Pork shoulder is my favorite piece of pig, and these St. Louis style Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks show it off in all its glory.
Pulled (or chopped) pork shoulder is the dominant style of barbecue in most of the Southern US. Pulled pork reigns from North and South Carolina in the east, and sweeps west until it hits the wall of beef barbecue in Texas. Barbecued pork steaks are St. Louis specialty1, cross-cut from the shoulder into inch thick steaks.
Pork shoulder needs long cooking times. The shoulder is a hard-working muscle, full of connective tissue. Undercooked pork shoulder is tough and chewy. If you cook it long enough, the connective tissue melts into gelatin, and the shoulder turns tender and juicy. An Instant Pot (or another pressure cooker) stands in for the traditional barbecue smoker. I replace hours and hours of low-and-slow barbecue with 45 minutes at high pressure. Sure, it’s not the same as Real Barbecue™. But it is juicy, tender, and a whole lot faster.
(For the record: Yes, I know this isn’t barbecue. I don’t know why I bother apologizing; angry barbecue purists looked at the title and jumped straight to leaving angry comments. As we speak, they’re yelling at me about sullying the spirit of St. Louis. Oh well. That’s what the “Delete Comment” button is for.)
Here in Ohio, the trick to this recipe is finding thick-cut pork shoulder steaks. My local grocery stores sell pork shoulder steaks, but they always cut a half-inch thick. I have to take a shoulder roast to the butcher and ask him to cut it thick, somewhere between an inch and an inch and a quarter. Other than that, I consider this a weeknight recipe; it takes a little over an hour to cook, but only ten minutes of that is active time.
Video: Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks St. Louis BBQ Style (2:04)
Video: Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks St. Louis BBQ Style [YouTube.com]
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Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks, St. Louis BBQ Style
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 steaks 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Pork Steaks, St. Louis BBQ Style. Pork shoulder steaks, BBQ style, ready in about an hour from an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 6 thick-cut pork shoulder steaks (1- to 1¼-inch thick)
- 1 teaspoon barbecue rub (My homemade rub is here, or use a store-bought rub)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (If you use homemade rub - store-bought rub will already have salt)
- 1 cup water (or the minimum amount for your pressure cooker)
- ½ cup barbecue sauce for the cooker (My homemade barbecue sauce recipe is here, or use a store-bought sauce)
- ½ cup barbecue sauce to stir into the sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the pork steaks: Sprinkle the pork steaks evenly with the fine sea salt and the barbecue rub.
- Everything in the pot: Pour 1 cup of water into the pressure cooker pot, add the pork steaks in a loose pile, and then drizzle ½ cup of barbecue sauce over the pork steaks. (Don’t stir – we want the sweet barbecue sauce to float on top of the water to keep it from burning.)
- Pressure cook for 45 minutes with a natural pressure release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 45 minutes in an electric pressure cooker ("manual" or "pressure cook" mode in an Instant Pot), or for 40 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. Let the pressure release naturally, about 15 more minutes.
- Broil (optional) and serve: Carefully remove the pork steaks from the pressure cooker; they’re fall-apart tender. Measure out ½ cup of the pot liquid, and stir in ½ cup of barbecue sauce. (If you have one, use a fat separator to defat the pot liquid first). Brush the pork steaks with this sauce. Optional: broil the pork steaks until the sauce is bubbling and browning at the edges, then brush with another layer of the sauce. (Broilers vary a lot, so keep an eye on them - it takes about 5 minutes for my broiler to brown the steaks.) Serve, passing the rest of the sauce for dipping.
Notes
- I make my own homemade barbecue rub and barbecue sauce. My homemade rub is salt-free; if you use a store-bought rub, and it has salt as the first or second ingredient in the ingredient list, skip the fine sea salt – it has enough salt already.
TOOLS
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot Electric PC)
- Fat Separator
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Instant Pot St. Louis Ribs
Pressure Cooker Baby Back Ribs
Pressure Cooker Barbecued Beef Top Round Sandwiches
Pressure Cooker Pork Western Shoulder Ribs
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
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- I’m already curling into a ball, bracing for the hate mail from St. Louis. “This isn’t real barbecue!” I know, I know, low and slow over a wood fire, maybe with charcoal. The barbecue purists are already mad at me, and Texas thinks I messed with their chili, so...everything is normal? ↩︎
Toni Bacchitta says
Another absolute HIT Mike. Loved this. Definitely one that I'll make again and again!!!!
★★★★★
Dan says
Can use froen staeks or do they have to be thawed???
Mike Vrobel says
Yes, they have to be thawed.
Donna says
Thank you, it is February 29 and we have snow in places around our house. I was looking for bbq pork steak to try in instant pot. I did boneless pork ribs in my 3 quart and they were fantastic. Husband said hey try steaks so am going to try in my 6 quart today.
I live in Missouri. I know a lot of bbq restaurants in St Louis. But I want to cook myself.
Brittany M George says
So yummy! And guess what... I was born and raised in STL and this recipe is amazing when it's too cold to go out and barbeque but I have a pork steak craving!
★★★★★
Contrary Mary says
I'm from STLMO, born n raised. I'm all for getting tender juicy bbq flavor pork steaks without all the time swatting bugs outside. I used a can of Busch beer instead of water, of course. I rubbed in my own blend of various spice blends that I keep on hand. Covered them and let the meat sit an hour or so before placing in the instant pot with the beer. Poured bbq sauce over the tops of the steaks. When they come out of the pot, I'll have my man put them on the grill just long enough to cook some more sauce on them. I can't wait! Perfect for our labor day weekend meal.
I'm very happy I found your web page. Love your recipes and your writing.
★★★★★
Emily says
Delicious! We loved this recipe! We only used 2 steaks, worked magically. I also used your bbq rub linked in the article, fantastic. Thanks for sharing your talents!
★★★★★
Brian says
Hi. Would it be the same cooking time for only one or two steaks?
Mike Vrobel says
Yes
Robin Vines says
Delicious and so easy to prepare, with the help of my Instant Pot. Thank you for the great recipe.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Judy Peters says
Making this way. Love all BBQ - NC SC TN TX and this recipe kinda gets it all in one. Everyone likes the taste especially me. Little work and clean up. A WINNER.
Martina says
I randomly found this recipe while searching for "instant pot pork steak". I'm so glad I found it! My husband hasn't been too thrilled about my change in cooking routine. Not only was it super easy, my husband loved it! I've book marked and pinned this recipe to make again.
★★★★
WickedWitchofSTL says
Same! Best search result for “instant pot pork steak” this is my go to recipe for my lazy bbq days!!! I fished all day sooo ran out of time for low and slow! Thanks for the recipe!!!
★★★★★
Drew Noe says
I have a plethora of pork steaks cut 1/2” thick. How much should I reduce the cook time to keep them from being over cooked?
Mike Vrobel says
Try about 20 minutes at high pressure.
Kevin says
Hey, if it helps, I'm born and raised stl, and this is great. Yeah, its not REAL bbq. So what? Its got the spirit of it and thats awesome. Im not gonna be mad if ya had to cut off the c of your reds jersey and stitch a birds on the bat patch over it. 😉 The point is, ya got there. Great recipe, ya did good kid, ya did good.
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks, Kevin!
Robbin Otto says
I have a great friend who was raised in St. Louis. She always cooked pork steaks with bbq sauce in a slow cooker and then finished on a grill to get that smoky flavor. They were excellent and so tender! I am sure the pressure cooker will yield the same results only faster. I am going to try this but maybe do a quick release so we can finish on the grill without it falling through the grates. I will let you know how it turns out.
Bev says
I wouldn’t do a quick release with any kind of meat - the natural release allows the juices to redistribute back into to the meat. Maybe cook them for a shorter time, do a natural release, and then do a short grill time, just for flavor. 🤷♂️
Greybeard says
Any reason I can't do this with only two steaks?
Mike Vrobel says
Nope - it will work exactly the same.
Cindy says
Sounds yummy! Could you substitute thick pork chops!
Mike Vrobel says
No, pork chops are too lean for long cooking times. They will be wildly overcooked if you use this method.
Roz Regan says
Thank you! This was fantastic. We usually do something similar on the grill. I had some pork steaks in a pack of mixed chops. Fall off the bone. I used 3/4 of a cup of light beer and 1/4 of water. I used my husband's BBQ Rub. Using the broiler really made the difference! This will be on my rotation!
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!