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[What is this? Joe Pichey, serious bbq-ing dude, has been writing up tailgating recipes on his blog MMMGoBluBBQ and we "borrowed" him. Stubb's sponsored it because they're fans of the site and good people, and this whole Joe-MGoBlog-Stubb's-Readers thing seems like a match of destiny.]

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As you can see, I am still on my pork kick. I'm not going to lie, I am loving every minute of it.  I recently found a few nice double cut, bone-in pork chops at my local butcher. Anytime I am cooking pork or chicken, I like to brine them first to add a little moisture. I also had some bourbon laying around, so it seemed like a great fit. These chops were not only tender and juicy, they were extremely flavorful. The sweetness in the brine along with the Stubbs Sticky Sweet sauce paired well with the pork and the peaches. Plus, they had built in handle.  I love eating stuff with handles. It's just more fun.

Ingredients:

• Double Cut Bone-in Pork Chop
• Peaches
• Stubbs Sticky Sweet Sauce
• 1 shot of Bourbon
• Stubbs Pork Rub
• Brine: (Prepare at least 4 -24 hours in advance)
• 1/3 cup salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 gallon water
• 2 shots Bourbon

[After the JUMP: how to keep a good pork kick going]

Directions:

Trim your chops of any extra fat around the bones. The butcher did a fantastic job trimming these beauties. They were over almost 2 inches thick. (But don't worry, size doesn't matter from what I've been told)

Because this is a thick cut of meat, I like to infuse a little extra moisture and flavor by brining. A brine is a simple mixture of salt, sugar and water that helps keeps the chop juicy and flavorful. Mix your brine ingredients and bring to a boil. Once all the sugar and salt has dissolved, remove from the heat and add a few cups of ice.

This will cool the mixture down enough to add our chops. If we add them while the brine is still hot, it will start the cooking process. Once the brine is cool, add the 2 shots of bourbon and the pork chops, cover and refrigerate. Brine for at least 4 hours and not longer than 24. I prefer 8 - 12 hours for these chops.

Set your grill up for 2 zoned cooking and medium heat. Place the hot coals on one side of the grill and leave the other side as your cool zone. Mix 1 cup Stubbs Sticky Sweet sauce with 1 shot of your favorite bourbon and warm on the grill. Remove the chops from the brine and pat dry. Sprinkle on a good amount of Stubbs pork rub and place directly over hot coals. After 2 minutes, rotate the chops to get those nice grill marks we all love. After 2 minutes, flip and repeat the process.  We did some experimenting with grilled lemons for smoker lemonade. That one may take a little more time to perfect.  We will revisit once I get it right.

Once we have the charred grill marks, check the internal temperature of your chops with that new Thermapen. We are looking for 140 degrees internally. If your chops have not reached 140 degrees, move them from the hot side of the grill to the cool side. We will finish them on indirect heat so we don’t burn them. Add a few wood chunks for smokey flavoring. This is also the time to start basting the chops with the bourbon bbq sauce.

Add the peaches to the hot side of the grill (Flesh side down) and let go for 2 mins. Rotate and repeat. We want the same grill marks as we have on the chops. Flip the peaches over start basting with the bourbon bbq sauce.  Once the chops reach 140 degrees internally, remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes. The heat will continue to rise and will finish around 145. Slice and enjoy.

These were such a hit, I went back to the butcher and got a few more for the next night.  These turned out even better. I think my "pork kick" is now over for a few weeks. It's brisket time for the Big Game next week.

THERMAPEN WINNER:

Thanks to everyone and the great ideas for the smoker names. I had a hard time deciding. It wasn't until last night and the help of 6 "barley pops" that I came to a the decision on the winner.  Drum Roll Please........................We have 2 winners.  I love the idea of naming the Mini Max "Jagrill" as I cook a lot of stuffed peppers on it and the large will be known as "Jake Pork Butt" because it makes me giggle. Simple as that. So LUCKEY1083 wins the Thermapen. I also love naming the entire set up "The Bo-B-Que", so MOXIE wins a bonus Thermopop for this great idea. Please e-mail me and I can get them in the mail today. CONGRATS!!!!!