Pork Steak
4.0
(1)
When Snow's BBQ in Lexington was named best barbecue in Texas by Texas Monthly magazine in June 2008, Tootsie Tomanetz became an instant star in the barbecue world. It's odd that her significant skill as a pitmaster was "discovered" only after more than thirty years of tending pits. As one of thee rare female pitmasters in Texas, she says some folks insist on calling her a chef because they don't feel comfortable applying the pitmaster moniker to a woman, but Tootsie is no doubt a master of the many pit types out behind Snow's. Even several years removed from the initial stardom, she still gets asked every Saturday morning to pose for photos. Always humble, this reluctant star says she is just a "plain old country girl" who has lived her entire life in either Lexington or Giddings, just seventeen miles away, and would just as soon keep a low profile. That's going to be tough if she keeps showing up at 2 a.m. every Saturday to cook some of Texas' best pork, and she has no plans to stop, even at age seventy-seven.
It's a pork shoulder, but in Tootsie's words, "There's no need to ruin it by pulling it to pieces." She suggests slicing it as you would a brisket, noting that it can be just as attractive as a sliced brisket if done with care.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
MEAT: Boston butt sliced into steaks 2 to 3 inches thick
Step 2
RUB: Equal parts coarsely ground pepper and table salt. Apply rub at least a day before smoking.
Step 3
WOOD: Texas post oak cooked down to coals.
Step 4
PIT: Rectangular steel pit with a hinged steel lid.
Step 5
FIRE: Apply a thin even layer of hot coals onto bottom of cooker. Place meat on the grate after the lid gets warm.
Step 6
TIME: Cook the steaks over direct heat for about 6 hours. To hold the meat just let the fire die down after the 6-hour cooking time.
Step 7
IT'S DONE WHEN: A fork slides in easily
Step 8
REST THE MEAT: No need
Step 9
PRO TIP: Mop the meat a couple of times on either side with a mix of water, butter, onion, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard.
Recipe from The Prophets of Smoked Meat, by Daniel Vaughn, Copyright © 2014, published by William Morrow Cookbooks.
