So, as I clear out my pantry and freezer in anticipation of a carb-free (or close to it) August, I decided to use up some peach nectar and local preserves I had stored. Four pork steaks, weighting 4.01 pounds (approximately 3/4" thick each) went into a peach brine for five hours. I did this as a riff on Malcolm Reed's "Apple Brined Pork Steaks", and I think it's a keeper.
64oz. of peach nectar, a cup of brown sugar Splenda, 1/2 cup table salt, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 cup of my standard homemade rib rub went into large saucepan until it came to a gentle boil. I removed from heat, let cool to room temperature, and let chill in the fridge overnight.
This morning, I put the pork steaks into the peach brine for five hours. As the salt content in the brine was relatively low, I didn't bother to rinse the pork steaks and instead liberally seasoned them with my homemade rib rub and put them on my Blaz'n Gridiron at 180° over CookinPellets Perfect Mix for 45 minutes.
I then flipped the pork steaks and then raised the temp to 250° for another 45 minutes. While they were smoking, I created a simple peach glaze consisting of 1/2 cup of Texas peach preserves from a farmers' market, 1/4 cup dijon mustard, 1 tbsp. of tomato paste, 1 tbsp. molasses, 1 tbsp. honey, and 1/4 cup of my rib rub. They were brought to a simmer on the stove and then allowed to cool.
After 45 minutes, I glazed the top and reduced the heat to 200° and allowed the glaze to set through 20 minutes of smoke. I then flipped the steaks, glazed the opposite side, and allowed them to smoke for a final 20 minutes.
I did a quick internal temp check and the steaks ranged from 163° to 166°. They were removed from the smoker and lightly tented in foil to allow them to rest for 15 minutes.
Some roasted garlic green beans and I think it was a nice little Sunday dinner with very little prep work expended.
I think the final product was pretty tasty (and definitely moist from that peach brine), and I've always been a fan of the marriage of peach and mustard for glazes and sauces. While apple flavors do pair so well with pork, the subtle flavor of the peach, along with the tang of mustard was a great change of pace.
After we ate, I had two pork steaks in reserve that will be turned into pork tacos using some surprisingly tasty 6" Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas (3g net carbs per tortilla) tomorrow evening.
