Typical winter week here, generally rainy and cold through half the weekend, but I knew Sunday was going to be glorious so planned a big cook. Got some pork steaks and a couple of whole chickens ready the day before by dry brining both with plenty of kosher salt and allowed them to hang out in my garage frig over night.
First about the chicken. We get a lot of posts asking how to crisp up chicken skin with the answer being heat (generally 350*) and a very dry skin. In fact the salt brining and the open refrigeration caused these chicken's skins to turn soft, pliable and translucent, ideal for the formation of crispy skin.
Since my poor gasser needed some love, I decided to just truss these two and load them on a spit using my rotisserie. Love me some rotisserie chicken!
So away those went. On to the real star of the show, Mr. Piggie. Although I'm a pulled pork junky, my family generally turns their collective noses up at it so I end up eating most of it. With a freezer full for sammies, I told my butcher to cut me some thick (like 1 1/2" to 2") steaks from a boneless 12# pork shoulder. For you guys in the midwest, these were not the usual 1/2" ones you're used to grilling, they were really more like small roasts. I decided to treat them a lot like pork ribs, so I started with a low and slow smoking to develop some deep taste and color;
After about an 1 1/2 hours and an internal temp closing in on 150*, I pulled them. Went ahead an added some brown sugar and a couple pats of butter, wrapped them in foil and returned them to the smoker. I cranked the temp up to about 275*, smoking time was over and I wanted a fairly quick braise.
I ran them up to an internal temp of 195* (maybe another 1 1/2 hours worth), probed them for tender and removed them from the foil. My gasser was good and hot so I fired up the sear zone to about 800* and reverse seared both steaks after the braise.
Results were pretty spectacular. The fat was totally rendered out, the connective tissue melted and the remaining juices had a good sweet and savory profile from the sugar and rendered fat. I carved both pig and chick, poured the juices back over the pork and we feasted. Got me a nice pork sammie for work as well. Eaten good in the neighborhood !!!
Pork steaks are defiantly in my current wheel house of ways to prepare pork. If you haven't tried it this way, I urge you to do so; delicious, tender, sweet and savory !!!
TROUTMAN STEVE SIGNING OUT !!!!!
First about the chicken. We get a lot of posts asking how to crisp up chicken skin with the answer being heat (generally 350*) and a very dry skin. In fact the salt brining and the open refrigeration caused these chicken's skins to turn soft, pliable and translucent, ideal for the formation of crispy skin.
Since my poor gasser needed some love, I decided to just truss these two and load them on a spit using my rotisserie. Love me some rotisserie chicken!
So away those went. On to the real star of the show, Mr. Piggie. Although I'm a pulled pork junky, my family generally turns their collective noses up at it so I end up eating most of it. With a freezer full for sammies, I told my butcher to cut me some thick (like 1 1/2" to 2") steaks from a boneless 12# pork shoulder. For you guys in the midwest, these were not the usual 1/2" ones you're used to grilling, they were really more like small roasts. I decided to treat them a lot like pork ribs, so I started with a low and slow smoking to develop some deep taste and color;
After about an 1 1/2 hours and an internal temp closing in on 150*, I pulled them. Went ahead an added some brown sugar and a couple pats of butter, wrapped them in foil and returned them to the smoker. I cranked the temp up to about 275*, smoking time was over and I wanted a fairly quick braise.
I ran them up to an internal temp of 195* (maybe another 1 1/2 hours worth), probed them for tender and removed them from the foil. My gasser was good and hot so I fired up the sear zone to about 800* and reverse seared both steaks after the braise.
Results were pretty spectacular. The fat was totally rendered out, the connective tissue melted and the remaining juices had a good sweet and savory profile from the sugar and rendered fat. I carved both pig and chick, poured the juices back over the pork and we feasted. Got me a nice pork sammie for work as well. Eaten good in the neighborhood !!!
Pork steaks are defiantly in my current wheel house of ways to prepare pork. If you haven't tried it this way, I urge you to do so; delicious, tender, sweet and savory !!!
TROUTMAN STEVE SIGNING OUT !!!!!
Not only do I wish I could cook like that but I wish I could take pictures like that!
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