Smoked Pork Steak

Pork Steaks salted, slathered in a thin layer of mayo as a binder, seasoned liberally and then slow smoked on my kamado grill before going into an aluminum pan full of barbecue sauce to stay warm (and saucy) until guests show up. Each smoked pork steak was fall-off-the-bone tender and just maybe the best I’ve ever done. Also, this cut is super versatile. This is just one of the many ways of how to cook pork steak.

Scroll down for the step-by-step, pic-by-pic, foolproof grilling instructions: 

Before we get going to far, we must answer this question:

What is a Pork Steak?

The pork steak, discovered in St. Louis, is nothing more than the pork shoulder of the pig (also called the pork butt despite not being a butt) sliced into steaks with a band saw. There is a large shoulder blade bone that runs through the center so they can’t be carved with a knife. In other words, you need to get these from your local butcher or debone the shoulder before cutting into steaks. 

If you want to know why they call the pork shoulder a pork butt and vice versa, this pork shoulder recipe explains it. Also, we have a number of pork steak recipes on this website. Like Chipotle Pork Steak Tacos, and Reverse Seared Pork Steaks as well as Reverse Seared Pork Steaks in an Adobo Sauce. 

And while I served this with potato salad, because it had a nice color contrast, these smoked pit beans would’ve been great on the plate in terms of my taste buds, but wouldn’t have made as great of a picture. 

Smoked Pork Steak Ingredients

• 6-8 pork steaks, at least 1 inch thick
• Coarse salt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (substitute mustard if you are making that face at the mayo), divided
• Your favorite BBQ seasoning, we used Aight Guys, Bama’s Smoky Sweet Rub
• 30 ounces (two 15 ounce bottles) of your favorite BBQ sauce, we used Andria’s Barbecue Sauce
• 2 disposable aluminum pans and some aluminum foil

Light the grill, in this case a Primo Oval XL for two zone or indirect grilling.

I sparked up a load of Rockwood lump charcoal and dropped in a big chunk of smoke wood. 

If you would like to know what smoke woods go with what meats, we have a list of smoke woods for you. 

Lay out the steaks and liberally coat them with coarse salt and then take some mayonnaise and brush about a teaspoon on each pork steak. 

We aren’t looking for a thick coating of mayo.

Don’t worry, there will be no mayonnaise flavor when this recipe is done.

We want a thin coating:

Then apply the seasoning, in this case the Aight Guys sweet and smoky BBQ rub:

Place the plate setter between the coals and the grill grates on the kamado, or bank the coals to one side for that two zone or indirect grilling. 

DO NOT SEASON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PORK STEAKS.

At least not yet. 

With that mayonnaise binder, all that rub and mayo will stick to the cutting board when you flip them over. But I have a solution. 

Before we get to the solution let’s answer this question

Why use Mayonnaise as a Binder?

The mayonnaise helps the BBQ seasoning adhere to the meat. It helps to create a better bark on the meat than seasoning alone. And the most important reason is that mayo is mainly fat so as the meat cooks, the mayonnaise melts and bastes the meat making sure it stays juicy. Mustard is a nice binder too, but it is mainly vinegar and doesn’t have the same basting effect as mayo. Keep in mind, this will not taste like mayo at all. 

We actually did a side by side between mayonnaise and mustard as a binder on ribs in this recipe. 

Back to our recipe.

Place grill grates on the cooker and when the grill comes up to temp (275F +/- 25F).

Now time for the solution to that mayo problem.

Set the meat, mayonnaise and seasoning side down on the grill grates:

And season the naked side of the pork with salt:

Then more mayo:

And finally more of the Aight Guys:

How to Cook Pork Steaks

There are a multitude of ways to cook these. Some sear first and smoke second, others reverse that. Some simmer in BBQ sauce before searing. Others do the opposite. About the simplest way is to season the pork steaks and smoke them between 225F-300F till they hit an internal temperature of between 200F-208F for that fall off the bone, pillowy soft tenderness. If you prefer them short of fall off the bone, still take them north of 180F and even 190F. I know I preach all the time that pork only needs to be 145F, but pork steaks have so much fat and collagen that they need to go above 180F or they will be a chewy, gummy mess.

Smoked Pork Steak for the Kids

This recipe only calls for 6-8 pork steaks. But when I cooked this, I was feeding 6 adults and 6 kids. In the meat case, there were these half, boneless pork steaks that made for perfect portions for the kids. These were prepared the exact same way except for these I didn’t slather in sauce as some of the kids in my family, and extended family, so the ones that like sauce had to add it after the they came off the grill. 

The half portions were cooked on an upper rack over the whole steaks:

Now close the lid and let the heat and smoke transform the pork into porcine perfection:

After about 30 minutes on the grill:

An hour and 15 minutes into the cookout, we are coloring up nicely:

After 2 hours, my whole pork steaks, which were thinner than the half ones, were ready for the BBQ sauce:

Also, the fat around the edge blackened a bit but that’s OK. It was crispy and fantastic:

But the kid portions still had a way to go:

Time to Sauce

Pour a bottle of the Andria’s Barbecue Sauce into a double layer of aluminum pans and stack up the steaks:

Then pour the other bottle of sauce over the top:

Next, top the pan with foil and put it back on the smoker:

The pork will stay warm in the simmering sauce while the thicker, kid portions come up to temp:

Once the half pork steaks come to temp place them in aluminum pans and cover in foil but skip the sauce:

Place kid portions back on the smoker:

Close the vents on the grill, and wait for guests to arrive. The fire will die down, but the residual heat from the charcoal and the cooker itself will keep the meat warm and delicious for hours.

When I opened the sauced pork steaks all the sauce had settled on the bottom:

Grab a spoon and ladle the sauce over the meat:

Scroll down and check the video below to see how tender the pork is, because stills just doesn’t do it justice.

I picked up the top pork steak with the tongs and it broke in half from the weight of the meat itself:

As did the kid portions:

A couple different kinds of store bought potato salad pair beautifully with a smoked pork steak:

Smoked Pork Steak Recipe Recap:

I’m going to go ahead and list the accolades these pork steaks received. 

“Pork steaks don’t normally do much for me, but these are fantastic.”

“These are the best pork steaks you’ve ever done.”

Those aren’t hyperbole. Or maybe they were just people thankful for a free meal, but I for one, will be taking them at face value. At least my ego will!?!

Also, note that there is no mayo binder anywhere. It has all melted away. 

Plus, I ain’t too proud for the store bought potato salad. This is one of the easiest BBQ entrees there is. I never moved or flipped the pork steaks until they went into the aluminum pans. We’re talking 10 minutes of prep, a couple hours of cooking and serve. This was the perfect dish for the day after we got back from vacation and really didn’t want to do anything but unpack. Speaking of vacation, check out the beef cheeks we did while in Northern Michigan. 

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.

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Smoked Pork Steak Recipe Card

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Smoked Pork Steak

This Smoked Pork Steak Recipe shows how to use mayo as a binder before seasoning and smoking the pork steaks which finish up in a barbecue sauce bath

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Barbecue, Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: American, American Fare, Barbecue, BBQ, Grilling, Pork, Pork Steak

Keyword: #Primo, Andria's, Andria's Barbecue Sauce, Barbecue Sauce, BBQ Sauce, Binder, How to Cook Pork Steaks, Kamado, Kamado Grill, Mayo, Mayo Binder, Mayonnaise, Mayonnaise Binder, Primo Kamado Grill

Servings: 8 People

Equipment

• 2 disposable aluminum pans
• aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 6-8 Pork steaks At least 1 inch thick
• Coarse salt
• 1 cup Mayonnaise Divided
• Your favorite BBQ seasoning We used Aight Guys Sweet and Smoky
• 30 ounces Your favorite BBQ sauce Two 15 ounce bottles

Instructions

• Prepare the grill for two zone or indirect grilling with a target temperature inside the grill of 275F (+/- 25F)
• Lay the pork steaks out on a cutting board and season liberally with salt
• Lay down a teaspoon of mayonnaise on each one. Rub the mayo all over the top of the pork steaks, making for an even, thin layer of mayo
• Season liberally with the BBQ seasoning
• DO NOT SEASON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PORK UNTIL THEY GO ONTO THE GRILL
• When the grill comes up to temp, place the pork steaks, seasoned and mayo side down on the grill. Apply salt, mayo and BBQ seasoning on the tops of the pork steaks
• Cook the smoked pork steak until it reaches between 200F-208F.
• Double up two aluminum pans and pour in one bottle of BBQ sauce. Layer in the steaks and then pour the other bottle of sauce over the top and cover with foil. Place the foiled pan back on the grill and close all the vents which will kill the fire but keep the pan warm for hours if needed
• When guests arrive serve the fall off the bone smoked pork steak to everyone

Video

Extra pics of this cookout:

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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BBQ Grilling

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This article was initially published on: August 17, 2023