Don't Start Grilling Pork Chops Before Making This One Important Move
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As simple a task as it may seem, there's a lot that goes into grilling a stellar pork chop. Brining it to keep it from drying out, marinating it to boost the flavor, and knowing how long to grill it for all play a major role in coming away from the grill with a juicy piece of pork that looks and tastes amazing. Jess Pryles, an Austin-based live-fire cooking expert, meat educator, and author of the forthcoming cookbook "Prime Cuts: The Complete Guide to Choosing, Understanding, and Cooking Meat," warned that one common prepping mistake will produce a less flavorful result.
Many backyard grillers are aware that trimming off excess fat is essential, lest you end up with flare-ups that could char the pork chop beyond recognition. However, Pryles said, "Don't trim all the fat off. Fat is flavor, and pork chops need some of it." A good rule of thumb is to leave roughly ¼ inch of fat on the protein while saving the cutoffs for other meals (we'll get into that later).
The ¼-inch rule doesn't apply to every type of pork chop, mind you. "One of the most confusing things is how many different types of pork chops there are, and they all require different trimming," Pryles said. In any case, if you're grilling a particularly large pork chop, one additional step can be beneficial.
When trimming fat from pork chops isn't enough
As someone who was selected to be a judge on the upcoming Food Network series "Pitmasters," Pryles knows her stuff when it comes to grilling delicious meat. While trimming some (but not all) of the fat off is a recipe for a flavorful piece of protein, sizable chops could use some extra attention in the form of a nifty knife trick that keeps pork chops lying flat while on the grill. "If I'm working with really thick cut chops, I'll make a few small vertical cuts through the fat, just down to the meat, to help stop the chop from curling and give the fat a kickstart to render," Pryles said.
Most people tasked with trimming fat off a pork chop think nothing of tossing the extra pieces in the trash, but not Pryles. She was adamant that folks should save those trimmings since they can be put to use in other dishes to level up their flavor and prevent food waste. "You can render it slowly and turn it into lard! I keep a baggie in my freezer and collect until I have enough to make a batch," Pryles said. "You can use it for searing pork chops, frying potatoes, refried beans ... it's so versatile."