quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
My neighbor is from St Louis (and still goes back there every couple of months). He grills amazing Pork Steaks. They're amazingly good. When he goes to St Louis, he brings back a cooler full of them and in the freezer they go.

I pointed out to him that our local grocer (has a fresh meat case, you point to what you want, and they wrap them up for you) has the exact same looking pork steaks, he replies that they are cut differently in St Louis and are thus much better.

I don't know, they look the same to me, but his sure do taste really good, better than the ones I've been buying at the local grocer for years.

Thanks for the topic.
.

quote:

Originally posted by Garret Blaine:
A staple of the Midwest that surprisingly (to us midwesterners) are not available everywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by Garret Blaine:
Slight thread drift but I just paid $5.49 a pound for some in Fairbanks AK!

quote:

Originally posted by KevinCW:
Totally a St. Louis thing, and they are awesome.

Want to try it the St. Louis way? This was how my grandpa taught me.

Get your pork steaks (A sliced Boston Butt, also known as a pork butt or pork shoulder, which is technically actually the front shoulder of the pig, NOT the butt, which is a ham) sliced about 1/2" to 3/4" thick.

Thaw them and pat them dry.

Trim the large areas of fat on the outside but leave a little bit on, that's your flavor. Just trim the BIG chunks off and don't trim it all the way down.

Sprinkle the steaks on all sides with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and paprika.

Here's the choice moment, depending on time and equipment. You can use the grill/smoker, or cheat with an oven (oven is great in cooler weather and I cheat like this in the early spring and fall)

For the grill/smoker:

Set it up with indirect heat. around 250/275 degrees or so. (I usually do it be feel on my grill, so hard to tell exact temp) Cook them so the fat starts to render, about an hour to 1.5 hours. Basically til the steaks start to firm up a bit and you can pick them up with tongs and they don't flop over, but are a little more rigid.

Oven: I do about 1.5 hours at 250 degrees depending on thickness. If doing just a couple I put them in a glass baking dish, single layer. If doing more, use mulitple baking dishes or larger. You could probably use a deep sided cooking sheet, but be aware that a lot of fat will render leaving liquid. Make sure it is contained so as not to start a fire in the oven.

While they are indirect cooking or baking... Get your BBQ sauce ready.

I start with a base of Sweet Baby Ray's original sauce. You can't use too much. Put a bunch of the Sweet Baby Ray's in a small pot. (this is the fun part). Open a beer. I prefer an American Lager type beer, like Budweiser, but you can use any regular beer (I wouldn't use anything too fruity or IPA stuff, just normal beer). To the sauce, add in some beer. (about a 3:1 ratio, sauce to beer). Then add in a pinch of red pepper flakes, some garlic powder (maybe a tsp or two to taste), some onion powder (about the same amount), and a few TBSP of brown sugar. Cook the sauce over med heat to thicken it, tasting as you go. You can add more ingredients as you taste it to your personal preference. If you make it too strong, add more sauce, more beer (in the above ratio) and weaken it to the desired flavor. (obviously, you drink the rest of the beer, and additional beers as you do this)

Hopefully, in the 1.5 hours (up to two hours if needed) you have been indirect cooking the steaks, you have gotten the sauce where you want it. It should taste good, and be nice and thick. Take the pot, and a basting brush out to the grill, which should be made to have a cooking area large enough for all the steaks in a single layer over medium heat.

Put the steaks on the grill over the heat. Baste with sauce. (On my gas grill, I combine techniques setting the direct area for med/low heat and the indirect area for high heat).

Baste the steaks with the sauce by brushing it on. Flip the steaks and baste the other side.

Cook for 3 to 10 minutes depending on your grill and heat level. You want the sauce to thicken and LIGHTLY caramelize, NOT BURN. You will flip the steaks and baste them multiple times. You need to make sure it doesn't burn on.

I probably apply 10 to 15 layers of sauce, flipping each time.

Once you have a nice sticky BBQ sauce on the steaks, and the steaks are firm (you can pick up one end with tongs and the steak barely bends) pull them off and serve them hot.

Goes great with scalloped potatoes, corn on the cob, coleslaw, potato salad, or other type BBQ sides.

Enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by KevinCW:
Side note, what do they charge for them in PA? Here if you watch the ads in the local grocery, you can get them for about 1.49/lb