Iowa Pork Chops

The Iowa pork chop is a serious cut. Bone-in, at least 1½ inches thick, often labeled as a center-cut Iowa or Berkshire chop at the butcher counter. This recipe treats it like a steak, which is exactly right.

The marinade is short and sharp: soy sauce, olive oil, ketchup, garlic, and onion. Two to four hours in the fridge is the window. Any longer and the salt in the soy starts cooking the surface of the meat and you taste only soy. Four hours, no more.

The grilling technique is the unusual part and the part that separates good Iowa chops from great ones. Sear flat on the grates for 3 to 4 minutes per side to get the color, then stand the chops upright on their chine bones and grill exactly 14 minutes with the cover down. This bone-down position lets heat circulate around the chop, cooking it evenly without burning the fat cap.

Pull at 145°F (63°C) internal and rest 5 minutes. The juices redistribute, the meat finishes carry-over cooking, and you get a clean pink center with a deep crust.

Pro Tips

• Choose 1½ inch thick or thicker chops. Anything thinner overcooks before the bone heats through.
• Pat the chops dry before marinating. Wet meat does not absorb marinade well.
• Use a meat thermometer. Pork dries out fast past 145°F (63°C), and even 150°F (65°C) reads tough.
• Standing the chops on their chine bones requires either a rib roast rack or wedging them between firebricks. Some grillmasters use crumpled foil balls to prop them up.

Variations

• Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the marinade for a sweeter glaze that caramelizes on the grill.
• Use Worcestershire instead of ketchup for a more savory profile.
• Finish with a brush of bourbon-maple glaze in the last 2 minutes for a steakhouse-style chop.