I’m all about great steak. Steak has been one of my top 3 favorite foods since I can remember. Lasagna came and went, pizza holds a spot frequently and hamburgers will often find themselves on my top 3 foods list. But steak. Steak has never left my top 3. There is just something about a great steak that I can’t get enough of.
Steak isn’t cheap though. At a nice restaurant a great steak can run anywhere from $35 to $60. That’s okay if you only want to eat steak once a year. Even if you buy it yourself to grill you can end up paying close to $10/pound unless you can find a sale somewhere. That’s alright for special occasions but what if you want to eat a nice steak on an average Tuesday for no other reason than you’re hungry and love steak? And what if you’re a family of 7?
I’m a big fan of DIY, and that extends to my steaks too. Thankfully, a few years ago I discovered a well kept secret.
Pork Steak. Yeah, I know, it’s pork and steak is beef. I thought it was weird too. Then I ate it. I don’t care what it is. It’s amazing and it’s $2.29 a pound. $2.29 a pound! That’s cheaper than chicken! That’s 30 ounces of steak for under 4 and a half bucks! Dirt cheap.
It recently came to my attention by my brother in law that areas of the country such as St. Louis know all about pork steak but here in Florida, no one has heard of it. It’s hard to find in the stores. Publix is the one grocery store where I have regularly seen it and even then they only have one or two out on display. I usually have to ask them to cut more, which they are happy to do.
The next secret is the preparation. I like to start out with a season all salt. I use one with a little Cajun flare to add a little extra spice. Then comes the next secret (given to me by my buddy Mark). Brown Sugar. I either make a little brown sugar and olive oil paste to spread over the steaks or if I have enough time I’ll just sprinkle brown sugar over and let it dissolve in.
After letting the sugar dissolve the steaks look like this:
As you can see, there will be some “juice” that runs off and I’ll use this to baste the steaks with while I’m grilling. To grill then, I like to crank the grill up to as hot as it will go and give them a great sear and a little char on the outside. Then I transfer to a lower heat and slowly cook them until they are done. Since they are pork I cook them until they are done, I don’t have to worry about medium-rare or anything like that.
Because you’re using sugar, you have to make sure that the sugar doesn’t burn but if you let it dissolve well beforehand that is less of an issue. After I take them off the grill I let them rest for a few minutes and then we chow down.
It’ll be the best $2.29 you’ve ever spent. You’re welcome!
