Cooking Pork Steak On Pit Boss Pellet Grill

Pork steaks are one of my absolute favorite things to cook on a smoker. Pork steaks are inexpensive, extremely flavorful, really take to the smoke and are quick to cook.

You have to love that winning combination!

Here is a look at how I smoke pork steaks on my Z Grills pellet grill.

Seasoned Pork Steaks on a Z Grill

Season the Pork Steaks

I was working with a couple of pork steaks that weighed a little over one pound each and were about 3/4 of an inch thick. They had plenty of marbling and not a whole lot of external fat.

I left the fat strip on the left side of the steaks intact but on steaks with larger fat strips I will trim it down.

Two Pork Steaks

The meat gets seasoned with a rub that I use for grilling pork steaks but I up the sugar content since I am cooking at low heat and don't have to worry about the sugar burning.

Dry Rub for Smoked Pork Steaks

1/4 cup smoked paprika
1/4 cup seasoned salt (Mortons)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar

I go pretty heavy with the dry rub. Let the meat rest for at least 30 minutes to let the the rub start to dissolve into the pork.

Pork seasoned with dry rub

Pork steaks are pretty versatile so don't get caught up on finding a "magic recipe" for the rub. Salt and pepper works just fine or you could even marinade them in some Italian dressing for a while.

Smoke the Pork Steaks

I used my Z Grills 600 Series pellet grill for this cook and had it running at 250F and was burning hickory pellets.

I put the pork steaks into the pellet grill and let them cook in the smoke for an hour which is when they reached an internal temperature of 130F. The meat is not done cooking at this point but it was the perfect time to paint them with a little Head Country barbecue sauce.

Pork is a versatile meat that works well with both sweet and bold barbecue sauces. I used Head Country because I am worn out by super sweet sauces like Sweet Baby Ray's.

If you want to take these in a whole new, but absolutely fantastic, flavor direction then you could use a Sweet Thai Red Chili Pepper glaze. Mmmmm!

Pork Steak in the Smoker

I let the meat cook for another 15 minutes until the steaks reached an internal temperature of 145F.

Cooking to 145F is important as this is when the pork steak will still be juicy and tender. The main reason people end up with dry and tough pork steaks is that they overcook them to 160F and beyond.

Trust me, pull these guys off at 145F and you will be happy.

Cook to 145

Do You Want More Smoke on Your Pork?

If you prefer a stronger smoke flavor profile then you can start these steaks in "Smoke Mode", which is usually around 180F, and let them cook for 30 minutes before raising the temperature to 250F to finish cooking.

Alternatively, you could cook the pork at 250F the entire time and use a 6 inch smoke tube filled with hickory pellets. Light the pellets with a propane torch until they have open flames, blow the flames out and then place the tube full of smoking pellets beside the pork.

A full 6 inch smoke tube will smoke for about two hours before the pellets are used up.

Be Careful on a Pit Boss Pellet Grill

If you are cooking on a Pit Boss pellet grill, or any pellet grill with a Flame Broiler, then place the pork steaks away from the Flame Broiler. There is no heat distribution shield between the fire pot and the grease tray on these grills and you can get some significant hot spots near the Flame Broiler even when it is closed.

These steaks turn out best when they get the chance to cook slowly at low temperatures. Additionally, you don't want to risk burning the sugar in the rub by placing the steaks on a hot spot.

How Did the Smoked Pork Steaks Turn Out?

These steaks turned out smoky, salty, sweet and spectacular.

I served the pork steaks with roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli and a pretty basic Cole slaw for one heck of a dinner.

If you are looking for a something quick and easy to cook on your smoker then you have to give pork steaks a try!

Smoked Pork Steaks with BBQ Sauce

How to Make The Pork Steaks Even Better

If you have the time then you can make these steaks even better by soaking them in this amazing pork steak marinade from Extraordinary BBQ. This step is completely optional but does add more great flavors.

The Marinade

1 cup Apple juice
1 cup of regular Coke
1 cup of regular Sprite
1/4 cup Salt
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 tbs Black Pepper

Combine the marinade ingredients, mix well and place in a gallon Ziploc bag along with the pork steaks.

Let them marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to four hours.

Remove the pork from the marinade, pat dry with paper towels then season and cook as described above.

Smoked Pork Steaks with BBQ Sauce

Smoked Pork Steaks on a Pellet Grill

Pork steaks are seasoned with an amazing dry rub and smoked with hickory pellets to an internal temperature of 145F.

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins

Total Time 2 hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

1/4 cup smoked paprika For the dry rub.
1/4 cup Morton Seasoned Salt For the dry rub.
2 tbsp chili powder For the dry rub.
1 tbsp black pepper For the dry rub.
1 tbsp sugar For the dry rub.
2 1 pound pork steaks 1 per person
1/4 cup barbecue sauce Head Country Original is a good choice.

Combine the dry rub ingredients and mix well.
Season both sides of the pork steaks with the dry rub and allow the meat to rest for 30 minutes.
Set your pellet grill or smoker to 250F and use hickory or pecan for smoke.
Smoke the pork steaks for 60 minutes and then paint with barbecue sauce.
Finish cooking the pork steaks (another 10-20 minutes) until an internal temperature of 145F is reached.

Pork steaks are extremely versatile and are delicious with a wide variety of rubs, marinades and sauces so don't be afraid to experiment with different flavor profiles.

The most important part of smoking pork steaks is to take them off the pit once they hit an internal temperature of 145F. If you overcook this cut then it will come out dry and tough.

Keyword Smoked Pork Steak