BBQ71/17: Slow Smoked 32oz T-Bone Steaks

BBQ71/17 – Slow Smoked 32oz T-Bone Steaks:

Smoked T-Bone Steak: I saw this recipe/method by Kenji a while back where you slowly smoke Porterhouse steaks using the reverse sear method but the indirect cook is done at a very, very low temperature taking around 2 hours. I haven’t cooked a lot of Porterhouse steaks but his method was very interesting as you skewer 2 steaks together and position it so the fillet is furthest away from the heat to try and cook the fillet and sirloin to the same temperature. I knew I had to try this so I ordered 2x 32oz “Cowboy” T-Bone steaks from Martin’s Meats. There weren’t any Porterhouse steaks on the website so I went for T-Bone and made a note to take extra care with the smaller fillet. The steaks were £28.50 each so not cheap but you would pay at least that for a little rib eye steak in a restaurant and the dry aged Longhorn beef from Martin’s Meats is exceptional quality so it’s worth it.

When the meat arrived I took it out and it was massive! As thick as my wooden chopping board!

T-Bone

T-Bone

T-Bone

I made up a basic salt and pepper rub then applied it using my spice shaker and patted it in as I went. I left the steaks for an hour. Then I took 3 thin skewers and slotted them through the steaks before pulling them apart slightly. The skewers are the genius part of this technique as they allow you to position the steaks in the bbq in such a way as to keep the fillet further away from the heat to protect them and cook them slowly. It also means you don’t have to move or flip them during the smoking process.

T-Bone

I lit a small fire but half filling the chimney starter. The method says to aim for 120F (48C) which is pretty tricky in a kettle bbq. Half a chimney is too much, it really just needs a few chunks of charcoal to be that hot. I shut the vents almost right down to try and hold the temperature low and added some Oak and Cherry chunks. Once the wood was smoking I placed the steaks in the bbq on the opposite side of the grill with the bone side facing the heat and the fillet pointing up. I placed the lid on the bbq with the vent over the steaks to pull the heat/smoke out and over the steaks.

T-Bone

After half an hour the steaks were taking on a nice colour from the smoke:

T-Bone

After 80 minutes even more so:

T-Bone

At 100 minutes the internal temperature was approaching 45c (rare) which is where I was going to take it off. I didn’t smoke it for 2 hours as the cook temperature was a bit higher than it was meant to be. Lesson learnt for next time!

T-Bone

I took the steaks off and wrapped them in foil to rest for 45 minutes whilst I fired up a full chimney of charcoal and got the bbq as hot as I could. I put the grill grates on which got so hot they were smoking!

I seared the steaks for about a minute per side including the edges before giving them an extra couple of minutes to get up to 55c internal (Medium rare) at which point I took them off the grill. During the searing stage the amount of smoke coming off the grill was unreal and there was some flaring up but the bbq lid kept most of the smoke at bay. I had no photos as I couldn’t keep the lid off long enough to stop it flaring up! 

T-Bone

The steaks were looking great, I was really happy with how they had come out.

T-Bone

Next I took one of my sharpest knives and sliced the meat away from the bone before slicing it up. The main point of slicing it up is so you can share it. We had one each!

T-Bone

T-Bone

T-Bone

I was really happy with how it had cooked. It was almost edge to edge pink from the reverse sear.

T-Bone

My wife bought 2 types of potatoes from the greengrocer: English Chippers and Cyprus Chippers. Both chips were fantastic, such a difference with fresh potatoes vs supermarket potatoes. I think we preferred the Cyprus Chippers.

T-Bone

The steaks were fantastic. The slow cook had made the meat very, very smooth and tender it was easy to slice and eat. The long smoke had left a great smoky smell and taste to the meat which coupled with the char from the salt and pepper was just fantastic! A long and slow cook but what a great way to cook big steaks. I felt very full after eating this, I think we would share one next time!

Main changes for next time are to start off with less charcoal and cook it lower for a bit longer. Other than that no major changes.

Cook Equipment: Weber Kettle
Cook Method: Slow Smoked Reverse Sear
Charcoal: EBC
Smoking Wood: Smokewood Shack Oak and Cherry
Cook temperature: 120f (ish!) reverse then as hot as possible to sear!
Cook time: 1h40m plus 45m rest part way 
Internal temperature: 49c reverse / 55c seared
Notes: 1: Set the cook temperature low with minimal charcoal.

 


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