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I know that putting a crosshatch on a pork chop won't increase its flavor but I like the presentation. Generally, I either rotate my chops too early or too late, resulting in torn meat or no crosshatch. How can I tell when is the right time to rotate the chop to achieve the crosshatch?

Pork Chop with Cross Hatch

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4 Answers

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First, make sure your grill grates are brushed well to remove debris so that the food has complete contact with the grates. After preheating the grill use a clean old towel to wipe the grates with a light coating of oil. Additionally, a thin coating of oil on your pork chops or other protein item will be beneficial.

Once you've placed the meat on the grill it's really just a matter of paying attention to the meat. Don't try turning too soon or you'll tear the meat and leave the grill marks behind. If the meat resists, leave it alone. It will release itself from the grill when it's ready to be rotated for the cross-hatch marks or to be turned over.

Of course there is no need to be concerned about grill marks on the second side as only one side will be the "presentation side" and the second side will never have marks as good as the first since there will likely be small bits of food debris keeping it from having complete contact with the grill.

Presentation side for other items would be the flattest surface (such as the skin side of a skinless chicken breast) or the nicer looking side (flesh side of a fish fillet).

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Used this method last night and it worked. Thanks for the tips! – ahsteele Jul 28 '10 at 15:13
Thanks for the "progress report". Glad I could help! – Darin Sehnert Jul 28 '10 at 21:31
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Be sure the grill is very hot. If the meat did not sizzle when you put it on the grill, then the grill was not hot enough. Also, do not move the meat around except for turning it over.

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As well, try and only use half the grill, but keep all burners on. When it's time to rotate, rotate it over to the unused side, which should be searing hot. – Chris Cudmore Jul 16 '12 at 18:45
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I know the standard answer is to wipe the grill with oil, but I find it much easier and more consistent to spray the pork chop with cooking spray, e.g., Pam, before putting it on the grill. That way you know you have an even layer of oil and don't have to worry about it burning off the grill.

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Ew. Please use vegetable oil, not some industrial product full of God knows what. Also, there is a very good reason why any grill person in any restaurant in the world oils their grill and not the meat: for one, it season the grill bars. Perhaps more importantly, oiling your meat can cause dripping, which causes flare-ups, which causes burning. Oil your grill. – daniel Jul 23 '10 at 10:29
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Roux, this is the second time I've seen a comment of yours begin with "Ew." Please consider a more polite beginning statement. I have found that simply saying, "Interesting..." conveys the same, "Why would you do that?" feeling when followed by a critique, without sounding as rude. Tx. – JustRightMenus Jul 23 '10 at 13:42
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I find using products like that disgusting, sorry. I'm not going to pretend by saying 'interesting' when what I mean is 'ew.' – daniel Jul 25 '10 at 5:37
up vote 1 down vote

Try wiping some oil on the grill before slapping the chops down?

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