Maple Chipotle Sweet & Spicy Smoked Pork Chops

Lazy days of summer are on the wane, while fall is ramping up to be quite the busy season! Gone (already!) are the slow Sundays of sitting by the smoker, feet up with a cold one in hand, listening to birds chirping in the trees and the gurgle of the pond. Sounds idyllic, doesn't it? In theory, it does - in reality, the summer was just as busy as this (impending) fall is shaping up to be and that scene was just a dream.

Busy or not, who doesn't love a good, simple recipe without a lot of fuss? I, for one, would be (and am) a fan of just such a recipe. How do you like that, I just happen to have one! Maple Chipotle Sweet & Spicy Smoked Pork Chops fill the easy prep/easy cooking bill quite nicely.

Four simple ingredients make up a wet rub: grade B real maple syrup (richer and with more intensity than Grade A), canned chipotles in adobo, minced fresh garlic and Kosher salt. That's it! Mix them up into a wet paste, rub into the chops, refrigerate overnight and smoke them over maple wood chips the next day. 

Even the smoking process is a basic one that leaves you with time for other things...like raking leaves that are starting to flutter from the trees or planting a riot of yellow, red and purple mums where fading summer blooms once were.

Bonus! Once those Sunday chores are done, sidling up by the smoker in a comfy chair on a cool, fall afternoon is a very pleasant, warm and toasty way to end your day...along with that cool one in hand!  

Maple Chipotle Sweet & Spicy Smoked Pork Chops

• 4 pork chops, 1" thick, bone-in, center cut loin chops

• 4 tablespoons maple syrup, grade B, if you can find it
• 3 tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo, 1 small one, plus sauce to make 3 tablespoons, mashed well
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt

Mix the wet rub ingredients together well. Rub into the pork chops and put them into a ziplock plastic bag. Be sure to put ALL the rub in with the chops, squeeze out all the air and seal. Refrigerate overnight.
 
The next day, take the chops out to bring to room temp before putting on the smoker.
 
Prepare the smoker and soak the maple chips for 1/2-1 hour. When the smoker is to temp, put on the chips and the chops and smoke for 2-3 hours, depending on your own smoker - all smokers are different.
 
Sit back, relax and enjoy!