Smoked Pork Chops in an Electric Smoker

Learn how to make the best smoked pork chops using an electric smoker such as a Masterbuilt!

We take you step-by-step through choosing and seasoning your smoked pork chops, setting up your electric smoker for the cook, and smoking them to perfection!

Electric smokers are one of the easiest types of smokers to use and we love them for simple "Set and Forget" recipes such as these Easy Electric Smoker Pork Chops.

We've previously shown you how to easily smoke a whole chicken, breasts, legs, and thighs in an electric smoker, as well as a pork butt and beef brisket for those longer weekend cooks.

But some of our favorite things to make in our Masterbuilt electric smoker are thick, juicy, smoked pork chops, because they just seem to come out so well every time.

You can really use any electric smoker, it doesn't have to be a Masterbuilt, and follow our step by step instructions below!

 

Choosing the Best Pork Chops to Smoke in an Electric Smoker

The best type of pork chops to prepare in an electric smoker are going to be thick, center-cut, bone-in chops, preferably with a fair amount of fat on them.

Because pork chops are leaner than say, pork ribs or a a big fatty pork butt (which is cut from the fattier shoulder vs.the leaner loin of the hog), they are at a higher risk of drying out in the electric smoker.

So, we want to start with every advantage we can to keep them from drying out.

We found these thick-cut pork chops at Walmart and you can see they have a fair amount of fat both externally around the edges (extramuscular fat), and internally running through them (intramuscular fat).

Also, you can see these four pork chops have some bone still attached attached and weigh 3.67 lbs in total.

This means each pork chop's pre-cooked weight is almost an entire pound!

These will hold up well in our electric smoker and will likely feed about 6 to 7 (or 4 very hungry) adults using our rule of thumb of ½ pound of meat (pre-cooked) per person.

 

Our Favorite Rubs for Smoked Pork Chops

Now, you can really use ANY of your favorite BBQ rubs for electric smoker smoked pork chops.

Since we are only smoking the chops at 275°F (the highest temperature many electric smokers such as Masterbuilts will go) we don't need to worry about burning any sugary rubs.

(Sugar starts burning in the 325-350°F range.)

Famous Dave's Rib Rub is one of our favorite rubs to use on any kind of pork, and we especially like its amber color and the way it forms a nice crusty bark when used on smoked pork chops.

First brush some olive oil on your chops to help the rub form a paste and stick to the meat.

Make sure to sprinkle the rub on generously on both sides and don't forget the edges!

If you want a quality rub without ANY sugar, we are also big fans of Bad Byron's Butt Rub Seasoning.

Although we typically use it on cuts of beef and steaks where we are going for a more savory flavor, there is no real reason you can't apply it to your Masterbuilt smoked pork chops if you are looking for big flavor without all the sugar.

 

The Best Wood Chips for Smoking Pork Chops in a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

We prefer using apple or cherry wood chips on our electric smoker pork chops.

We especially like these cherry wood chips from Cowboy Brand.

If you like the flavors of hickory or oak, you can also use those, but we like the way fruitwoods pair well with the flavor of the pork..

Also, there's no reason you can't mix a few different kinds together in your Masterbuilt!

For smoked pork chops, you will likely only need one or two loads of wood chips in the electric smoker at the beginning of the cook and no more after that.

You will get plenty of smoke flavor without overdoing it.

A subtle smokiness that sits on the back of the palate after taking a bite is what we are going for, not an ashtray.

 

Refilling Wood Chips is a Pain

Now, as we mentioned, you will not need to refill the wood chips for the pork chops more than once or twice, but for other types of meat such as pulled pork or brisket, you DO need to refill the wood chips multiple times every 30-40 minutes as they smolder out.

Now, if you are using a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker, we recommend you check out their Slow Smoker Accessory Attachment.

It allows you to preload the wood chips, much like a pellet hopper on a pellet grill like a Traeger and smokes them more slowly so that you don't need to constantly refill.

This works great for longer smokes like beef brisket in your electric smoker!

 

Using a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

Now, if you aren't quite familiar yet with how to use your electric smoker, don't worry, we've got plenty of good resources for you.

We have previously covered how to season, start, and clean a Masterbuilt electric smoker.

We've covered how to load them with wood chips, use the vents properly, make a smoker stand for them, and even how to use them in the rain!

You can tell we are big fans of this great electric wonder, especially for beginner smokers and bbq enthusiasts.

Read Masterbuilt Reviews on Amazon

Now that you know how to properly set up and use your electric smoker, we will go over what is needed to properly smoke these pork chops step-by-step!

 

How to Smoke Pork Chops in an Electric Smoker

Now that the pork chops are seasoned, all that's left to do is smoke them!

Plug in and turn on your electric smoker, press the temperature button, and set the temperature for 275°F.

Then press the timer button to set your cooking time.

We usually just set the timer for the maximum amount of hours so that it doesn't accidentally turn off in the middle of our cook.

Anything over 3 hours will be plenty.

Once this is set, press the timer button again and the red LED light should come on indicating the electric smoker is heating up.

 

Fill the Water Pan

We like putting a disposable aluminum pan of water on the bottom shelf below the pork chops rather than using the water pan that comes with the smoker.

Using a disposable pan will save a lot of time with cleanup later, and the added moisture helps keep the pork chops from drying out as easily.

Place the water pan in the smoker while it's preheating, not afterwards, otherwise the temperature will drop quite a bit and take a while to come back up as the water absorbs a lot of heat in the smoker.

Once the smoker is up to 275°F, you can now place your pork chops in the smoker on a shelf above the water bath.

 

Add the Wood Chips

Once the meat is loaded and the door is closed, go ahead and load your wood chips in the side loader, push in, and turn the handle 180° to drop them from the loader into the hot wood chip tray.

It will take about 5 minutes for the wood chips to start producing smoke.

Keep the vent on the top of the electric smoker open only about half way to limit the oxygen flow and help the wood chips smolder and create more smoke.

We like adding our wood chips last so that we don't need to open the door anymore once they are heating up.

The wood chips smoke due to the heating element but also the limited oxygen environment we are creating.

This is the same reason we use a smoker box on a gas grill to get the same effect.  The smoker box limits the oxygen to the wood and creates smoke, not fire.

Sometimes when you open the door and the woodchips get a rush of oxygen, they can ignite and create flames rather than just smolder and smoke.

All you need to do if this happens is close the door and close the top vent down for a minute to snuff them out.

But it's easiest to avoid this happening if you limit opening the door once the wood starts smoking.

Once the chips have smoldered out and stopped producing smoke, you can empty them from the chip loading tray so that the now burnt and used up wood chips don't taint the flavor of the pork while it is still cooking.

You can then add a fresh load of wood chips if you want to use two loads and just repeat the process.

Most smoke flavor is absorbed during the first part of the cook when the meat is cold, so you probably don't need more than two loads of wood chips for your electric smoker smoked pork chops.

You will get plenty of smoke flavor without overdoing it.

 

Target Internal Temperature for Smoked Pork Chops

You HAVE to use a good instant read meat thermometer to know where the internal temperature is of smoked pork chops, or any other food you are smoking, in your electric smoker.

You can use a good leave-in probe thermometer like the Thermopro as well as a second instant read thermometer to spot check as you get close to pulling them out of the Masterbuilt.

For leave-in probe thermometers, simply place the controller on top of the electric smoker and run the wire down through the top vent and into the center of the biggest pork chop.

If you don't yet own an instant read thermometer, ThermoPro makes a good one of these too.

We are going to bring the internal temperature of our smoked pork chops up to 145°F.

This is the food safe internal temperature for pork.

 

How Long Does it Take to Smoke Pork Chops in an Electric Smoker?

You'll want to monitor the internal temperature of the pork chops closely for doneness rather than going by time alone.

Because pork chops come in a variety of sizes, the time it takes to smoke them can vary widely.

Remember, we are bringing them up to 145°F in the center on our instant read thermometer.

You can choose to remove them at 140°F and let them come up to 145°F while resting if you wish.

In a 275°F electric smoker such as a Masterbuilt, it will take roughly 2 hours to smoke thick cut bone-in pork chops.

Our 1.5" thick, one pound bad boys took nearly 2 and ½ hours!

This is why we started with fatty, thick-cut pork chops and used a water bath too keep everything moist and juicy during the long cooking process.

Depending on the size of your pork chops, whether they are bone-in or boneless, how often you open the electric smoker door, and the heat the humidity outside, your cooking time may be more or less than this, so be prepared.

For the fastest results, keep the door closed as much as possible, and use a leave-in temperature probe to tell you when they are done!

Pro Tip #2: If you're going to apply a BBQ sauce at the end, warm it up so that it does not stall out the internal temperature of the pork chops from continuing to rise. 

If you add cold sauce to hot meat, the internal temperature can stall out for what feels like forever sometimes as the cold sauce takes time to absorb all the heat from the meat.

This can be maddening when you thought you were close to serving your food!

Heat up your sauce in the microwave and then apply when the internal temperature is about 5°F from being done.

 

Serving Smoked Pork Chops

Remove the smoked pork chops from the electric smoker and let them rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Smoked pork chops are great on their own, or you can pair them with our maple bourbon smoked pineapple for a Hawaiian theme.

Smoked broccoli, smoked asparagus, smoked green beans, and even smoked cauliflower and smoked carrots are great if you're eating healthy.

If you want something a little richer, check out our Smoked Twice Baked Potatoes or our Sticky Smoked Sweet Potatoes to cook and serve alongside your electric smoker smoked pork chops.

Enjoy!

📖 Recipe