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St. Louis Favorites: Pork Steaks

Pork Steaks are a St. Louis favorite. Grilled all afternoon, fork tender and dripping with sauce…nothing says St. Louis BBQ better than a pork steak. Ok, pork steak and beer. Nothing says St. Louis BBQ better than THAT.

If you’re from St. Louis (and a good many of you are) you’re bobbing your head in agreement right now. In fact, even if you’re a St. Louis born vegan, you’re no doubt searching for a recipe to BBQ some mock-pork-like-tofu-object in time for Labor Day right now.

St. Louis pork steakPork Steaks are a St. Louis favorite. Grilled all afternoon, fork tender and dripping with sauce…nothing says St. Louis BBQ better than a pork steak. Ok, pork steak and beer. Nothing says St. Louis BBQ better than THAT.

If you’re from St. Louis (and a good many of you are) you’re bobbing your head in agreement right now. In fact, even if you’re a St. Louis born vegan, you’re no doubt searching for a recipe to BBQ some mock-pork-like-tofu-object in time for Labor Day right now.

Now if you’re one of those 74 people from New York, or heaven forbid, one of the 168 people from Canada who read this site, you’re probably scratching your head right now wondering what the heck people in Missouri are doing to their pork. Steaks? Not chops? Not bacon or tenderloin? What the F*** is a pork steak?

As my mother-in-law had to explain to a butcher after retiring to Florida, pork steak is simply a sliced pork butt. Actually, it’s even more confusing than that, since a “pork butt” is really a pork shoulder. Yeah, I know. (And do me a favor St. Louis moms–if your parents retire to Florida, pack a couple pounds of pork steaks in your suitcase next time you visit. They’ll love them even more than the grandkids. My MIL swears they feed the livestock seaweed down there.)

The pork steak is a cheaper cut of meat compared to any decent beef steak and just plain yummy. According to Brandi Wills over at Feast Magazine, St. Louis got a craving for pork steaks after Schnucks started selling the cut in the 1950s. Go Schuncks!

How do you cook the perfect pork steak?

St. Louis pork steak

This is how to do it according to our favorite St. Louis grill masters at the Grillin Fools.com. (They’ve done this for TV and print media, so I’m going to trust their opinion. You should too.)

1) Take a nice 1 inch thick pork steak and season it with a little salt, pepper and your favorite dry BBQ rub.

St. Louis pork steak

2) Send your significant other to the backyard armed with beer and a charcoal grill. I’ve discovered that it’s impossible to pay attention to a BBQ grill while you’re cooking the rest of dinner inside and watching the kids. Better yet, send the kids outside too.

3) Set up a fire on one side of the grill and toss some wood chips on the charcoal for extra smoke flavor. You want to smoke the pork first, away from the coals, for about an hour or so until the meat is 150 degrees.

pork steak

4) Move the steaks to the hot side of the grill to sear them. Get both sides.

5) Once seared, move the meat back to the cool side of the grill and add sauce and a splash of beer. Let them soak up more smoke for at least 10 minutes. Done!

pork steak

If you want more details, check out the full recipe over Feast Magazine (written by Scott Thomas of the GrillinFools) or check out this recipe for pork steaks in adobo bbq sauce on the GrillinFools.com.

If you’re not into smoking the pork, or your grill isn’t big enough to do an indirect fire, you can still get a darn good pork steak using the low and slow method. My husband likes to fix pork steak this way–he sets up a low fire and just cooks the pork all dang night. By the time he comes in, both he and the pork are well sauced and smell like Eau de Smoke. Delicious!