Smoked Smothered Pork Chops are tender, delicious and covered in onion gravy. They’re prepped on a stove, then cooked until tender on a smoker grill.
We love smothered pork chops, and typically we bake them. However, when it is summer and it’s really hot, I don’t want to heat up our kitchen by using our oven. That’s where our smoker comes in handy! We do the prep work for these smoked smothered pork chops on the stovetop for several minutes, then transfer them to our Traeger grill to cook low and slow!
I made a couple tweaks to a recipe I posted on this blog a few years ago, by doubling the ingredients (to serve 4) and adapting it to be cooked on a smoker grill. They turned out wonderful! Delicious and tender, this is an easy way to slow cook pork chops on a HOT summer day, without using the oven!
The long cooking time (1 hour, 45 minutes) on the smoker gives bone-in pork chops a chance to be infused with flavor and they always turn out really tender! The pork chops are “smothered” in a simple onion gravy while they cook away! YUM! Here’s how to make smoked smothered pork chops.
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Season The Pork Chops
Place paprika, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine these dry spices. Pat the pork chops dry using a paper towel, then sprinkle both sides of the pork chops evenly with the spice mix. Press the spices into the meat, so it adheres.
Prepare The Smoked Smothered Pork Chops
Before cooking the pork chops on your smoker, you will need to quickly pan-sear and brown them. Heat vegetable oil in a large oven-proof skillet on medium-high heat, until very hot, but just barely smoking.
Add the seasoned pork chops to the skillet in a single layer, and cook each side 3-4 minutes, until well browned. Transfer the pork chops from the skillet to a plate (once browned), and keep them warm. Do NOT clean out the skillet!
Caramelize Onions To Smother The Pork Chops
Add butter to the same skillet, and let it melt on medium heat. Add the onion slices, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until well browned. Stir in thyme and minced garlic, and cook for about 30 additional seconds.
Add 1 cup beef broth to the skillet (reserving remaining 2 Tablespoons broth for later use). Toss in the bay leaf, and stir well, scraping up the browned bits (lots of flavor) from the bottom of the skillet while it cooks.
Bring this mixture to a simmer, then transfer the pork chops back into the skillet. Spoon some of the sauce and onions over the top of each piece, then remove skillet from the stove and cover it with aluminum foil.
Ready For The Smoker Grill
Preheat your smoker to 300°F according to manufacturer’s instructions. Once it is ready and at temperature, carefully place the foil-covered skillet onto the grill grate. Close the lid, and let the smoked smothered pork chops cook, (undisturbed) for 1 hour and 45 minutes, until the pork chops are tender.
Last Step Before Serving The Smoked Smothered Pork Chops
When done, remove the skillet from the smoker, and carefully transfer the smoked smothered pork chops (meat only) to a plate. Cover them with foil to keep them hot. Place a large strainer on top of a medium-sized bowl.
Pour the sauce and onions from the skillet through the strainer. The sauce will run through strainer into the bowl below. The onions will remain in the strainer. Discard the bay leaves, and place the onions in a small bowl. If desired, remove any accumulated fat from the surface of the sauce.
Measure out 2/3 cup of the sauce, and place it back into the skillet. Bring the sauce to a low simmer. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the reserved 2 Tablespoons beef broth and the cornstarch until smooth. Add this to the sauce in the skillet, and whisk to combine. The sauce will slightly thicken as it cooks for about a minute. Once thickened, add the onions back into the sauce, and stir to combine. **If desired, season gravy with additional salt and pepper, to suit your taste.
Time To Eat!
Now it’s time to serve the smoked smothered pork chops! By this time you should be more than ready to enjoy this dish. Place a pork chop onto each plate, and then generously spoon some of the onion gravy over the top of each piece.
We always enjoy having mashed potatoes with the pork chops, and like to add a bit of the “gravy” to them! Serve, and enjoy these tender and delicious smoked smothered pork chops. I think you will really enjoy them!
I hope you’ll have the opportunity to try these pork chops, because they are really yummy. You can also check out my original recipe for BAKED smothered pork chops (for two) here. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you will come back again soon for more family-friendly recipes.
Looking for More PORK CHOP Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have quite a few, delicious pork chop recipes you’ll enjoy, including:
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Smoked Smothered Pork Chops are tender, delicious and covered in onion gravy. They're prepped on a stove, then cooked until tender on a smoker grill.
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon (each) salt and pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 bone-in pork chops , approx. 8 ounces each, (¾-1" thick)
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 large yellow onions halved, sliced thin top to bottom
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced , OR ¼ tsp. dried thyme
- 1 cup PLUS 2 Tablespoons low sodium beef broth , divided use
- 2 bay leaves
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
Place paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper in small bowl. Stir to combine. Pat pork chops dry using paper towel; sprinkle both sides of meat with spice mix, pressing spices into meat to adhere.
Heat oil in large oven-proof skillet on medium-high heat, until very hot. Add pork chops in single layer; cook each side 3-4 minutes, until well browned. Transfer pork chops from skillet to a plate & keep warm. Do NOT clean out skillet!
Add butter to same skillet; melt on medium heat. Add sliced onions; cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until well browned. Stir in thyme and minced garlic; cook for 30 additional seconds. Add 1 cup beef broth to skillet (reserving remaining 2 Tablespoons for later). Add bay leaves and stir well, scraping up the browned bits from bottom of skillet while it cooks. Bring to a simmer; transfer pork chops back into skillet. Spoon sauce and onions over pork chops. Remove skillet from stove; cover it with aluminum foil.
Preheat smoker to 300°F according to manufacturer instructions. Once at temp., place foil-covered skillet onto grill grate. Close smoker lid; let cook, (undisturbed) for 1 hour and 45 minutes, until pork chops are tender.
When done, remove skillet from smoker; transfer pork chops (meat only) to a plate. Cover with foil to keep them hot. Place a large strainer on top of a medium-sized bowl. Pour sauce and onions from skillet through strainer. Sauce will run through strainer into bowl below. Onions will remain in strainer. Discard bay leaf. Place onions in small bowl. Remove any accumulated fat from surface of sauce. Place ⅔ cup of the sauce back into the skillet. Bring to a low simmer. In separate bowl, whisk reserved 2 Tablespoons beef broth and cornstarch until smooth. Add to sauce in skillet; whisk to combine. Sauce will slightly thicken as it cooks for about a minute. Once sauce thickens, add onions; stir to combine. **If desired, season gravy with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
Place a pork chop onto each plate, and generously top each one with onion gravy. Serve, and enjoy!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!