#Smoking Pork Loin Chops

I smoked Pork loin chops today. I've never smoked anything else but fish before this. This was new territory for me. I checked out the internet and found different information. So I sort of made my own method, hoping it would work out.

This is what I did:

2 – loin chops about ¾ inch thick.

Brine:

1 – cup water

1 – cup apple juice

1/3 cup coarse salt

Cracked pepper

Garlic powder

Juice from part of a lime

Put thawed chops into the brine and then into the fridge at around midnight. Left overnight in fridge.

10:00 AM next morning: Removed chops from fridge, washed, dried and put on a bit of pork/chicken spice. Put them back into the fridge until Electric Smoker was ready.

Turned on the Smoker (Used oak-wood chips, which I soaked overnight )

Programmed Smoker: Temperature 225 F, Time: 2 1/2 hours.

After 20 minutes temperature had reached 250F

After opening Smoker temperature dropped to around 200F

Added more wood. (Apple and Hickory) Adjusted temperature control to 210F

Put chops on rack

Added wood after 30 minutes. Adjusted temperature to 225 F (added more wood 30 minutes later)

After 1 hour 15 minutes: Checked internal temperature of chops with probe. It was 140F. It was supposed to be 155F.

All the smoke escaped. Put on some more chips.

Left chops for another 10 minutes.

Removed chops after 10 minutes.

They were brown. They had shrunk a little.

Notes:

Take chops out after 1 hour 15 minutes. They were a bit dried out. They also tasted a bit salty but not bad.

Use water pan in Smoker for moisture.

Use less salt in brine

Use a spice without salt.

No need to soak wood chips in water over night.

We will eat the smoked loin chops for supper tonight, cold, with potatoes.

They didn't turn out too badly for the first time. Next time I will cut them thicker than 3/4 inch.