Saucing, mopping or spraying is something I haven't made a habit of doing. There are a couple of things which I consider with smoking meats, and they are smoke chamber humidity and the finished temperature of the meat. Smoke chamber humidity effects smoke reaction...the higher the humidity the more smoke the meat will attract. The down side is that this is all a result of the meat's surface porosity (bare meat in specific, no fat cap). Later on in cooking, if the humidity remains high, the meat will evaporate more interior moisture at a more rapid rate then it will if the surface becomes dry. If using a mop, sauce or spray, you are essentially keeping the meat's surface wet and porous, so in doing so, you allow more interior moisture to evaporate, but enhance smoke reaction. The practice of mopping or spraying with a pit smoker where a water pan is not normally used for added humidity can enhance the smoke flavoring, but can cause additional moisture loss in the meat if this method is used too late in the cooking process (with any type of smoker).
OK, I just looked through your profile and see you have the
Masterbuilt XL, so I know your smoker a little bit. Any mid-smoke treatments you use will also add to cooking time because of heat loss from opening the cabinet door. Recovery times will vary depending on conditions, but those two factors combined can drastically increase cooking times. That said, you have a water pan, which will add humidity. For no-foil smokes, I discovered that a wet-to-dry smoke chamber humidity allows for the best smoke reaction time and sealing up or tightening the meat's surface fibers to retain more natural moisture in the meat. Now, understand that this is a commonly overlooked factor, and one which I have tested with repeatable results on various cuts of beef and pork, including ribs.
To accomplish the wet-to-dry smoke chamber in a vertical smoker is actually quite easy. Use washed sand or pea-gravel in the water pan instead of water. Fill the pan about 1/2-2/3 full, then line the pan all the way up the sides and around the lip with aluminum foil to act as a drippings catch, and also to add a smaller amount of water for added humidity during the first stage of cooking with smoke. The water will evaporate more slowly than if it were directly in the pan, so much less is needed. Allow the water to evaporate after just 2 hours or so for ribs (longer/more water for large cuts of meat)...this transitions to a dry smoke chamber for tightening up the meat's surface to aid in moisture retention. This also aids in the formation of bark on the meat.
Maybe I shouldn't have gone into all of this with you now, but if you have some sand or gravel handy, it's a quick and easy set-up.
Here's some pics of spares I smoked last summer in my Brinkamnn Gourmet charcoaler using a wet-to-dry smoke chamber, no foiling...moderately tender with a medium tug and medium/light chew, juicy, moderate bark, and so easy...just smoked 'em up and ate 'em...no fuss, no muss:
Just saying, the wet-to-dry smoke chamber has changed the way I hot smoke nearly every cut of meat since I started using it last spring...hmm a year ago, now that I think about it. It hasn't failed me yet, and the results have been nothing short of impressive.
OK, on to the chops...I look for pooled juices on the surface...that's my first indication of cooking progress, and also that they don't need much more time. Time is irrelevant, as different cookers and locations (elevation, ambient conditions) will give varied results in actual time, but 1.5-2 hours is a good baseline, also depending on thickness of the chops...probably closer for thin cut.Here's the tricky part...it's such a small cut of meat, especially if thin-cut, you have a difficult time taking internal temps with a standard probe or analog pocket thermometer...a therma-pen would do a much better job. USDA pork can be cooked to 145* finished temp and be safe, according to the USDA guidelines (used to be 160*, that changed). If you cook it until it has a slight amount of pink juices remaining, it will be very moist, and approx medium-well (160*). A gentle slit or puncture on the surface towards the center should give you a little oozing of juices for a look. Now with center-cut chops, the meat near the bone will not usually cook as quickly, so you may want to check that area as well, but keep your punctures or slits very small...only large enough to produce a weep of moisture, else you will loose more moisture when you have to continue cooking.
That's the method I've used for probably several years...maybe not recommended by many of those in the know about checking internals, but my family is squeamish about pink meat when it comes to pork, and they love my chops when I get it right. Just an slight pink hue to the juices, with little if any pink meat...if I hit that mark I know I was on target with my sights. But even the USDA makes mention of a slight pink colored juice when cooked to medium-well, so I'm pretty convinced in the method I described.
For some odd reason I can't find any pics of sliced chops I've smoked this way...gotta do a little more with chop smokes in the future, I guess.
Hope that helps!
Eric