Question from a beef state

[thillin]

Ok, beef is king in Texas. I read about some of you doing pork steaks. What exactly are they, and how do you cook them?

Ty

[Kevin]

Around here a pork steak is a butt sliced about 3/4" thick. I cook them like a butt. Lots of rub. An hour and a half or so @ 225*and you got good eats.

You can grill them too, I just prefer the low and slow to render some of the fat.

[thirdeye]

Snipped from a favorite cookin' site of mine. :rolleyes: Here is what I know about pork steaks.


Cut from a bone-in pork butt, pork steaks have a higher fat content than rib or loin chops and are very flavorful. They can be sliced thick or thin, usually the butcher will do this at no charge when you buy a butt. Pork steaks are a good cook for beginners, it is almost impossible to screw them up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%203/41bd29d7.jpg
If you own a meat saw, slicing a butt is very easy.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%203/9fab3de1.jpg


Seasoning Options: Unlimited. Pork steaks can be seasoned with salt and pepper, a rub or they can be marinated (see marinade recipe below)

Cooking Method: Pork steaks are very forgiving and can be cooked using a variety of methods like:

* Grilled direct.
* Grilled direct with a raised grate.
* Barbecued with an indirect set-up.
* Grilled or barbecued until 160° then finished in a foil pan or wrapped in foil.

Tip: Pork steaks are done at 165° to 170°. For a more tender steak they can be cooked using lower pit temperatures until 180° and above. The steaks in this picture have been cooking for about 3 hours using a raised grate over direct coals. Cherry wood was used for flavor and to give them a red color.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%203/6fc6c1a8.jpg
Total cooking time was almost 5 hours. The finished texture and flavor was very much like spare ribs.

Here is a marinade I got from Juggy D. Beerman that I really like. This flavor combination is popular around St. Louis where pork steaks are king.


Yo thirdeye,

Here is my marinade recipe that I use for rib tips and pork steaks. Because of the sugars in the marinade, you will have to keep the fire no higher than 250ºF at grate level. I cook indirect too. Since you only cooking two steaks, you might want to halve this recipe. Or you can freeze what you don't use and save it for another time.

Uncle Chuck Bob's Piggy Parts Marinade:
1 - 16 oz bottle Sweet and Spicy French Dressing
2 Cups - Apple Juice
1 - 12 Ounce Can Cherry Cola
1 Cup - Lemon Juice
1 Cup - Woeber's Sweet and Spicy Mustard
1/4 Cup - Hot Sauce (Your Choice)
1/4 Cup - BBQ Rub (Your Choice)

That marinade is also fairly acidic. Four to six hours works for pork steaks and no more than 12 hours for rib tips. I use a real light coating of sauce at the end. Maull's for the steaks and my rib sauce for the rib tips and riblets.
Lager,

Juggy

[jbrink01]

we eat a bunch of them. There are 150 on the pit right now. The traditional St. Louis method is as follows:

Rub with plain yellow mustard and let sit in fridge for 3-4 hours. Cook low and slow for at least 2 hours over barely burning coals (Weber kettle is best). When they are almost falling apart brush with Mauls BBQ Sauce to which 1 Pepsi has been added. When steaks are sticky and mahogany colored, enjoy.

[FatDaddy]

What is this Maul's bbq sauce yall speak off?

[QansasjayhawQ]

Good grief, thirdeye! Those look absolutely incredibly DELICIOUS!

Thanks to Juggy for the good information!

[frognot]

Great question, Ty. I've never tried a pork steak but it looks like a winner.

[CajunSmoker]

They are kinda like a country style rib except flatter and thinner:roll: . Damn I sound like a blonde describing something:confused:

[FatDad]

we eat a bunch of them. There are 150 on the pit right now. The traditional St. Louis method is as follows:

Rub with plain yellow mustard and let sit in fridge for 3-4 hours. Cook low and slow for at least 2 hours over barely burning coals (Weber kettle is best). When they are almost falling apart brush with Mauls BBQ Sauce to which 1 Pepsi has been added. When steaks are sticky and mahogany colored, enjoy.

Must be one BIG arse Weber Kettle for 150. :eek: :confused:

Just kidding...Thanks for the info guys. Going to have to try it.

[tommykendall]

looks like a chuck steak - except pork.

[jgh1204]

Pork steak is pretty common down here in South Texas.

[qman]

looks like a chuck steak - except pork.

Dead on, Mr. Kendall.

Only diff is they are tender enough to be direct grilled same as you would a good beef steak. That is the way we do them most of the time. For cooking low and slow I prefer the country-style rib cut from the shoulder. Just a thicker cut usually.

[Puppyboy]

We grill em here. Once in a while we'll pan fry them.