Smoked steak is one of the best ways to cook a steak at home. Smoking steak is simple, only requires a few ingredients, and the steak comes out tasting delicious. In this guide, we'll show you how to smoke a steak at home that tastes better than anything you can get in your local steak house.
Can You Smoke Steak?
Yes, you can smoke a steak. In fact, cooking a steak on a smoker is my favorite method of cooking steak at home. The meat comes out tender, beefy, and full of smokey flavor goodness.
Not only that, but smoking steak is very easy. It just requires a bit of seasoning, and your smoker will take care of the rest in terms of flavor. No fancy steak rubs or steak sauces required.
How To Smoke A Steak
Smoking a steak is easy. Just follow these simple steps and you'll be a pro in no time.
1. Season Your Steak
Start by seasoning your steak. A simple seasoning like kosher salt, pepper, and garlic works great. If you want to get a little fancier, you can try my homemade steak seasoning, or even dry brine the steak. Allow your steak to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before smoking it.
2. Turn On Your Smoker
Fire up your smoker to 225F. Use whichever flavor wood you enjoy the most. For me, I really like cherry pellets and pecan pellets on my Traeger.
3. Smoke Your Steaks
Place your steak on the smoker, insert a meat thermometer into the steak, and close the lid. Smoke the steak until it reaches your preferred internal temperature. I usually cook mine to 125F for a perfect medium rare.
4. Preheat Your Grill (Or Skillet)
Remove the steak from the smoker. Then, fire up your gas grill to high heat, or cast iron pan on your stovetop. I really like to use my GrillGates, which sit on top of my Weber grill.
5. Sear Your Steak
Place the steak on the grill or cast iron pan. Sear on each side, about two minutes per side. This will allow the steak to form a beautiful crust on the exterior, like in the above picture.
6. Rest & Serve
Remove your steak from the high heat and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. Then, slice against the grain, and serve.
Smoking Steak
The real star of this smoked steak recipe is the smoke itself.
Think of the smoke as its own special ingredient that infuses the beef with richness and depth. Your goal is to make the beefy flavor and smoky essence shine through, while the basic salt and pepper seasoning brings it all into harmony.
Because smoke takes center stage here, you have room for creativity with your wood choice. Swap out woods to put your own signature twist on the steak. Cherry, hickory, pecan are three of my favorites wood to use with steak.
I recommend tasting your way through different wood and steak pairings. Treat it like wine pairing! Find what melodies make your tastebuds sing. Take notes on how oak brings out nuttiness in a ribeye, or how apple wood brightens up a filet mignon.
For a gentle smoked serenade, go with maple or alder. Feel like getting more adventurous? Hickory and mesquite will crank up the volume on that smoky flavor.
Best Steaks For Smoking
For best results smoking steaks, I like premium cuts that are at least 1 1⁄2 inches thick. My favorites are ribeyes, New York strips, filet mignon, porterhouses, and tomahawks. These thicker steaks benefit most from the low, slow smoking process.
Thinner steaks won't spend enough time absorbing the smoke flavor before overcooking. But with thick steaks, you can smoke low and slow for hours to fully tenderize and infuse the meat.
The benefit of smoking by temperature rather than time is that thickness is no issue. Take your time with thicker steaks. Let the smoke gently permeate them for as long as needed. Just be sure to allow enough time for the smoke to leisurely tenderize the beef.
How Long To Smoke Steak
Smoking steak will take about 1 hour. The exact time to cook a steak will depend on how thick your steak is, and your desired internal temperature.
The best way to determine if your steak is done is with a meat thermometer. Just stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the steak to get the exact internal temperature.
Steak Temperature Guide
Here's a temperature guide for cooking your steak to your desired doneness.
- Rare. 120F
- Medium rare. 130F
- Medium. 135F
- Medium-well. 140F
- Well-done. 150F.
Remember that steak will continue cooking after you remove it from the grill. So remove the steak 5 degrees lower than your desired doneness.
Smoked Steak Recipes To Try
Smoked Steak
Ingredients
- 2 1 1/2 inch steaks filet mignon, New York Strip, Porterhouse
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by seasoning your steak. A simple seasoning like kosher salt, pepper, and garlic works great. Allow your steak to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before smoking it.
- Fire up your smoker to 225F. Use whichever flavor wood you enjoy the most. For me, I really like cherry pellets and pecan pellets on my Traeger.
- Place your steak on the smoker, insert a meat thermometer into the steak, and close the lid. Smoke the steak until it reaches your preferred internal temperature. I usually cook mine to 125F for a perfect medium rare.
- Remove the steak from the smoker. Then, fire up your gas grill to high heat, or cast iron pan on your stovetop.
- Place the steak on the grill or cast iron pan. Sear on each side, about two minutes per side. This will allow the steak to form a beautiful crust on the exterior, like in the above picture.
- Remove your steak from the high heat and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. Then, slice against the grain, and serve.
