Sprig Originals's kitchen / Sous Vide Smoky BBQ Pork Chops
Sous Vide Smoky BBQ Pork Chops
By Sprig Originals · cooked up in Sprig
Worked out from this recipe's ingredients. If you're cooking for an allergy, always read the full ingredient list.
Thick bone-in pork chops spend two hours in a 140°F water bath, so they come out edge-to-edge juicy and impossible to overcook. A brown sugar and smoked paprika rub goes on before the bag, then a screaming-hot cast-iron sear with butter and a brush of barbecue sauce builds the sticky, charred crust. Weeknight-easy, holiday-good.
Ingredients
Pork and Rub
- 4 bone-in pork chops, 1 1/4 inches thick
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp light brown sugar
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
To Finish
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Fill a large pot or container with water, clip in your immersion circulator, and set it to 140°F (60°C). Let it come up to temperature while you season the pork.
- Stir the salt, brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper together in a small bowl. Pat the chops dry and rub the mixture over all sides, including the fat cap.
- Slide the chops into one or two zip-top freezer bags in a single layer, adding 2 thyme sprigs per bag. Lower each bag into the water with the top open until the water pressure pushes the air out, then seal just above the waterline and clip the bag to the side of the pot.
- Cook at 140°F for 2 hours (up to 3 hours is fine, no need to set a strict timer). Lift the bags out, remove the chops, discard the thyme, and pat them very dry on both sides with paper towels — a dry surface is the whole secret to the sear.
- Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet over high heat until it shimmers and just begins to smoke, about 3 minutes. Sear the chops 60 to 90 seconds per side, adding the butter in the last 30 seconds and tilting the pan to spoon the foaming butter over the top.
- Brush the barbecue sauce onto both sides of the chops and return them to the pan for 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until the glaze bubbles and chars in spots. Move to a board, spoon over the pan butter, and serve immediately — no resting needed.
Chef's tips
- No vacuum sealer required: the water-displacement method with a sturdy zip-top freezer bag works perfectly. Just keep the zipper above the waterline.
- 140°F gives blushing, very juicy pork. Prefer it firmer and fully white? Run the bath at 145°F for the same 2 hours.
- Sear fast and hot. The pork is already cooked, so a long sear only dries out the edges you worked to keep juicy.
- Add the barbecue sauce only at the very end — the sugars will burn bitter if they go in at the start of the sear.
- Cooking for a crowd? Hold the chops in the bath at temperature for up to 3 hours, then sear as guests sit down.
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
620calories
52gprotein
19gcarbs
33gfat
Estimates only — values vary with brands and portions.
Made with Sprig
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