Steak From The Other White Meat
While “grilled pork steaks” is a regular occurrence within the American Midwest, any other region may encounter it as “Boston butt” or “pork blade steak,” alluding to the cuts where this particular dish originates from. Pork steak makes sense for anyone with a passion for barbecue as it uses the same primal cuts of meat involved in preparing pulled pork. It’s worth noting that the high levels of collagen throughout the cut tend to necessitate slow-cooking methods like stewing, simmering and smoking, though the smaller size of steaks means that quicker cooking methods like grilling become feasible. If you want to prepare some grilled pork steak, not to be confused with a ham steak, despite both cuts being taken from pigs; consider ordering a Boston butt or a butt roast from your butchering and asking him to slice it up into 3/4″ inch steaks.
A Step by Step Guide to Everything Pork Steak
Below, you will find a quintet of pork steak recipes, each of which showcases some variation in their preparation and include such approaches as pork steak brine and a grilled pork steak marinade.
Basic Pork Steak Recipe
Note that this recipe covers everything you need to know to make a quality pork steak, except for quantifying the number or weight of the steaks to be cooked. Fortunately, the only ingredient that involves any sort of guesswork would be the apple juice, so use your best judgement on how much is enough.
Ingredients
- Cola, dark, 4 oz
- Cola, clear, 4 oz
- Juice, apple, 1-2 cups (depending on number of steaks)
- Salt, kosher, 1/2 cup
- Water, as needed (see directions)
- Salt
- Pepper
- All-Purpose Rub
- Your favorite barbecue sauce
Directions
- Brine the pork steaks within a mixture of dark cola, clear cola, apple juice, kosher salt and just enough water to fill your brining vessel. Allow them to brine for several hours, up to 3 days if you feel like it.
- Rinse off the brine from the steaks, pat them as dry as possible and then lay them out on a tray.
- Sprinkle the meat with either salt and pepper or the rub.
- Sear each steak over direct heat, roughly 10 minutes per side.
- Dab sauce onto one side of the steak, flip it over and apply sauce to the reverse side. Feel free to repeat this step if you love sauce.
- Close up every vent in your grill, allow the sauce to set into the steaks for 5 minutes and then take them out of the grill.
- Allow the steaks to rest between 5 and 10 minutes before you do any cutting.
Download Your FREE BBQ Journal & Recipes Exchange App
Grilled Pork Steaks Recipe
Ingredients
- Cola, dark, 4 oz
- Cola, clear, 4 oz
- Juice, apple, 1-2 cups (depending on number of steaks)
- Salt, kosher, 1/2 cup
- Water, as needed
- Salt
- Pepper
- All-Purpose Rub
- Your favorite barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Brine the pork steaks within a mixture of dark cola, clear cola, apple juice, kosher salt and just enough water to fill your brining vessel.
- Allow them to brine for several hours, up to 3 days if you feel like it.
- Rinse off the brine from the steaks, pat them as dry as possible and then lay them out on a tray.
- Sprinkle the meat with either salt and pepper or the rub.
- Sear each steak over direct heat, roughly 10 minutes per side.
- Dab sauce onto one side of the steak, flip it over and apply sauce to the reverse side.
- Feel free to repeat this step if you love sauce.
- Close up every vent in your grill, allow the sauce to set into the steaks for 5 minutes and then take them out of the grill.
- Allow the steaks to rest between 5 and 10 minutes before you do any cutting.
Nutrition
Marinated Pork Steak Recipe
Ingredients
- Steaks, shoulder, pork, bone-in, 1/4″-thick, 6
- Oil, canola, 2 tbsp
- Juice, citrus, fresh squeezed, 1/2 cup (feel free to make it a blend of citrus fruit juices)
- Cloves, garlic, minced, 2
- Rosemary, minced, 1 tbsp
- Thyme, minced, 1 tbsp
- Salt, kosher, 1 tsp
- Pepper, black, 1/2 tsp
Directions
- Prep your marinade by whisking every ingredient but the steaks themselves into a large bowl until it gains an even consistency. Place the steaks into marinade and flip them over to coat completely. Cover up the bowl, with the steaks inside, and refrigerate for half an hour.
- Preheat your grill to 450°F at least 10 minutes prior to using it. Extricate the steaks from the marinade and trash the marinade.
- Grill each side of the steaks for 3 minutes. Your steaks are done when they reach an internal temperature of 145°F.
- Transfer steaks to a clean platter and give them 5 minutes to rest before you serve them.
Steak With Seasoning Recipe
Ingredients
- Steak, pork, 1″ thick, 6
- Salt, kosher
- Your favorite rub for BBQ
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
Directions
- Season the steaks with your salt and rub.
- Prep the grill for two-zone or indirect grilling. Place coals and smoking wood on one side and not a thing on the opposite side.
- You want a temperature of 300°F.
- Place the seasoned steaks on the “empty” unheated side of the grill, throw in a chunk of smoking wood or some wood chips and shut the lid.
- After roughly an hour, just long enough for the steaks to hit an internal temperature of 150°F, turn up the hot side and give each side of each steak a quick sear.
- Transfer the steaks back to the “cold” side, slather each side with BBQ sauce and close the lid for 15 minutes.
- Give both sides another sauce session and give them another 15 minutes in a close-lidded grill.
- Optional:
- Optional: Repeat the previous step one time.
- Take the steaks out of the grill and give them a few minutes to rest before serving.
Maple Syrup Blend Recipe
Ingredients
- Steak, pork, 1″ thick and trimmed of excess fat, 2 lbs.
- Syrup, maple, 5 tbsp
- Vinegar, cider, 3 tbsp
- Cloves, garlic, 5
- Pepper, black, 1/2 tsp
- Salt, to taste
Directions
- Spread the steaks over a large platter. Use a blender or equivalent too to blend the syrup, vinegar, garlic and pepper. Pour the mix over the steaks, making sure to coat all sides.
- Allow the steaks to marinate in the fridge for at least half an hour and no more than 4 hours.
- Prep a charcoal grill for two-zone operation. If you have a gas grill, turn one burner to “high” and the other to “low.” Oil the grate.
- Once the coals are ready, give each side of each steak a good searing, sprinkling with salt as you go.
- Move the finished steaks to the cooler end of the grill and continue to cook them until they feel firm to the touch, roughly 5-8 minutes per side.
- Remove the steaks from the grill and wait 10 minutes before serving.
Dry Rubbed Steak Recipe
Ingredients
- Steak, pork, 1/2-3/4″ thick, 4.
- Oil, 1/4 cup
- Cloves, garlic, minced, 4
- Sauce, soy, 3 tbsp,
- Powder, onion 1/2 tsp
- Sugar, brown, 1 tbsp
- Salt, kosher, 1/2 tsp
- Pepper, black, 1/2 tsp
Directions
- Combine everything but the steaks into a bowl until it gains an even consistency. Add the steaks to the marinade and coat evenly.
- Cover the bowl and allow the steaks to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes to as long as an overnight session.
- When ready to cook, preheat the grill to medium heat.
- Cook each side of a steak for 6-10 minutes, looking for a nice char and proof that it has been thoroughly cooked. Turning several times ensures that the steaks cook quicker and more evenly.
- Remove from the grill and wait 5-10 minutes before serving.
Side Solutions and Drink Deductions
Sure, you can serve grilled pork steaks like any regular steaks, by their lonesome on a plate, but why would you want to? This section is all about the side dishes and drinks that perfectly complement a meal involving pork steak.
- Sandwich bread. Pork steaks are more than sufficiently sized to be eaten as a sandwich instead of a traditional steak.
- Rice/rice pilaf. You can use this similar to the bread, either serving the steaks on the rice or having the rice as a deliberate side dish.
- Apple sauce
- Mashed potatoes
- Steamed vegetables
- Deviled eggs
- White wine
- Soda
- Beer
- Lemonade
In Conclusion
When most Americans hear a phrase like “pork steak” they may just think the speaker is describing a ham steak in some weird regional dialect. The truth is that pork steak is not only separate from ham, but it also a delicious and potentially refreshing type of pork that is just perfect for a big cookout or breaking in a brand new grill. While I hope that at least one of the recipes presented in this article has grabbed your attention, I would like to think that even if none of them did that one inspired you to try your own personal recipe.
