St. Louis BBQ Pork Steaks

St. Louis BBQ Pork Steaks are little-known in other parts of America, but in St. Louis, they are so popular that pork steaks are on permanent sale in family packs at the supermarket. We found there was no substitute for pork steak, so the only option was to cut our own. We ordered five boneless Boston butts and cut them in half crosswise, then turned each piece on end to slice 1-inch-thick steaks. Inspired by a test kitchen recipe for brats and beer, we used a method of sear, simmer, sear again. This untraditional process gives the steaks a nice char, candylike edges, and succulent, slightly chewy interiors. To reproduce Maull’s barbecue sauce, the locally famous tomato-based glaze St. Louisans use on their steaks, tasters chose dark brown sugar over molasses and hot sauce over cayenne, and we added ketchup, cider vinegar, and garlic powder.