Beginner needs help: Pork Chops not quite as I expected. Not properly seared and took much longer!

TheManOnTheBus

 Hi

Just got my BGE recently and cooked pork chops for the first time.

Following a bunch of recipes I found online (such as this one http://biggreenegg.com/recipes/chile-rubbed-grilled-pork-chops/), I "averaged out" and tried to do the following:  Direct Heat at 400 F until internal temperature 150 F (or so).  And it should have taken around 4-5 minutes per side.

What actually happened was the following.

Got the BGE to the right temperature (400F).   Opened dome to put the chops on.  It took me say 60 seconds or so to arrange on the grill (since I had the meat probe in - and I'm new to that - and took care to lay it carefully).

Closed the dome.  The BGE temp had by then dropped to 280F!  Ooops.  And it took a good 10 minutes or so to get up to where it was (400F).   As I was now over the 4-5 mins each side, I decided to flip them.  The underside was not seared at all - it was cooking but no Maillard reaction going on .

I then kept my eye on the IT and as it was approaching 150 I flipped again.  Now both sides were not seared at all.  It probably took 30 minutes or so to get the IT I was aiming for.  So the recipes all say 4-5 minutes per side (and show pictures of beautifully browned chops) and mine took 30 mins mine with no searing.

What am I doing wrong?  How do I get it seared properly at these sort of temperatures (or is it not possible). 

It was all beautifully cooked internally and tasty, but some crispy outside would have made them perfect.

Any tips gratefully.

Thank you

XLentEGG

Welcome ! There is definitely a learning curve  and here are my suggestions. When you get up to temp, let if stabilize there for  15 min or so. This will heat the dome so you can maintain temp , and also help with cooking. For cooking at temps above low and slow , I find that an instant read " pen " type thermometer works well and and you don't have to worry about burning the probe wire.I did not read your recipe , but if I want to actually cook with a sear I do two zone cooking , I sear first over direct heat and then let the meat " broil "  in the cool zone until it reaches temp. 

GrateEggspectations

As @XLentEGG implied, is it possible your lump wasn't fully lit before you started cooking (i.e., did you light it long in advance and wait for ol' blue before starting your cook)? Sounds like your temperature may not have really been dialed in, causing fluctuations.

For searing the chops, I would have gone higher than the 400 you used, for more crust. I think I'd recommend that you get the Egg to 550 or so, brown on all sides, then lower the Egg significantly (or even shut the vents altogether) and let the chops cook as far to the sides of the grill as possible, to avoid the indirect heat, before pulling as it approaches 145 IT. Not the only way you can do it, but works for me.

Also, this doesn't address the question put forth in your thread, but I'll say that I never really liked pork chops that much until I started brining, which results in a much juicier and more flavourful chop, IMO.

AD18

Another vote for letting the Egg stabilize for 15-20 minutes at desired temp as well.  Lets  your grate and the Egg soak up some heat and allows for the temp to recover faster once lid has been opened.  I always grill chops on Egg at 400-450 and it may sound odd, but some chops just don't want to brown up some times.  Not sure why, but as you stated, insides are perfect, but outside are rather bland looking.  Best of luck, keep trying:)

saluki2007

Agree with the posts above about letting the egg stabilize.  The type of rub you use will also affect the charring of the outside of your protein.  Was the OP of the thread you followed using a spider or something of that nature to lower the chop even closer to the lump?  That might have helped them getting a better mallard reaction. 

Mattman3969

Did you dry the moisture off the protein?  Wet meat won't hardly sear.  

GrateEggspectations

^^^ Very true

AD18

Indeed use a REAL high sugar content rub and you will get a dandy crust:):):)  Nicely brown, almost "black" and really "crispy".  I always fail miserably with rubs and grilling:(  Always giggle, "did it again":)

TheManOnTheBus

Thank you, all.

No - I didn't let it stabilise. As soon as it got to the correct temperature, the meat went on.  So - good lesson.

No - I didn't wipe moisture off.  Again, will do in future.

No - I didn't use a rub. That was through choice: I wanted to really get the taste of (distraction free) smoke! 

XLent mentions a "cool zone" . Forgive the newbie question, but what is that? On direct, isn't the whole grill over the coals and all direct?

Other terminology I don't know: what is a "spider" and what is the "lump" - mentioned by  Suliki in his reply.

Thank you all very much!

TheManOnTheBus

*or her (Suliki)!

Wardster

150 is too dry for me.  I pull my pork at 135ish.

GrateEggspectations

Letting the Egg stabilize will be a good start. Not only will it help you maintain a consistent temp, even when opening and closing the lid, but it will ensure the the acrid white smoke (which imparts a bitter and unpleasant flavour) dissipates, giving way to the sweet blue smoke.

Acn

I agree letting the temp stabilize and drying the surface of the meat are two steps you should definitely try next time.

For the other terminology the lump is your charcoal - the closer you are to the lump the higher your temperature will be.  The spider is an aftermarket product from the Ceramic Grill Store.

gdenby

Were the chops over glowing coals? That is what is required for searing.

Let me bore you for a minute with a rough description of how temperature works in the Egg.

The gases coming off lump are usually not as hot as those from a propane flame. But the amount of heat coming off as IR more than makes up. Burning lump puts out considerably more heat than gas flames.

Because the intensity of the IR diminishes by the inverse square, the closer the food is to the glow, the hotter that side becomes. Some people will cook "caveman" style, and just drop the meat right onto the coals. Others will remove the fire ring, and place the grill on the fire box so the food is just an inch from the heat. Things cook very fast there. next up, the standard lower position. The the grill extended position, where the grill is at the gasket level. Some folks even have rigs that get smaller grills up into the dome.

Each level raise drops of the heat by about half. The lowest level cooks will char the meat quickly, the highest, more slowly brown it.

Your results lead me to think you must have had only a small spot of lump burning, and that the chops were not exposed to much radiant heat.


Dome temps can be misleading. The thermometer probe mostly pics up the air heat in the immediate vicinity. As always, hot air rises. The air temp below the dome on brief cooks, half and hour to an hour, are hotter than lower down.

In addition, in some situations, the dome therm will be reporting the temperature of the air and water vapor that are rising from the food below it. If you put 2 probed on the grill, and one is just a fraction of an inch away from the cool meat, it may read 60F cooler than the other probe in the open.

As mentioned above, the longer the fire has to heat the ceramics, the more steady the temp will be after opening the dome. Also, the whole chamber starts to even out.

Myself, If I want a sear, I open the bottom vent all the way, leave the Daisy on, but the petal dial pushed to the side. That way, there is a strong air flow to develop the fire. The dome temp will top out around 450F, but the heat at the raised grill position will be great enough that chops usually do take just a few minutes per side.

FWIW, after using standard metal grills for years, it took me several months to forget what I knew, and learn the Eggs way of cooking. My results ranged from excellent to inedible. You're not doing so bad.

northGAcock

Wardster said:

150 is too dry for me.  I pull my pork at 135ish.

I use to go 165 for pork as that is what we were told over the years. I think what is being produced is considered today to be worthy of a lower internal temp. I generally pull more on touch than temp....i need to test this though. Love the moistness of the lower temps on the chops though.

jtcBoynton

How thick were your chops?  The recipe calls for very thin chops (1/2"). If you used thicker chops (a good idea), the timing in the recipe will be way off. I suspect your chops were thicker because trying to use a wire probe in very thin chops is not usually done.

Direct cooking is the application of radiant heat.  The dome temp is a rough indicator, but the amount of lump fully burning and the distance to the meat is much more important to pay attention to.  Did your fire look anything like this?:


You need glowing coals directly under each chop to get a nice crust.  It is possible to get the dome temp up to 400º with a small fire off to one side. In that case there will not be enough burning coals directly under each of the chops.  I pay more attention to how the coal bed looks than the dome temp when trying to get a good crust on a chop.

gdenby

northGAcock said:

Wardster said:

150 is too dry for me.  I pull my pork at 135ish.

I use to go 165 for pork as that is what we were told over the years. I think what is being produced is considered today to be worthy of a lower internal temp. I generally pull more on touch than temp....i need to test this though. Love the moistness of the lower temps on the chops though.

The guy who headed the Modernist Cuisine team a few years ago, a PhD w. lot's of $, looked very carefully at commercial pork in the US. He found no trace of trichina. The only sample he found was in bear meat. For purposes of safety, pork can be cooked as low as beef, which is to say, you can serve it raw if you like. I've tried rare pork, and have to say I didn't like the texture much. I have done uncured hams to the point where the juices were still pink, and the slices were very good.

jtcBoynton

TheManOnTheBus said:

...Other terminology I don't know: what is a "spider" ...

See the picture in my previous post.  That is a spider with a small grate on it.

fishlessman

salted, frozen, tossed on hot grill for sear, sauced at the end. if the grill is really hot get them off at 135 as there will be more carryover. this was done in the mini were the grill is close to the lump

NonaScott

Great advice and great illustration @jtcBoynton and @gdenby. I think this is where most folks get confused when trying to cook direct for a short time at higher temps.

Wardster

Go to a nice steak house and order their pork chop.  They will ask you how you want it cooked.  I am of the opinion that most recipes say 165* so they are not liable to be sued if someone gets sick, but that's just me.

Darby_Crenshaw

northGAcock said:

Wardster said:

150 is too dry for me.  I pull my pork at 135ish.

I use to go 165 for pork as that is what we were told over the years. I think what is being produced is considered today to be worthy of a lower internal temp. I generally pull more on touch than temp....i need to test this though. Love the moistness of the lower temps on the chops though.

actually, the pork today is less fatty, and prone to drying out quicker, and not so much as 'worthy' of lower temps, but it has a narrow window before it dries too quickly.  this is why a lot of commercial pork is brined.

the real reason for grandma's 180 temps internal for pork were deadly fear of trichinosis.  that's killed off at 138 instantly (as opposed to bacteria's different 'pasteurizing' times).

which means as far as safety goes, there is no need to go above 140

never was. actually.

but grandma didn't cook by temp, or feel.  they just cooked until the pork was obviously overcooked.


there's hasn't been a case of trichinosis in feedlot commercial pork since the 70's.  they aren't fed anything that can give it to them, for starters.


cases of trich since then have all been restricted to home-raised pork, wild boar, raccoon, etc.

140-145 is perfect for pork in my opinion.  but people are trained to freak out if it is pink.  there is no safety concern, as with beef steak, at 'medium-ish' temps

jtcBoynton

I believe the old out of date USDA safety standard was 160º.  The new USDA temp is 145º (with a 3min rest).  It will take years for the old number to die out.  

Darby_Crenshaw

jtcBoynton said:

I believe the old out of date USDA safety standard was 160º.  The new USDA temp is 145º (with a 3min rest).  It will take years for the old number to die out.  

correct.  but it was always safe at 140. 

the 160 USDA number involves margin for human error. 

human error.  not because there are some bacteria that will survive past 140.

USDA recognizes that most people don't use a thermometer.  those that do often stick it too far out or in, and don't get center temps.  or their thermo could be off (the old stick style meat thermometers).

it's like a sign saying the speed limit is 55mph, when the roadway is actually designed for 70+.  Allows a margin of error when dealing with the 'average'  (i.e. unknowing) unpredictable user

EDIT: dele 'ignorant', because it sounds like a bad thing

hoosier_egger

I pull chops a 138* an get a few degree carryover. Nothing worse than a leathery chop

Skiddymarker

Welcome, lots of good advice here. We have not used the egg for chops for sometime, the preferred method, from Chef Steps, brine for a couple of hours, quick sear in a CI pan, sous vide bath at 135ºF for one to two hours, finish sear in CI pan. Perfect every time. 
Suggest you do not use the cable probe thermos for direct cooks (neither food nor pit), a Thermapen or pop is much better, inserted from the side to get true centre temp.

cheeaa

Dont worry about the egg temps. Fire up a chimney of coals, dump it in, let it go for 5 or 10, then throw the chops on. Sear on each side til they look good throw platesetter in and finish to 140. Done 

keepervodeflame

This is a tip I got from reading Cooks county years ago. It completely changed the way I approach pork chops. Still use this technique every time I cook them. These pics are off my weber gasser but I use the same technique on my egg, just can't find any pictures.  

Cooks Country Pork Chip Technique:

Use wooden skewers or a taco rack to stand bone in chops upright with the bone end down toward the heat. Smoke them like this at 350 for about 15 minutes. Pull the chops off what ever you used to stand them up right and lay them on a medium to medium hot fire direct  fire for about 2 1/2 minutes. I used to measure temp and pull at 130 but don't really do that any more I have done them so often, I just know when they are done.  Hint a rosy hue is fine if they are stark white, their probably over done. For an added treat, start a CI pan of sliced apples, onions, a little olive oil, and some chicken broth, add Montreal Roasted Garlic and herb blend and some shredded fresh sage. Cook on your grill next to the chops and use as a topping. Wonderful. 

rrgator

I generally give myself an hour from lighting charcoal to putting food on grates. Anything from grilling to bbq. Seems to get nasty smoke over and gets bge ready for radiant heat cooking methodology. You do have to time your cooking backwards from when you want to be eating. Don't forget to "let it sit" for a few minutes, 10-15, depending on the cut and type, before serving. Also, brining is a great technique for keeping the meat moist. Anything from the various brining techniques to injecting liquids seems to help with both moistness (is that a word) and taste. Keep at it. You'll get it. 

rrgator

I also agree that cooks country has some great techniques for grilling/bbq.