Barbecue Pork Steaks - What They Are and How to Cook Them

If you are a native of Saint Louis, Missouri, or the surrounding area, you are lucky enough to know what a Barbecue Pork Steak is. The rest of the country is saying, "huh, what is he talking about?" Well, real quickly, a barbecued Pork Steak really isn't barbecued. Now, before you St. Louis people get crazy, let me explain. Real barbecue is done with barbecue smokers, indirect heat, hickory or oak or another type of hardwood, takes a long time, hours, and turns out great pork shoulder, ribs, beef briskets and chickens. A Pork Steak could be cooked in this fashion on a barbecue smoker, but need not be. Most people here in St. Louis, will use either a Weber Kettle Grill with direct heat, or a Propane Gas Grill. So, Barbecue Pork Steaks, really, are technically speaking, Grilled Pork with Barbecue Sauce Applied.

How To Cook A Pork Steak: Five easy steps.

1. Get The Meat. In St. Louis, that's easy. Go to your grocery store, or neighborhood butcher go to the meat department, pick up the ones that are on sale, pay for them and take them home. If you don't live in St. Louis or the surrounding areas, this could be a little more difficult. Most other areas of the country do not have pork steaks pre-cut and packaged waiting to be picked up in the meat cooler. They will have plenty of pork chops, pork shoulder, pork roast, pork ribs, etc. You may be tempted to substitute pork chops. You could, if you want to grill pork chops, which are great by the way, but it is not the same. You must ask the butcher to custom cut them for you. You may have to tell him how to do it. Tell him to take a Boston Butt (he'll know what you're talking about. If he doesn't, get a different butcher), and slice it into half inch to three quarter inch steaks. If he won't do this for you, get a better butcher. You will need about one steak per person, and one or two extra for the big guys.

2. Rub Your Meat. You should spice up the steaks prior to cooking with a spice mixture known as a barbecue rub. Many books and e-books will have recipes for spice rubs. If you don't want to use a barbecue spice rub, use salt and pepper. Be generous. Rub it all over the steaks.

3. Grill The Meat. Grill the meat over direct heat, either charcoal, gas, wood, whatever you have available. Keep the flame low, a cool grill works best. Cover with the lid, and flip every ten minutes or so. Cook for about 35-40 minutes.

4. Put Barbecue Sauce on Meat. The last ten minutes or so, liberally spread barbecue sauce on the pork steaks. Use whichever sauce you prefer. In Saint Louis, most people prefer a local favorite, Mauls. Many people also thin the sauce a little with beer. they use the local favorite, Budweiser of course for this step. The beer is not necessary, but some people swear it makes their pork steaks taste better.

5. Serve the Pork Steaks. Pork Steaks are served with whatever side dishes you want to serve them with. St. Louis favorites are yellow potato salad, cole slaw, corn on the cob, baked beans. At least, that's my favorites, and I'm from St. Louis, so that must be the favorite of everyone. Generally, one pork steak per person, eaten with knife and fork. However, they also make fine sandwiches.

There you have it, Pork Steaks, what they are and how to cook them.

Tips For Grilling Steaks on a Gas Grill

Grilled to Perfection: Tips to Keep the Sizzle in Your Gas Grilled Steak 

Are you tired of guessing the best ways to prepare the grill and the meat? Have you eaten enough over-cooked, dry steak? Have you wondered how restaurants produce those steaks with the picture perfect grilling pattern?  If you answered 'yes' to any of those questions, then you will appreciate these simple tips.  Here are some answers to common questions about grilling steaks.   


What temperature? Before you get started, determine how everyone likes their steak cooked.  Use the highest heat for rare or medium-rare, and medium heat for medium or well-done. This sounds counterintuitive, but the rarer steaks need to cook fast at a high heat in order to sear the outside and keep the inside rare. The more well-done steaks should cook slowly on a medium heat in order to avoid burning the outside and drying out the inside. 


How to prepare the grill? Oil the grill by brushing a thin layer of oil on the grates.  You can also rub the steak fat onto the grate using tongs. 


How to prepare the meat? While the grill is heating, remove the steaks from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature before placing on the grill. Rinse and trim the fat. 


How to treat the meat? Keep the steaks moist and tender by coating with a thin layer of cooking oil and the seasoning of your choice. A little salt and as much pepper as you like are good default seasonings. You can also try garlic powder, or a dash of cayenne pepper.  


When to flip the steak?  Look for signs that the steak is starting to bleed through. You'll see small red spots, which will tell you it's time to flip the steak over. 

Although you only need to flip it once, flipping it multiple times will create a nice criss-cross pattern.  Grill each steak for one minute.  Turn on the grill on the other side for one minute.  Then, turn and replace at a  45-degree angle for half of the remaining cooking time. Turn once more at a different 45-degree angle for the final minutes on the grill. 


How long should it cook? Although a thermometer (see below) is suggested, it's good to have a general idea of how long to cook each steak.  Here are some general guidelines, depending on the thickness of the steak: 

1" Thick Steaks - Rare 8-10 minutes, Medium 12-14 minutes, Well 16-20 minutes
1 1/2" Thick Steaks - Rare 10-16 minutes, Medium 16-20 minutes, Well 22-26 minutes
2" Thick Steaks - Rare 12-16 minutes, Medium 18-22 minutes, Well 24-28 minutes



When is the meat done? We all know the cut and look method to determine of the meat is done.  This isn't ideal, because if it's too late, then you've overcooked the steak. If it's too soon, then you run the risk of drying out the meat. This is the perfect time to use a meat thermometer, ideally a meat fork. 


When is the meat ready to eat?  The steak continues to cook for abut 5minutes after you remove it from the grill. Keep this in mind when determining the optimal temperature for your preferred 'doneness'.  Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before eating.

Few things say summer like the sizzle and aroma of a steak cooking on your gas grill.  Grilling the perfect steak may be easier than you realize. And if you follow these easy tips, you'll be sure to dazzle your guests and family.  Just remember that with a little preparation, some patience, and the right tools, grilling the perfect steak to please everyone is easy. Follow these tips, and you can just sit back and relax.  Let your grill do the work for you. 

Quick, Easy, Inexpensive Pork Recipes - Stir-Fry Pork and Barbecued Pork Steaks

Pork is known as "the other white meat" and low-fat pork is recommended as part of a healthy diet. Here we share some old-fashion pork recipes that are healthy, easy, and inexpensive to serve. The Quick and Easy Pork Stir-Fry is exactly as the name implies. Few ingredients and very little time involved. The Barbecued Pork Steaks are a tasty way to serve this inexpensive cut of pork and grilling helps to eliminate the fat.

QUICK AND EASY STIR FRY PORK

This is a recipe from an old grocery store give-away card. This was an old Midwestern grocery store.

1 lb pork, sliced thin
2 tbsp oil
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 lb bean sprouts
1/2 cup thinly sliced (julienned) carrots

Brown pork in oil. Add celery, onion, and soy sauce. Stir fry 3 minutes. Add bean sprouts and stir fry an additional 2 minutes. Serve hot.

BARBECUED PORK STEAKS

This recipe is from an old pamphlet from the National Pork Producers Council.

4 pork blade steaks, cut 1 to 1 1/4-inches thick
1/2 cup bottled barbecue sauce (your choice)
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp prepared mustard

Pound steaks with a meat mallet. For sauce, in a small bowl combine the barbecue sauce, honey, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and prepared mustard; mix together well.

Place steaks on grill about 4-inches above slow coals.* Cook about 20 minutes on each side. Brush steaks with sauce and continue cooking 10 to 20 minutes more, turning occasionally and brushing with more sauce.

Yield: 4 servings

Note: In today's modern kitchen many cooks now have indoor grills. Adjust cooking instructions to your grill.

Enjoy!

Barbecue Pork Steaks - Secret Ways to Cook Them Revealed For the Very First Time

Have you ever eaten a barbecue pork steak? If not, you are really missing out on a delicious barbecue experience. Almost everyone who is from the region of the United States that surrounds the City of St. Louis has, and takes for granted that everyone else in the country has too. That is not the case. It is very hard to find them outside of the St. Louis influenced regional area.

For his reason, directions for properly preparing a pork steak will be presented:

Locate the right cut of meat. This may sound obviously easy. It is not. In areas outside of the St. Louis zone, it is very difficult to find the cut that we know as the pork steak. You just can't pop down to the Schnucks and get 3 pounds on sale. Grocery stores don't even have them. Butchers look at you like you have three heads if you ask for one. This is how you get an authentic pork steak to cook. Go to your friendly butcher and ask him if he would be so kind as to custom cut some meat for you. He should be happy and willing to do this. If not, find another butcher. Tell him you need a pork shoulder, (the Boston butt portion) sliced into steaks, approximately 3/4 inch thick. Get about six of them. This is a pork steak. A pork chop is not a very good substitute, because it is a pork chop. Thank your butcher for helping you, and pay him. He should be more than willing to accept your money, and will be glad to see you again if you pay him.
Get out your Weber style kettle grill, set it up for direct cooking. This means build a charcoal fire on the bottom grate, and spread out the coals across the bottom when properly lit. You want your fire to be medium hot when you grill your pork steaks.
Season the steaks with salt and pepper. You may want to rub them with a barbecue rub. Some do, some don't. Put the steaks on the grill, cover with the lid, vents open. You'll hear all sorts of sizzling sounds and smoke will pour out of the open top vents. This is good. Turn the steaks over after about 5 minutes, and do the same with the lid, smoke pouring out. Cook this side for about 5 minutes.
Remove the steaks to one of those cheap aluminum disposable baking pans that you can purchase at your grocery store, and cover them with the barbecue sauce that you like best. In St. Louis, the sauce of choice for old school backyard grill-masters would be Maulls, a local sauce with a catchy TV advertising jingle. Any sauce will do though, as long as it is your favorite. Some people will add beer to the mix at this point, both by drinking some and adding some to the sauce pan.
Place your steaks back on the grill, in the pan and let them baste for awhile, until you are ready to eat.
Serve them with potato salad (the kind made with mayo and egg is the best for authenticity) on the side.
Accept the praise offered by your family and friends humbly as they devour your pork steaks.

There you have it, the secret method used by native St. Louis barbecue chef's to prepare the dish, barbecue Saint Louis Style Pork Steaks.

Pork Steaks And Beans Recipe by the BBQ Pit Boys

Seared "low and slow" Pork Steaks with a side of Smoked Barbecue Beans is easy to grill with these step by step tips shown by the BBQ Pit Boys. Get your Barbecue Shoes on because good eatin' Pork and Beans don't get any better than this.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GM6BgZgunw&hl=en

Pork Steaks And Beans Recipe by the BBQ Pit Boys

Seared "low and slow" Pork Steaks with a side of Smoked Barbecue Beans is easy to grill with these step by step tips shown by the BBQ Pit Boys. Get your Barbecue Shoes on because good eatin' Pork and Beans don't get any better than this.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GM6BgZgunw&hl=en