Why settle for the regular grilled steak when you make a flavorful smoked steak? Follow this easy guide and recipe; soon, you will be smoking steaks on a pellet grill.
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Best Smoked Steak Recipe
This is a smoked steak recipe, so let’s examine why you should want to smoke a steak. Smoking meat has long been a popular cooking method and comes with several benefits:
- Tenderizing – Smoking meat low and slow breaks down collagen and makes the meat more tender.
- Flavor – If you are wondering what a smoked steak tastes like, smoking imparts a unique flavor. Smoking melts fat, which combines with tenderized meat for a delicious eating experience. The flavor is also enhanced by the distinct aromas that smoking adds.
What is the best steak to smoke?
The best cuts of meat to smoke are brisket, chuck roast, flank steak, rib, round, rump, and top sirloin. Read more about how to smoke those beef cuts.
This smoked steak recipe uses porterhouse steaks. The porterhouse cut location is the large end of the short loin. It has a bone with tenderloin on one side and strip steak on the other side. The name Porterhouse originated from English pubs that served porter (a type of ale)
Smoked Steak vs Grilled Steak
The most significant difference between smoking and grilling is the cooking time involved.
Smoking is a long and slow process with constant temperature monitoring. It infuses steak with the smoke and gives it a delicious smoky flavor.
Grilling takes far less time, but smoking produces a tender and flavorful steak that’s nearly impossible to replicate. You will not retire your charcoal grill, or your gas grill if you enjoy steaks cooked by an open flame, but if you have very thick cuts of beef, this may be a method you want to try. Read more about the differences between smoked and grilled meat.
What Is a Pellet Smoker?
This smoked steak recipe uses a pellet smoker. Pellet grills or smokers have taken the barbecue world by storm because they make smoking easy and convenient. The primary reason is because of their excellent temperature control.
Traditional smokers tend to have wild temperature swings because the strength of the fire fluctuates as the wood burns. Wood pellet grills insulate and circulate heat more efficiently, and the temperature can be maintained throughout the entire smoking process.
One famous brand of pellet smokers is Traeger Pellet Smoker. For Traeger smoked steak, click on this link if you would like to find the best Traeger grill for your needs.
Smoked Steak Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Porterhouse Steaks
- Salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Butter
How to Smoke Steak
- Preheat your pellet smoker to 165°F.
- Let steaks come to room temperature.
- Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Place steaks in the smoker and close the lid.
- Smoke the steaks for about 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 110°F.
- Increase the temperature of the smoker to 500°F (high heat).
- Let it smoke for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 135°F.
- Top with a pat of butter, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
How long it takes to smoke a steak depends on how you like it cooked and whether it is a thin or thick-cut steak. Letting the meat reach an internal temp of 135°F is considered medium rare. Medium would be 145 to 150 degrees. For rare, it would be about 125°F. You should cook your steak to your personal desired level of doneness, raise the temperature of the steaks to the level of doneness you enjoy the most.
You can salt the steak before letting it come to room temperature, making it extra tender.
Use any seasoning you like, or even dress it with some BBQ sauce when it comes out of the smoker.Â
Most pellet smokers come with an attached meat probe, which would be the ideal probe to use, if available.
What Type of Wood Pellets should you use to smoke steak?
Different types of pellets will flavor your meat differently, here are some of the most common wood pellets you can find. My personal preference is to use hickory wood pellets, I love the bold smoke flavor, and hickory works well with beef, pork, and chicken.
| Wood Pellet Type | Flavor profile |
| Hickory | If you want a well-balanced smoke flavor that is milder than hickory or mesquite, this is for you. |
| Mesquite | Mesquite is typically associated with Texas barbeque. This gives off a bold flavor that has a touch of pine. |
| Oak | If you want a well-balanced smoke flavor that is milder than hickory or mesquite this is for you. |
| Pecan | This has a bold profile of smoke flavor reminiscent of the smokey flavor of bacon. |
What to Serve with Smoked Steak
These are great side dishes to go with a delicious smoky steak:
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Easy Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Homemade Potato Wedges
- Homemade Onion Rings
- Olive Garden Salad
Popular Beef Recipes
- Beef Jerky Recipe
- Beef Tips and Gravy
- Chow Fun
- How to Cook Beef Chuck Roast
- NY Strip Roast
- Shank Steak
- Steak Marsala
- Stove Top Pot Roast
Check out more of my easy beef recipes and the best summer dinner recipes here on CopyKat!
Pellet Grill Smoked Steak
Ingredients
- 2 porterhouse steaks You can substitute your favorite cut of steak
- salt & pepper
- 2 tablespoons salted butter unsalted is ok to use
- 2 teaspoons parsley
Instructions
- Allow your steaks to come to room temperature if not already there. You can salt the steaks before they reach room temperature, as this will make them extra tender.
- Preheat your pellet smoker to 165 degrees. This usually takes around 15 minutes, depending on the smoker.
- Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Place steaks in the smoker and cook for about 45 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 110 degrees.)
- Turn the smoker up to 500 degrees and let it smoke for another 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees (for medium-rare steak). See notes if you like your steak less or more cooked.
- Top with a pat of butter and some parsley. Enjoy!
Baltisraul
If you are fortunate enough to have a smoker that can reach 500 degrees this sounds like a great recipe. If not, just do the first part of the recipe and remove steaks to a smok-in hot iron skillet with some Kosher salt sprinkled in the bottom of the skillet. Cook steaks 1 min per side. (you should see heat waves coming from the dry skillet) Test for desired doneness and if not to your liking, sear an addition 30 sec per side. Rest, covered for 3-4 min . Don’t forget the butter to top it off. I did 2 NY strip steaks last night, about 1 1/4 ” thick, and it was amazing.