Quick-and-Easy Smoked Pork Chops

Quick and easy smoked pork chops on a white platter

The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

Prep: 2 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 12 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 4 pork chops

The great thing about smoked meats—besides the wonderful flavor—is that they come fully cooked, requiring a simple warm-up on the stove, grill, or oven. For our recipe, you'll need fully cooked smoked pork chops, and just a few minutes in a frying pan, under the broiler, or on the grill. These chops are the perfect main course for a busy weeknight, but also a beautiful main for more formal dinners. The key to making perfect smoked pork chops is not to overcook them, as they require a minimum amount of cooking time; if overcooked they dry out, becoming rubbery and tough. Your only indication should be a safe internal temperature of 125 F if your store-bought chops are fully cooked. If your chops aren't fully cooked, check the label—the safe inner temperature should go up to 145 F.

With not much preparation or cooking involved, this is a great recipe for people who've never cooked smoked chops. We provide the instructions for either pan-frying, grilling, and oven roasting the chops. You need less than 15 minutes to present these juicy chops on the table. For easy sides, we recommend braised cabbage, stir fry of vegetables, steamed green beans, baked potatoes, apple chutney, or apple sauce. Although you don't want to mask the delicious smokey flavor of the pork chops, there are ways to add other ingredients without overwhelming the dish: by placing a few slices of grilled pineapple on top or baking them on top of potatoes and onions.

When you have a taste for ham but don't want to mess with a butt or shank portion or even a ham slice, these smoked pork chops are the perfect stand-in. Treat them like ham by serving with sweet potatoes, potato salad, and pineapple chutney.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, or oil

  • 4 (1/2-inch thick) cooked smoked pork chops

Steps to Make It

Pan-Fried Chops

  1. Heat butter or oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

    Butter heating in a large skillet

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

  2. Add the pork chops and warm 4 to 5 minutes per side or until lightly golden.

    Pork chops in a skilet with butter

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

  3. Serve immediately.

    Pan-fried pork chops on a plate

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

Grilled Chops

  1. Oil the grill grate and heat the grill to medium.

    Oil brushed on a grill grate

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

  2. Place the pork chops 5 to 7 inches from the heat source. Cook 5 minutes per side turning only once. If thicker than 1/2 inch, give the chops 7 minutes per side. When the weather doesn't allow for grilling, use the oven broiler on high, and heat up the chops for 5 to 7 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the chop.

    Pork chops on oiled grill grate

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

  3. Serve immediately.

    Grilled pork chops on a white plate

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

Oven-Roasted Chops

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

    Inside of oven

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

  2. Place an oven-proof skillet on the stovetop on medium heat. Brown one side of the pork chops, cooking for 3 to 4 minutes.

    Pork chops browning on one side in a pan

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

  3. Flip the chops over and place the skillet in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes.

    Browned pork chops filled over in skillet and placed in the oven

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

  4. Serve immediately.

    Oven-baked pork chops on a white plate

    The Spruce Eats / Danielle Moore

Glass Bakeware Warning

Do not use glass bakeware when broiling or when a recipe calls for adding liquid to a hot pan, as glass may explode. Even if it states oven-safe or heat resistant, tempered glass products can, and do, break occasionally.

Where to Buy and How to Serve Smoked Pork Chops

You can purchase smoked pork chops pre-packaged in the supermarket or from specialty stores online:

  • At the grocery store: find Hormel's thick-cut, bone-in smoked pork chops for a very reasonable price.
  • Online butcher or smokehouse: find something a bit more specialized, like applewood, oak, or hickory smoked bone-in chops and end cuts. The price is higher than the pre-packaged chops, but you will definitely taste the difference in the end product.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
410 Calories
21g Fat
14g Carbs
41g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 410
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g 27%
Saturated Fat 8g 38%
Cholesterol 140mg 47%
Sodium 7189mg 313%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 41g
Vitamin C 3mg 14%
Calcium 120mg 9%
Iron 5mg 25%
Potassium 676mg 14%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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