Pork blade steaks

[Aaron McCracken]

so Safeway has been keeping these well in stock lately so I’ve been grabbing them every chance I get. 2 pack for about $7. I’ve just been buying various rubs and trying them out. I leave the grill on smoke for about 2 hours and get them up to 150° then I pull them off, let them rest until my searing grate gets up to temp then sear. These things are freaking excellent.

Any rub recipes I should look into making or maybe my own sauce? I’d appreciate any input you may have.

 

[mosparky]

Great... The St. Louis Secret is getting out. We just call 'em pork steaks and until more recent years St Louis was the only place they could be easily found. I friend of mine moved to California and couldn't find them anywhere. I told her to ask for a sliced boston butt. Her problem was solved, even if the butcher thought she was out of her mind.
I typically just give them a good dose of SPOG and cook indirect. The lower heat and longer cook help it get tender. I've had them fork tender several times, but have yet to nail down a consistent method. It may be the quality of the butts.
Often, when we have them on sale, the butts are what we call "sloppy". The different muscle groups just want to slide apart, making them a pain to cut, tray and wrap. Also a pain to cook. If I put it on the grill as one piece, I'd like to get it back that way. Turning 3 porksteaks into 6-9 smaller porksteaks just doesn't trip my trigger.
Sauce is your call. I eat them sauceless or light sauce. Others like a thick gooey sauce. The way I see it, I want to taste the steak not just find a way to chew sauce.

 

[bdskelly]

Pork blade steak.... never had the pleasure of cooking one. Never enjoyed eating one. Wonder where this cut comes from. Kind of looks like a piggy sirloin. Like!

 

[chopsaw]

Like mosparky said , pork butt sliced into steaks . A st Louis staple .

 

[bdskelly]

Like mosparky said , pork butt sliced into steaks . A st Louis staple .

Thank you so very much for the clarification.

 

[mike243]

Been grilling them for years, prefer 3/4" or less, favorite store bought rub is McCormick Smokehouse Maple , they are great any way you cook them with a bit of a sear to finish,my favorite way is the performer with some hickory bark for flavor

 

[fivetricks]

We've always had them here in Michigan. Generally by far the cheapest cut of pork that can be bought. Still tasty though. I prefer them to loin steaks on many off occasion.

The missus likes to braise them in cream of mushroom soup until fork tender. Not bad as a nice change of pace from say grilling, frying, etc.

Sometimes I do little mini trusses and stuff them with whatever makes me happy that day. Then a good sear and bake does the trick. They're really A very flexible piece of meat to work with :-)

 

[smokerjim]

they've been around here also as long as I can remember, they've always been called butt steaks or slices, I normally just use some salt, pepper and garlic and grill them, sometime i'll coat with a Memphis style rub I make and smoke them, I usually just use some bullseye bbq sauce.( I know i'm cheating)

 

[HalfSmoked]

Great steaks been doing them for ever too.

Warren

 

[Aaron McCracken]

Thanks everyone! I really have been impressed with the cut. I’m gonna keep experimenting. It really is a very versatile cut.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Aaron Thanks for the like it is appreciated.

Warren

 

[HalfSmoked]

The shoulder is also where country style ribs is cut from.

Warren

 

[bluewhisper]

My neighborhood grocery has the steaks and the "ribs" but they seldom have whole butts. I guess people don't buy them much.

Since it's shoulder meat, a long slow braise would make sense. Or, maybe a fast hot sear, then slice it for tacos or something like that.

As for sauce, experiment. You can easily make something with far less sugar than anything commercial. Start with plain tomato sauce and add a bit of vinegar for the tanginess. Then sweeten to balance that; I suggest honey. You can add molasses to darken the flavor but be careful because a little goes a long way. Then some onion and garlic powders to taste, and salt, and you should have a good basic sauce as a starting point. That didn't even mention pepper.