Sausage Stuffed Smoked Pork Chops
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Thick juicy smoked pork chops stuffed with a mixture of sausage, peppers and onions are delicious beyond words and you'll want to try these on your family and friends very soon.
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Brine Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 1.5 – 2 hours
- Smoker Temp: 225°F (107°C)
- Meat Finish Temp: 145°F (63°C)
- Recommended Wood: Pecan
Did you know? You can order the MASTER FORMULAS which allow you to make Jeff's original rubs and original barbecue sauce at home using your own ingredients! Order the Recipes
- Thick cut pork chops (1 per person with a couple of extras)
- ½ gallon of brine (recipe below)
- 1 lb of ground breakfast sausage (I used hot)
- 1/3 cup mixture of chopped onions, celery and bell peppers (this is called the trinity in cajun cooking)
- Jeff’s Texas style rub
Remove the pork chops from the package and rinse using cold water
Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket in the pork chop.
Once the pockets are cut, it is time to brine the meat.
Basic Brine
- ½ gallon of cold water
- ½ cup of coarse kosher salt
Put the cold water into a pitcher. Add the salt and stir until the salt is dissolved into the water.
The brine is now ready to use.
Place the chops into a container.
Pour the brine into the container until the meat is completely covered.
Put a lid or plastic wrap on the container and place the meat in the fridge for about 2 hours.
When the meat is finished brining, rinse well under cold water to remove any excess salt.
While the meat is brining, go ahead and prepare the stuffing mixture of sausage, onions, celery and peppers.
Because the heat is so low when smoking, we have to make sure that the vegetables are slightly soft and the sausage is browned before the smoking process begins.
Put a TBS of olive or vegetable oil along with the onions, celery and peppers into a large skillet over medium heat.
Cook for about 3-4 minutes then remove the vegetables into a small bowl.
Place the sausage into the same skillet and cook until it is just starting to turn brown.
Add the vegetables back into the mixture and continue cooking for a couple of minutes before removing the mixture from the heat.
Let the stuffing mixture cool before using.
I recommend adding some of my Texas style rub into the pockets of the pork chops as well as on the outside for great flavor.
Note: My rubs do not have a lot of salt and for this reason, you can get a lot of flavor without worrying about over-salting the food.
If you'd rather use my original rub , that will also work really well.
Be generous with the seasoning!
Set the pork chops up with the pocket facing upward.
Spoon stuffing mixture into the pocket and press it in with your fingers to make sure you are completely filling the void.
Leave the pork chops in this configuration during smoking for best results.
Note: They need to sit up so the stuffing does not fall out during the cooking process but try to leave a little space between the sides, as I did in the picture above, to allow the smoke and heat to maneuver around them.
Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225-240°F using pecan smoking wood or whatever smoking wood you have available.
Place the pan of pork chops on the smoker grate
Per the USDA, pork is safe and ready to eat at 145°F (63°C) so you will want to use a digital probe meat thermometer such as the Thermoworks Smoke to monitor the temperature of one of the chops while it is in the smoker.
This type of thermometer allows you to know the temperature of the meat without having to open the door of the smoker.
Note: you can also use a Thermapen ONE to check the temperature once the pork chops get close to being done. The new Mk4 reads in 1 second and I always keep mine close by anytime I am cooking.
When the pork reaches 145°F (63°C), remove them from the smoker.
Serve immediately with a nice salad or other sides.
Did you know? You can order the MASTER FORMULAS which allow you to make Jeff's original rubs and original barbecue sauce at home using your own ingredients! Order the Recipes
Printable Recipe
Sausage Stuffed Smoked Pork Chops
Ingredients
- Thick cut pork chops (1 per person with a couple of extras)
- ½ gallon of brine (recipe below)
- 1 lb of ground breakfast sausage
- ⅓ cup mixture of chopped onions (celery and bell peppers)
- Jeff's Texas style rub
Instructions
- Rinse pork chops under cold water.
- Make a brine solution using ½ gallon of cold water and ½ cup of coarse kosher salt.
- Mix the water and salt together until the salt is dissolved.
- Place the pork chops in a lidded container.
- Pour the brine solution over the chops until they are covered.
- Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
- Brine for about 2 hours.
- Remove from brine and rinse to remove any extra salt.
- Sauté about a 1/3 cup mixture of celery, onions and bell peppers with 1 TBS of cooking oil.
- Remove vegetables and brown 1 lb of breakfast sausage in the same pan.
- Add the vegetables to the sausage to combine and remove from heat to cool.
- Season pork chops with Jeff's Texas style rub inside the pocket and on the outside.
- Stuff the chops with the sausage mixture.
- Leave the pork chops sitting pocket side up leaning against the side of a foil pan.
- Set up your smoker for cooking at 225°F (107°C) using indirect heat.
- Place the pan of pork chops on the smoker grate.
- Smoke cook the meat for about 2 hours or until they reach 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part.
- Serve immediately.
Outstanding! Made these today. Followed the recipe exactly as written. Tender, juicy, great taste and loved by all. Served them with baked beans and rice. Thank you!
Jeff, how thick should the chops be ?
Probably ¾-inch at the least.. 1 inch or more is best.
I am such a “cheap” person, that instead of a thick pork chop, I opted for 2 thin chops and put the stuffing between the two chops and skewered them together with tooth picks! Or you can wrap them in twine!
Jeff, your recipes are fantastic and so adaptable to whatever we want to use. Keep up the good work.
Just out of curiousity why breakfast sausage instead or Italian sausage? Sounds like it will be amazing either way.
I just recommend what I use but I”m thinking any kind of sausage would work. Even something like pulled pork, chopped brisket, etc. would be good in this.
Newbie to smoking. Did three racks of Baby Backs last week, which were good, but not fall-off-the-bone though in my 30″ Masterbuilt. Up next, I’m trying these Sausage Stuffed Smoked Pork Chops. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
These are the greatest chops ever. My mother in law even said nice things about them.
Hello Jeff
The chops are in the smoker. I did put a little twist on mine just because I love cheese. I added cream cheese to the sausage with green peppers but before your recipe was sent to me in my inbox I had never thought of stuffing pork chops so I will get back to you on how they turn out and thanks for a great site.
Ken McBroom
VP HOOSIER OUTDOOR WRITERS
http://www.ramblingangler.com
Follow up post. The pork chops turned out great. This was the first time I ever brined pork chops and it really makes a difference. Great recipe.
Thanks
Ken
I have made these twice in the last month. Great recipe. My family and the neighbors loved it. It is even great as leftovers. Thanks for the recipe and keep the new ones coming!
Made these last weekend. Mother in law said they were restaurant quality. Thanks for a great recipe and good tips. Love the Texas rub.
I think it would be important to note that the temp should be checked in both the meat and the stuffing. If the stuffing isn’t up to temp, as well, it could present a real danger.
Define thick.
Mine were about ¾ inch thick which is pretty standard for the pre-cut ones I see here in my area. You could also purchase a boneless pork loin and cut your own if you wanted to.
my wife ask the same question all the time
For the win! 😆