If you don't have time for smoking ribs or a pork shoulder, how about pork chops?

Most of the time when someone is ready to throw some pork in the smoker, the choice is between two of the most popular barbecue mainstays.

Ribs and pulled pork.

There’s a lot to love about a freshly smoked rack of baby backs or spare ribs, or a heaping helping of pulled pork on a kaiser roll. But prepping and smoking ribs, and especially a pork shoulder, is a time commitment. It’s a great way to spend a day, but we don’t always have that kind of time.

That’s why smoked pork chops are a summer favorite in our house.

I’ve been smoking pork chops since I bought my first smoker more than a decade ago. It’s fairly simple, and usually produces tasty results.

There are a couple of methods here. But it all starts with the chops. I only smoke bone-in pork chops. Boneless are a choice, but they can dry out pretty easily if you are not paying attention. It’s best to look for the family pack at your favorite grocery store. They usually end up about six or eight ounces each.

For the best results, brine your chops. This is the best way to keep the meat moist while it’s in the smoker. You can get creative, but the basic brine calls for a quarter-cup of Kosher salt and a quarter-cup of sugar, per two cups of water. Experts say you can leave the meat in the brine for up to eight hours. For the chops, I’ve found an hour or two is fine.

When you’re done with that, rinse and dry with paper towels.

Now it’s time for the rub.

Here’s another chance to get creative with the spice blends. Many make their own. Many stick to the commercial rubs. I’ve done both.

Over the weekend, I smoked some pork chops and used a commercial rub from a set of barbecue spice rubs my wife found for me on Amazon. It’s an amber chipotle rub made by Craft Spice Blends, which combines craft beer flavors with barbecue flavors. Good flavor, with a nice bite from the chipotle but not too much heat.

Speaking of flavor, the type of wood, or pellets you use, is key. I tend to lean toward the fruit woods: apple, cherry and pecan. I do use hickory occasionally. I have also used mesquite, but there have been times it has overpowered the meat.

Next step is the method, time and temperature.

Typically, most of the meat I smoke is done at about 225 to 250 degrees. But over the weekend, I tried something different. I was also smoking a few pounds of jumbo chicken wings and wanted to use a higher temperature for crispy wings. So, I thought I’d try the chops at a higher temp.

My smoker is a Pit Boss vertical pellet smoker. Like most of the new smokers out there with the digital controllers, it’s pretty easy to use and maintain temperature, as long as it’s not ridiculously cold outside.

This time I started both the chops and the wings at 300 degrees and monitored the internal temperature of the pork with the digital probe thermometer.

Overall, in just over an hour our chops were ready. Some at the dinner table that night said the chops came out better at the higher temp. And it sliced off at least a half-hour of the cooking time.

For those interested, it’s worth a try.

I’m just an amateur, but it’s a fun hobby to have. Plus, I can remind my wife that she doesn’t have to do all of the cooking in our house.

Next time, I’ll write more about how those wings turned out.

Contact Frontiersman editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.