Black and Blue Steak Pittsburgh Style
Published May 9, 2018. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
One of the oldest ways to eat a grilled steak is called Black and Blue, or Pittsburgh style. You can achieve it by charring the outside while maintaining a rare to medium-rare internal temperature, or blue steak.
I’m actually not too fond of the Pittsburgh style steak because it’s just a bit too charred for my liking. However, when I used to work in the restaurant industry we would get a request for 3 to 4 of these a night they are that popular. It’s actually quite weird tasting as it has this overly charred well-done shoe leathery taste on the outside but then a delicate full-flavored rare taste in the center.
We would do this Pittsburgh style steak on a number of different cuts of beef from a filet mignon to a New York strip, and an occasional ribeye steak. I would avoid anything too fatty because remember the inside is rare and raw fat is a bit nasty, take it from me!
How to Make Black and Blue Steak
The hardest part about making it is ensuring there are plenty of flames rising high above the grates on your grill. Let me be the first to say that a Pittsburgh-style steak has to be done on an open flame grill, it cannot be done on a pan on your cooktop because it will take way to long to char on the outside without it being rare in the middle. So, the first thing you can do is crank your grill up to the hottest setting it can go and let it hold that temperature for about 7 to 10 minutes before cooking.
When using cuts of meat like a New York strip or a ribeye, it’s actually easier to achieve a Pittsburgh-style steak because you can simply fabricate your cuts of beef when you are breaking it down to keep some more of the fat on. When it comes time to cook the steak you trim a bit more of the fat off and then you place that fat around the outside of the steak. Or when fabricating simply trim all the fat and set it to the side in a freezer or on a ready-to-order basis. Meat fat breaks down pretty slow but drips profusely causing lots of flame and fire which will help you achieve that char to your meat. THIS is the best way to make a Pittsburgh-style steak.
If you are using a rather lean cut of meat like a filet mignon then your absolute best option is going to be butter. The only issue is that butter cooks really quickly, especially on the grill, so you are going to need quite a bit of it or to help prolong the melting process to make sure it is completely frozen. In the same manner where you would put the meat fat around and on the steak, you want to put the butter all around it and on it. This will make some crazy huge flames and will certainly black and blue your steak!
If you wanted to take it even a step further to ensure you’ve got an insanely deep dark char, add a lid to it. Once you drop your seasoned steak and put the butter everywhere put a grill lid or a large cast-iron skillet flipped upside down over the top of it to keep all the heat and flames contained to be around your steak. This will absolutely ensure you are charring or burning as I used to call it, your Pittsburgh-style steak!
Why Is It Called Pittsburgh Style
So here’s what I’ve heard to be true. When the steel industry up in Pittsburgh was absolutely booming the workers would bring cuts of meat to work to cook and eat since there was nothing but hot metal around. Some of the surfaces of metal could get up to 1800° right out of the fire and would help these workers steak get an incredibly dark sear in only a matter of a minute or so while remaining rare in the center. I’m not sure if this Pittsburgh-style steak story is true but I sure hope it is because how clever!
If you’re looking for a really tasty black and blue steak Pittsburgh style then check out this recipe for Black and Blue Steak by the one and only Emeril Lagasse!
Black and Blue Steak Pittsburgh Style
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce filet mignon
- 4 ounces frozen unsalted butter, cut up
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to high heat, between 550° and 650°.
- Season the steak on all sides with salt and pepper and place it on the grill once it is at full temperature.
- Immediately add the butter directly around the steak and over top to cause hot flames to shoot up over the grates in order to char the steak.
- Place a grill lid over top to help char the steak.
- Cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until charred black on the outside but rare in the center.
- Serve.
I’m from Pittsburgh and was told that a Pittsburgh-style steak is like Pittsburgh (was). Dirty (burnt) on the outside and clean on the inside (raw/rare). Back in the days of the steel mills, office workers would go to work in white shirts and come home with the shirts grey from soot. The outside of building were greyish due to all the soot in the air.
Soooo good, succulent, tender, juicy and the pieces just MELT in your mouth. Excellent recipe!
I actually use a variation of this technique when I make a prime rib roast. Heat a charcoal grill to maximum heat and put the seasoned meat on the grates (bone side down) and let it go for around 10 – 15 minutes. When the big chunk of meat is almost on fire, remove from the grill, let it stop smoking for a couple of minutes, then finish in a 265 degree oven until the internal temperature hits exactly 127 degrees. Rest for 15 minutes minimum. It sounds crazy, but it works to give a singed and tasty crust while the inside is a perfect medium to dark pink from edge to center.
The only way to eat a steak, IMO, and this is the easiest way to achieve it. Only issue is- you say it can’t be done in a pan, but then reference Lagassi’s recipe, which doesn’t exactly that…….
Anyhow, great article nonetheless.
I’m fine with steaks done a number of different ways, but for anyone wanting to try a ribeye this way I’d suggest putting it in a very low over (~120deg/convection) for an hour or so before grilling. This does essentially nothing as it pertains to cooking the protein, but softens the fat considerably and lets it blaze the ribeye on the grill (and avoids the raw fat ribeye issue discussed in this article).
I’ve got a photo of the blaze that I’d be happy to share.
I love a black and blue steak.Prepare it as your recipe as suggests but use a completely frozen steak.
Great idea!
I often cook mine this way, didn’t know it was called black and blue though … hee hee hee
I hate to waste charcoal, so I cook several steaks, etc. at a time… I let the one(s) we are going to eat rest, then slice to portion. I refrigerate the ones not to be eaten in a vacuum sealed bag for another day, warmed up to room temp on the cutting board, then slightly warmed in a pan , and sliced, you would never know it was “left-over” steak. This keeps me from having over-cooked beef. I prefer my steak a rare to med-rare and juicy red, but warm in the center.
Snazzy trick. I’d never considered purposely causing flare-ups! Genius. GREG