Grilled Pork Chops with Homemade Sweet Rub
On April 26, 2022 (Updated October 24, 2023)
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This grilled pork chops recipe is an absolute stunner and the perfect food for adults and kids alike. The homemade dry rub comes together quickly with ingredients you’ve likely got in your spice cupboard and is an awesomely tasty combination of savory and sweet. Get ready to make the best grilled pork chops of your life!
Best Grilled Pork Chops
I love grilling pork chops. They’re a simple, yet satisfying dinner that everyone can enjoy. This recipe coats the pork chop in my Signature Sweet Rub. It’s a brown sugar-based dry rub that adds a sweet and savory flavor to the chop. You can make this from scratch, or to save some time, we sell Sweet Rub from the Hey Grill Hey Store.
These chops also taste amazing with my Best Pork Chops Seasoning. You can even season half with one rub and half with the other to see which one you prefer best.
Grilling Pork Chops
You’ll see many various methods for grilling pork chops online. Some claim that high heat, hot and fast is the only way to go. Others recommend cooking over indirect heat the whole time. I like a mixture of both to end up with incredibly juicy pork and a nicely caramelized and crunchy exterior.
When it comes to lean cuts like pork chops, pork tenderloin, etc., I like to use two-zone cooking on my grill. If you’re using a charcoal grill, simply stack more briquettes on one side to create a hot spot and less on the other. If you’re cooking on a gas grill, turn one burner on medium-high and one on low.
For indirect grills like my pellet grill, find out where your hot and cooler spots are on your grill. I use the hot zone for the initial sear on each side of my chops. This caramelizes the sugar in the rub and seals in all of the juices. Then I move the meat over to the less hot side of the grill and let it cook through.
How to Grill Pork Chops
Now that you know the ins and outs of this recipe, here’s how to cook pork chops on the grill.
- Preheat. Turn on your grill and preheat for two-zone cooking with the overall grill temperature at medium-high heat (400 degrees F).
- Season. Season the pork chops on all sides with Sweet Rub, and press the dry rub into the meat.
- Sear. Move the chops over to the direct heat side of your grill, and sear for 2-3 minutes per side. Keep a close eye on the chops, as you don’t want the brown sugar in the rub to burn.
- Finish grilling. Return the chops to the indirect heat side and continue to cook them until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
- Rest and enjoy. As soon as your pork chops reach the correct internal temperature, remove them from the grill and let them rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving. This will help stop the cooking process and redistribute the juices through the pork chop.
Feeling ready to serve up this delicious food for dinner? I can guarantee your family and guests will be mighty impressed.
How Long to Grill Pork Chops
Boneless or bone-in pork chops that are about 1 inch thick will cook for 8-10 minutes. If you are grilling extremely thick chops, the bone will start to affect the timing of your cook. 1 1/2 inch thick boneless pork chops typically cook through in 14-18 minutes and bone-in chops at that thickness can take up to 20 minutes or more.
Although time is a nice guideline for a recipe, the absolute most important factor when cooking pork chops on the grill is to pay attention to internal temperature.
Pork is perfectly cooked through, juicy, and safe to eat at 145 degrees F. Get yourself a good instant-read thermometer to avoid over or undercooking your grilled pork chops. I recommend ThermoWorks products. They’ve always produced a fast and reliable result.
Tips for Making Grilled Pork Chops
Pork chops are pretty straightforward to cook on the grill, but I have a few tips for you that will help ensure your chops come off the grill perfectly cooked and totally juicy.
- Utilize two-zone grilling. Use two-zone heat on your grill to achieve juicy, perfectly cooked pork chops with that slightly charred grilled flavor.
- Make sure that the pepper is freshly cracked. When mixing up your grilled pork chop rub, try using freshly cracked black pepper for a brighter flavor.
- Don’t poke the meat! Don’t stab your pork chop with a fork or cut into them while they are still cooking. You’ll lose a lot of the juices out of the meat.
More Pork Chops Recipes
Looking for more delicious recipes from Hey Grill Hey? These are popular chop recipes from the site that aim to please.
- Smoked Pork Chops
- Schwenkbraten (Grilled German Pork Chops)
- Stuffed Pork Chops with Browned Butter Apple Filling
Grilled Pork Chops Recipe
Here’s hoping this grilled pork chops recipe made for an incredible dinner! It’s hard to pass up great food that is fast and easy to make. Let us know what you thought of this recipe in the comments below!
This recipe was originally published in April 2015 (one of my first ever posts!). It has since been updated with new photos and tips, but the recipe remains the same.
Grilled Pork Chops with Signature Sweet Rub
Video
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops
Signature Sweet Rub
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Make the rub. Combine all ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and set aside.
- Preheat. Allow the grill to preheat to medium-high heat (around 400 degrees F) for two-zone cooking (one direct heat side and one indirect heat side).
- Season. Season the pork chops with Sweet Rub on all sides and press the rub into the meat.
- Sear. Place the chops on the hottest part of the grill and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Finish grilling. Move the chops to the indirect heat side of the grill and continue cooking for an additional 5-6 minutes per side until the internal temperature of the pork chops reaches 145 degrees F.
- Rest and serve. Remove the chops from the grill and allow them to rest for 5-6 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Not a real grill master – sort of an oven gal to be honest! But, I decided to try my hand at grilling because well, just because!!!! This rub was absolutely delicious, as in DELICIOUS. I cooked per the instructions and the pork chops came out absolutely perfect. Not a bite left on anyone’s plate. I paired it with grilled yellow squash marinated with an olive oil, brown sugar, garlic sauce, and a salad with raspberry vinegar dressing. One of the most delicious meals I’ve had!Thank you for sharing your recipe. Will be making this many times over again!
This rub is very easy to make and produces an incredibly moist, flavorfulchop. I highly recommend!
Best rub in pork that my family has had in years! Simple and DELICIOUS!
I’ve tried many rubs and this is the best one so far. It works great for both pork and chicken. The only change I made to the recipe was to reduce the black pepper to 1 tsp and the cayenne to a pinch for less “heat”. I also added 1 tsp ground sumac. No need to look further for a better rub!
Easy to make the rub with ingredients in our kitchen. Used a brand new digital thermometer with monitor. Perfect recipe, great directions, delicious thick grilled pork chops. This is a keeper!! Thank you!
Wonderful for chops! Used this on pork tenderloin roast and was fantastic!
My new favorite pork chop recipe! I don’t usually comment but the rub was just what I was looking for. I left out the cayenne for my six year old’s sake. At first she still thought it was spicy but then she scarfed it down!
This recipe is amazing. I didn’t have dried mustard so I used prepared and added water to turn it into a marinade, going to use it on chicken today.
These are delicious!!!! I haven’t had a pork chop in years and I’ve made them twice in one week.
I cheated. I needed a quick and easy way out so I used your Hey Grill Hey pork seasoning. To be honest, the jar is nearly gone. I’ve used it on different cuts of pork a number of times and haven’t been too impressed but I followed the directions and the HGH seasonings and the bone-in chops were terrific. I’m hoping the recipe is the same as the retail version because I always have those ingredients on hand.