Name: One of Many Recipes for Pork Shoulder Steaks
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients: 6 Pork steaks, 1"-1.25" thick; Salt; Your favorite BBQ seasoning; Your favorite BBQ Sauce

Pork Shoulder Steaks or just Pork Steaks (or Park Steaks, if you are from St. Louis and have the accent), are a staple for tons of large gatherings throughout the warmer months, particularly in St. Louis where they were discovered and are still quite popular.. There are a million ways to grill them. This is just one of many recipes for pork shoulder steaks. In this recipe, we use the flat-top griddle. That’s right, we use the just-keep-flipping method for grilling beef steaks and put some epic char on these pork steaks before slathering with BBQ sauce.

Plated and Sauced Pork Shoulder Steaks — GrillinFools Images ©

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Disclaimer, I partnered with the Missouri Pork Producers Association to document this recipe for you. Missouri Pork is doing great things in the world and I’m honored to work with them.

When I say this is just one of many recipes for pork shoulder steaks, I’m not kidding.

This was one of our first posts on this amazing cut of pork. We explain what it is, and how to order it from your butcher/meat cutter as well as how to grill them.

We’ve reverse seared them with adobo BBQ sauce (adobo is the stuff that chipotle peppers are canned in)

We’ve straight smoked them, no sear at the end like a reverse sear.

Don’t forget Santa Maria style over open fire.

Almost forgot when we made chipotle pork steak tacos. I was really proud of those pics when I did that one.

There are really dozens and dozens of ways to grill a pork steak.

Before we go any further, we need catch everyone up. I realize that the farther away you are from St. Louis, the less likely you are to have heard of a pork steak. See, this cut was discovered and popularlized in the Lou some 75-80 years ago, and while magnificent, the pork steak has not permeated the entire country yet.

What is a Pork Shoulder Steak?
A pork shoulder steak, or pork steak, is simply the pork shoulder sliced into steaks. Being from the pork shoulder (or pork butt – same thing), the pork steak is loaded with striations of fat and collagen, which requires them to be cooked beyond the typical 145°F-160°F for pork chops and pork tenderloin. I generally cook pork steaks north of 180F to liquify the fat and collagen.

Two raw bone in pork steaks showing pink meat and white marbling on a black tray — Raw Pork Steak At the bottom you can see the cross section of the clavicle GrillinFools Images ©

I know that some of you are wondering about a couple points in that paragraph above. Yes, you only need to cook pork chops to 145°F, or medium-rare, according to the USDA.

Also, what was that about a pork shoulder and pork butt being the same thing?

OK, so back in the days of the wooden sailing ships, sailors were fed salted pork loaded into giant wooden barrels called butts. At the time, our biggest port was Boston. Thus, to this day, pork shoulder is sometimes called the Boston butt, Boston shoulder butt, pork butt and pork shoulder butt.

The shoulder is just the joint of the front legs where they attach to the chest of the pig. The hams are the parts of the pig where the rear legs attach to the torso.

There you have it. History of the Boston butt and proper cooking temps of pork chops.

Ingredients for One of Many Recipes for Pork Shoulder Steaks

6 Pork steaks – 1-1.25 inches thick
Salt
Your favorite BBQ seasoning
Your favorite BBQ sauce

First off, crank up the flat top to 375°F-400°F and prep the pork steaks.

Lay the pork shoulder steaks on a cutting board and then hit them with a hearty dose of coarse salt and your favorite pork seasoning:

Person seasoning raw pork steak with a BBQ rub — Seasoning the pork steaks GrillinFools Images ©

Although, do not season the other side of the pork steaks yet. I’ll explain why in a minute.

We also seasoned one pork steak with a no-salt seasoning to accommodate a family member’s dietary requirements:

Raw bone in pork steak seasoned with crushed garlic and spices on a white foam tray — Pork steak seasoned with no salt seasoning GrillinFools Images ©

I show this one because it didn’t color up as nicely as the others, since the seasoning does not have any paprika in the rub. When you see all pork steaks, one is going to jump out. It’s the one above.

What Type of Grill to Use?

Any charcoal grill will work. Just make a medium hot fire on one side and a cool side on the other
A gas grill will work. Set one side to medium high and the burner on the other side to as low as you can go
We used a flat top griddle with two of the three cooking zones medium high and the other low
You could also do this inside on the stove on a griddle. Cooking surface will be limited, so keep the pork steaks warm in a slurry of BBQ sauce in an aluminum pan in a low oven.

Time to Grill some Pork Shoulder Steaks

Once the flat top hits 375F, slap those pork steaks, seasoning side down on the hot grill:

Hand in a black glove holds up a large raw beef brisket slice for smoking outdoors near a barbecue grill — GrillinFools Images ©

NOW season the other side, now that the pork shoulder steaks are on the grill.

Man wearing apron seasons pork steaks on a flat top grill outdoors preparing a barbecue — Salt the other side of the pork steaks GrillinFools Images ©

Man in glasses and denim apron sprinkling seasoning on raw pork steaks on an outdoor grill griddle with green foliage in the background — Seasoning the pork steaks with a BBQ rub GrillinFools Images ©

Why didn’t we season both sides at first?
Because once you season one side of the pork steaks sitting on a cutting board, to season the other side, we have to flip those seasoned pork steaks over. A lot of the seasoning that is on the bottom side of the pork steaks is going to stick to the cutting board, and require a re-application to the meat. By waiting to season the other side when the pork steaks hit the grill, we save ourselves some salt, seasoning and time.

Side Note ~ In that pic above, you will notice a lot of empty space at the far end of the flat top grill. While the rest of the grill is neat 375F-400F, that far section is set to low. I’m doing two zone or indirect grilling here. with 2/3 of the grill hot, and 1/3 low. As my pork shoulder steaks get finished, they go to the cool side while the rest cook through.

Here are the pork steaks on the hot griddle seasoned on the other side:

Raw pork steaks seasoned with spices on a hot flat top grill ready for cooking — Pork Steaks seasoned and sizzling GrillinFools Images ©

After 3-5 minutes, start peeking at the underside of the pork steaks. We are looking for some nice browning. Depending on the hot spots of your grill, you may want to rotate the pork steaks 180 degrees to even out the browning.

Here’s what we are looking for:

Sizzling browned grilled pork steaks on a flat griddle with smoky edges and juices pooling on the surface — Pork steaks with some excellent char GrillinFools Images ©

Here are a couple of close-ups:

Juicy grilled pork steak sizzling on a hot griddle with dark sear marks and a caramelized crust — Close up of a charred pork steak GrillinFools Images ©

Close up of juicy browned grilled pork steaks on a hot griddle with crispy edges and caramelized surface — Another shot of those pork steaks GrillinFools Images ©

Pro Tip ~ The goal here is to keep charring the outside of the pork shoulder steaks but not to burn them. We want the fat and collagen on the inside to break down and we want the fat around the edges to be brown and crispy. The trick is to just-keep-flipping.

Big Fan of Re-Seasoning

Here’s another Pro Tip. Once the pork shoulder steaks are flipped, give them another dusting of the seasoning. See we have lost a lot of that seasoning while the pork steaks cooked on the one side. So hit them again:

Man wearing glasses and a blue apron seasons pork steaks on a large outdoor griddle close to the camera viewable in the foreground — Re apply the seasoning from time to time GrillinFools Images ©

Man wearing glasses and an apron sprinkles seasoning on pork steaks on a flat tip grill outdoors under a covered area — Re seasoning part two GrillinFools Images ©

When carving pork steaks from the pork shoulder, one end of the shoulder is much larger than the other end. Thus the pork shoulder steaks get smaller with each one carved off the roast. Thus a smaller one might be at 180F:

Pink digital meat thermometer reads 180°F as a pork steak sizzles on a barbecue grill with a hand holding it in place — This smaller one is done GrillinFools Images ©

But this bigger one is not yet:

Pink digital meat thermometer reads 166°F as it probes a grilled pork steak on a barbecue grill with other pork steaks nearby — This one isnt ready just yet because it is much larger than the one above GrillinFools Images ©

Flipped again:

Several thick well charred pork steaks cooking on a large flat top grill with sizzling juices and smoke lots of char visible across the surface — Finishing up GrillinFools Images ©

You can see two of my smallest pork steaks are at that far end of the grill where the heat is set on low.

While the rest of my pork steaks are ready to come off the grill:

Hand holding a pink digital meat thermometer inserted into grilled pork steak reading 186°F on the display — Ready to serve GrillinFools Images ©

Two-Zone Grilling

I put all of my cooked pork shoulder steaks over on the cool side:

Close up of a charred pork steak on a flat top griddle with tongs in the background and another piece of meat to the right outdoors on a grill — Moving the pork steaks over to the cool side of the grill GrillinFools Images ©

Stack of browned caramelized pork steaks staying warm on one end of a flat top grill glistening with rendered fat — Staying warm GrillinFools Images ©

Then, I threw down a mess of balsamic, garlic asparagus:

Asparagus spears spread on a hot grill pan with a metal spatula hovering nearby — Time to make the sides GrillinFools Images ©

The asparagus is super easy to prep and grill. At this house, we make this dish more than any other side. Here’s the full recipe for that asparagus.

Time to plate:

Plate with glazed grilled pork steak brown rice and grilled asparagus on a bright green plate colorful striped tablecloth and a bottle of Mantas gold BBQ sauce nearby — Heres my plated pork steak on top of some brown rice and grilled asparagus GrillinFools Images ©

The typical St. Louis pork steak is slathered in BBQ sauce. But it doesn’t have to be. Cooking them with just a robust seasoning is also fantastic. I’m going to drizzle some of his Mantis Gold BBQ Sauce because it’s delicious and the owners of Mantis donate 10% to Artificial kidney research. Hey, if I can get some amazing BBQ sauce AND have some of my purchase do some good in the world, then I’m all over it.

Drizzling some Mantis BBQ Sauce onto a grilled pork steak on a green plate with asparagus and brown rice — Lets get sauced GrillinFools Images ©

And when I say that Mantis BBQ sauce is great, I mean it. They have won so many awards you would think they’ve been around for decades. Nope, they are just that good!

I was also craving a little Alabama white sauce so I drizzled some of that as well:

Barbecue plate with a glazed pork steak asparagus spears and brown rice on a bright green plate outdoors in a garden setting Or just one of many recipes for pork shoulder steaks — Ready to serve GrillinFools Images ©

One of Many Recipes for Pork Shoulder Steaks Summary

Tender juicy pork. Crispy, fatty edges. Succulent, drizzly sauce. This is probably the fastest way to grill pork steaks with total cook time of maybe 35-40 minutes and prep time of like 10 minutes, and it is oh-so good. I highly recommend this recipe.

If you have any questions or comments about one of the many recipes for pork shoulder steaks, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.

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One of Many Recipes for Pork Shoulder Steaks Recipe Card

Grilled barbecue pork steaks with sauce charred asparagus and brown rice on a bright green plate outdoors in a backyard garden — GrillinFools Images ©

Print Recipe

One of Many Recipes for Pork Shoulder Steaks

Pork shoulder steaks, seasoned and seared on a flat top grill using the just keep flipping method. This is just one of many recipes for pork shoulder steaks

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Course: BBQ, Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: Barbecue, BBQ, Grilling, North American, Pork

Keyword: Alabama White BBQ Sauce, Alabama White Sauce, Barbecue Sauce, BBQ Rub, BBQ Sauce, Flat Top, Flat Top Griddle, Flat Top Grill, Gas Griddle Grill, Griddle, Griddle Grill, Griddle Grilling, Grill, Just Keep Flipping, Just Keep Flipping Method, Mantis Barbecue Sauce, Mustard Based Barbecue Sauce, Mustard Based BBQ Sauce, Pork Shoulder Steak, Pork Shoulder Steaks, Pork Steak, Pork Steaks, White Barbecue Sauce, White BBQ Sauce

Servings: People

Ingredients

6 Pork steaks, 1"-1.25" thick
Salt
Your favorite BBQ seasoning
Your favorite BBQ Sauce

Instructions

Prepare the flat top griddle for two zone grilling with one side hot as in north of 375F-400F.
While the griddle heats up, season the tops of the pork steaks with a health dose of salt and your favorite BBQ seasoning. When the flat top comes up to temp, place the pork steaks on the hot side, seasoned side down. Season the tops of the pork steaks with salt and that BBQ seasoning
Just keep flipping the steaks. After 4-5 minutes of browning on one side, flip them over. Repeat until the pork steaks reach an internal temperature north of 180F in order to break down all that collagen in the pork. Feel free to add a dusting of more seasoning after a flip or two.
Remove from the heat, drizzle with BBQ sauce and serve.

Video

Extra Pics

Grilled pork shoulder steak drizzled with sauce on a bed of grilled asparagus and brown rice on a green plate with a Mantis Gold bottle beside — Plated with the lilies in the background GrillinFools Images ©

Several browned caramelized pork steaks cooking on a hot skillet showing crispy edges and juices simmering in the pan — Mmmmm Crispy Fat GrillinFools Images ©

Person sprinkling BBQ seasoning onto seared pork steaks on a flat top grill outdoors with a lush green background — Seasoning the pork steaks GrillinFools Images ©

Plate of glazed barbecue pork steak with white and brown sauces brown rice and grilled asparagus on a bright green platter outdoors in a garden — Plated GrillinFools Images ©

Plate of grilled glazed pork steaks with white sauce drizzle brown rice and asparagus on a green plate garden background with red lilies barbecue meal outdoors — Another plated shot GrillinFools Images ©

Barbecue pork steak with barbecue sauce and white drizzle on a green plate served with grilled asparagus and brown rice outdoors in a garden — Different flowers in this one GrillinFools Images ©

Green plate with BBQ pork steaks drizzle of sauce asparagus and brown rice garden setting with purple flowers in the background — The last shot GrillinFools Images ©

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

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This article was initially published on: May 21, 2026

2 comments

I’m a long ways from St Louis, but I’ve been cooking pork steaks since the 70’s in the Willamete Valley of Orgon. Used a Farberware electric grill in the early days. In Boise. Id, you don’t see them as much in the meat sections. When you do, they have pre-marinated them, thus imposing their flavors on you.

Larry,

So glad you got the memo on this amazing cut. Now we need to work on those meat departments and that pre-marinade. Hands off our pork steaks!

…….Scott

One of Many Recipes for Pork Shoulder Steaks

What is a Pork Shoulder Steak?

Ingredients for One of Many Recipes for Pork Shoulder Steaks

What Type of Grill to Use?

Time to Grill some Pork Shoulder Steaks