you didn't try the lower temperature earlier. I hear the FDA makes surprise house calls
Look excellent, by the way. I've got to get myself an electric meat thermometer eventually.
I was also happy to hear about the temparature change! These pork chops look fabulous.
You know I don't even really like pork all that much except for bacon but when I got the email about this I was excited! Maybe the reason I haven't liked pork chops is because they were always dry!!! And now they will be juicy and delicious. That's my theory at least
This looks great Lisa! Your photos are making me hungry
Ah, I just stumbled upon this post now! I write for the Pork Board http://porkknifeandspoon.com/
and was the one hosting the Twitter party! Thanks so much for giving us a shout out and for spreading the word about 145!
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