Best Smoked Pork Steaks

Smoked pork steak are shown on a platter with barbeque sauce and boiled corn.

Juicy, tender hickory smoked pork steaks are brined (recommended) then seasoned with dry rub and smoked until perfectly cooked.

5 from 1 vote

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Servings: steaks

Calories: 307kcal

Author: Milena Perrine

Ingredients

4 pork shoulder steaks about ¾ to 1 inch thick
3 tablespoon dry rub or to taste*
½ cup flavorful liquid chicken stock, apple juice or apple cider vinegar to spray/brush

BRINE

¼ cup kosher salt
½ cup dark brown sugar
4 cups water** see notes

Instructions

BRINE (OPTIONAL STEP)

In a small sauce pan combine the salt, brown sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to simmer and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Add the solution to a large, non-reactive bowl with 3 heaping cups of ice and 1 cup of water. Stir to cool down. Add the pork steaks, cover with plastic and refrigerate. Brine for 6 to 12 hours.

SMOKED PORK STEAKS

1. Bring the raw pork steaks to room temperature and pat them dry. (If you brined them first, pat them dry really, really well and discard the solution). Season them with the dry rub.
2. Set up your smoker as per the manufacturer's instructions. Heat the chamber to 225 - 250F range. Add the wood also per the manufacturer's instructions. (Make sure you have sufficient amount of charcoal and wood to maintain the temperature range for 3-4 hours.)
3. Grease the rack/grate with oil and place the seasoned pork steaks on top. Close the lid and smoke for about 2 ½ hours. Every 30 minutes brush the steaks with the flavorful liquid of your choice and flip the steaks over.
4. After the second hour begin to check for tenderness - the internal temperature should be in the 180-190 F. If you want to use barbecue sauce, generously brush the steaks about 10-15 minutes before you decide to remove them from the smoker.
5. Once the steaks have reached your desired tenderness, transfer them to a platter and tent them with foil before you rest them for 10 minutes. If using BBQ sauce you can brush them once more before the resting period. Serve.

Notes

*Use your favorite dry rub or combine: 2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoon paprika, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoon onion powder (for a total of 3 tablespoon of dry rub).

NOTE: If you used a brine the salt in the dry rub should be just a little bit, so feel free to reduce it and add a bit more of the other ingredients. Or use a prepared dry rub you like with minimal salt content.

***To speed things up use 1 cup water to heat and dissolve the salt and sugar, 3 cups in the form of ice cubes (they should be heaping to come close to the needed water volume) and 1 cup as cold water. You will not need to wait for the brine to cool down.

Nutrition