Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Covering the dish at this stage helps the chops cook gently and stay moist.
After 15 minutes, remove the foil and baste the chops with some of the remaining barbecue sauce. Return the uncovered dish to the oven.
Continue baking for another 10–15 minutes, basting once more with sauce halfway through, until the pork chops reach an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C) when checked with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part away from the bone.
Once the chops are done, remove the dish from the oven and let the pork rest for 5 minutes. Resting allows the juices to redistribute so the meat stays moist when you cut into it.
Serve the pork chops warm, spooning any pan juices over the top and offering extra barbecue sauce at the table.
For boneless chops: Use chops that are about 1-inch thick and start checking for doneness a bit earlier, around the 18–20 minute mark total, as they can dry out more quickly than bone-in. For a smokier, more “barbecue pit” flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke to the barbecue sauce mixture and increase the smoked paprika. If you prefer a spicier profile, bump up the cayenne or stir a teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce into the barbecue sauce. To make this recipe a bit lighter and more tangy, use a vinegar-forward Carolina-style barbecue sauce instead of a thick, sweet Kansas City–style sauce, and reduce or omit the brown sugar in the rub. For a honey-garlic twist, replace the brown sugar with 1 tablespoon honey and add 1 teaspoon granulated garlic to the rub, then finish the chops with a drizzle of warm honey just before serving. If you’d like some caramelized edges, switch the oven to broil for the last 2–3 minutes of cooking and watch closely so the sugars in the sauce don’t burn. Finally, for make-ahead convenience, you can season the chops with the dry rub up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate them; this short “dry brine” time helps the seasoning penetrate and improves overall flavor and juiciness.
