Smoked Pork Steaks {Two Hours at 225F}

Smoked Pork Steaks Recipe
I’m about to knock your socks off.

I’m always trying new ways to cook pork steaks.  When cooked properly, they are one of the tastiest treats out there. And whenever I can add smoke as an additional flavor profile, I take advantage.  Remember, pork steaks are just a pork shoulder cut into steaks.  And pork shoulders are always smoked, so what could possibly be wrong with smoking steaks?

Nothing.  Nothing wrong at all.

You’ll need: As many pork steaks as you want, All Purpose RubAward Winning BBQ Sauce, Can of Coke, Can of Sprite, Honey, Brine, a spray bottle.

You could use my Basic Brine Recipe if you want, but I usually change it up a bit for pork steaks.  Here is what I use (measurements in recipe below depend on quantity of meat): Water, Apple juice, Coke and Sprite, Salt, Dark Brown Sugar, Pepper.

Marinate the pork steak for at least an hour, up to overnight if possible.  Remove from marinade, rinse with cold water, and place on a tray.

Dust a good coating of rub on both sides of the steaks.  Go grab a chilled adult beverage, light your coals and ready your grill for indirect cooking (or use your smoker).  Go back inside and drizzle honey on your steaks – just the side facing up.

Pork Steaks with Dry RubAfter cleaning your grill, place your steaks as far away from the heat as possible.  Place whatever form of wood you’re using on your hot coals (2 logs, 5 chunks, or a good handful of chips.  I usually will do half hickory, half fruit wood.  You can get these at your local grocery store.

Smoke the steaks for about an hour at 200-250.  You’ll need to rotate the steaks so they all spend equal time close to the fire.  Make sure smoke is billowing the entire time.  While they’re smoking, pour the other half of your Coke and Sprite into a squirt bottle and spray your steaks every 15-20 minutes.

After smoking for an hour, remove the steaks and wrap each, individually, in aluminum foil.  This is where we will massively tenderize them, mimicking the tenderness you get with a smoked pork shoulder.

Add additional coals so your grill/smoker stays in the 225 range, and again place the steaks away from the heat.  You can stack them if you want.  Leave them wrapped and cooking for at least 45 minutes.

Meat Pulling Away From Bone

Check one of the steaks – you’re looking for the meat to be pulling away from the bone (as pictured to the left).  If the meat is still tight to the bone, wrap it back up and put it back on.

Once they are to the tenderness you want, remove from the foil and place back on grill. Pour whatever juices are in the foil back on the steaks, then dab some bbq sauce on them. Then, for a final touch, sprinkle some dark brown sugar.  Let cook for 5 – 10 minutes, enough to caramelize, and you’re ready to go.

Check out the picture below – see the pink line going around the edge of the pork steak slice?  This is called the smoke ring.  I’ll talk about this more in upcoming posts.  For now, just know if you see that line, you’ve cooked your meat right and have created authentic BARBEQUE!  These should be a tender, smoky & delicious BBQ treat!

Smoke Ring on the Meat
When you try this recipe, let me know how it went creating a smoke ring in your pork steak!  If you would rather cook these guys on a grill then here is a great grilled pork steak recipe!

Smoked Pork Steaks

A smoked pork steak recipe that will knock your socks off!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Calories 345 kcal

Ingredients
  

For Marinade

  • 2 c Water
  • 1 c Apple juice
  • 1/2 can of Coke and Sprite
  • 1/2 c Salt
  • 1/2 c Dark Brown Sugar
  • Pepper

For Pork Steaks

  • As many pork steaks as you want
  • All Purpose Rub
  • Your favorite BBQ Sauce
  • Can of Coke Can of Sprite
  • Honey
  • Brine
  • A spray bottle

Instructions
 

  • Set your grill up for indirect heating.
  • Brine for at least an hour, up to overnight if possible. Remove from brine, rinse with cold water, and place on a tray.
  • Dust a good coating of rub on both sides of the steaks. Drizzle honey on one side of steaks.
  • Place your steaks as far away from the heat as possible. Place whatever form of wood you’re using on your hot coals.
  • Smoke the steaks for about an hour at 200-250. You’ll need to rotate the steaks so they all spend equal time close to the fire. Make sure smoke is billowing the entire time.
  • While they’re smoking, pour the other half of your Coke and Sprite into a squirt bottle and spray your steaks every 15-20 minutes.
  • After smoking for an hour, remove the steaks and wrap each, individually, in aluminum foil.
  • Add additional coals so your grill/smoker stays in the 225 range, and again place the steaks away from the heat. You can stack them if you want. Leave them wrapped and cooking for at least 45 minutes.
  • Check one of the steaks – you’re looking for the meat to be pulling away from the bone. If the meat is still tight to the bone, wrap it back up and put it back on.
  • Once they are to the tenderness you want, remove from the foil and place back on grill. Pour whatever juices are in the foil back on the steaks, then dab some bbq sauce on them. Then sprinkle some dark brown sugar. Let cook for 5 – 10 minutes, enough to caramelize, and you’re ready to go.
Keyword Smoked Pork Steaks

12 thoughts on “Smoked Pork Steaks {Two Hours at 225F}

  1. I saw a video or something on the TV where they took a whole shoulder sliced it thick – around an inch, rubbed on both sides of all slices. Stacked them, cooked low and slow and rotated the top one to bottom every hour or so until the bottom was at the top, then finished them separately with sauce. Cannot find it now and no one on the grill owners FB page I use has seen it either.

  2. This is a good method, but mine – while very similar – sounds like a “tweak” of yours

    Put butter and brown sugar in the foil with the steaks when they go there.

    I put the foiled steaks in the kitchen oven so that I can mess with the grill, light some additional coals, and crank the heat up during that phase.

    After foil, reserve foil juice (rendered fat and butter) in a bowl. Put your BBQ sauce in a second bowl. Head to pit with now Super hot coals.

    Sear on super hot coals, using reserved foil juices to fan the flames (they WILL flame up and help flash char the steaks) Set to indirect side immediately after sear, repeat until all steaks are seared.

    Now we sauce, on the indirect side. Add a fresh piece of smoking wood to the super hot coals and close the lid (the smoke will get picked up in your freshly applied sauce) – let it ride at what should now be a pit temp of 350 (ish) until the sauce tacks and sets to your liking. The rim fat will also start to crisp up a little. Perfection.

  3. These are awesome!!! I doubled the recipe as I had too many steaks. I omitted the honey and BBQ sauce and went with Rufus Teagues BBQ meat rub.(This is awesome stuff!) I did not have to spritz as I chose to put apple juice in the water pan of my MES. These turned out fork tender and juicy. Smoked (applewood) for 2 hours at 225 deg., then placed them in a foil pan covered with foil for 2 hours. Then about 1/2 hour back on the racks to give them a little crust. So……kind of a 2-2-1/2 method. Always a little paranoid when you try something new, but everyone loved the flavor, tenderness and how moist they were.

  4. How many steaks does this Brine recipe cover? I will be cooking about 60 steaks, so need to make several batches or adjust ingredients to go further.

    1. I would say this recipe is good for 6-8 pork steaks, depending on the size of the steaks and if you want them completely immersed. With brining that many steaks, I would suggest getting some large food safe bags or a brining bucket-which you can find on my site. Man it sounds like you’ll be having some fun – enjoy!

  5. How would you scale your recipe? I am cooking 250 pork steaks today for a fundraiser. I dry rubbed the pork steaks last night instead of brine. I will smoke for about an hour at 225-240 degrees. Remove from pit. Do you think that placing the steaks in a foil pan putting brown sugar and margarine on and covering with aluminum foil for 45-60 mins would work versus wrapping individiually

    1. Sorry for my delay, Wes, but yes, foil pans work great. I use them for mass cooking for pork steaks, pork butts, and ribs. Great idea adding ingredients the pan – I bet they turned out awesome!

  6. This recipe has always sounded good, but I just got around to trying it today and it turned out so amazing! Thanks!

  7. Hey guys, first time visitor to your website. I’ve been smoking for about 3 years now and has become quite the addictive hobby for me. I’ve got a book from Myron Mixon and also follow recipes from time to time from Meathead at Amazing Ribs.com. I just stumbled upon your website last week as I wanted to try smoking pork steaks for my daughters birthday party this weekend. I followed your recipe exactly with the exception of spritzing them during the cook (i have a weber smokey mountain so the cooker was moist enough from the water pan anyway) and they turned out great. Not one left and everybody there loved them including myself. I’ll definitely be reading more of your articles and recipes, nice to have some STL roots too! Great job and I’ll be back.

  8. Thank you! I’m new to using a smoker so the extra details were very helpful. The meat is so tender and flavorful, quite possibly the best pork steak I’ve had.

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