Grilled Porterhouse or T-Bone Steak

 My favorite steak for grilling is a porterhouse steak. This is a beef steak cut from the loin that includes parts of two delicious muscles: the top loin and the tip of the tenderloin (or filet as in filet mignon). The filet is extremely tender with a buttery, melt-in-you-mouth texture when cooked to medium-rare. The top loin, also known as strip steak, New York strip steak, or Kansas City steak, has a more chewy texture preferred by some and is full of rich beef flavor. When I say the strip steak is more chewy, I mean it is a little more textured than the filet - you still don't need a steak knife to cut into it. To top it all off, I like to prepare mushrooms reduced in beef broth. 

 (A T-Bone steak is almost the same cut as a Porterhouse but with a much smaller section of the filet attached. Because of this, the T-Bone steak is a little less tender than a Porterhouse. Cook a T-Bone steak the same way as a Porterhouse steak.)

 Place 8 oz. sliced mushrooms (button or medium cremini work well) in the butter and saute on medium heat until mushrooms give off moisture.

 Once most of the moisture has boiled off, add a 14 oz. can of low sodium beef broth to the pan and allow the broth to reduce.

 When the broth has reduced to the point where it coats the back of a spoon, add two tablespoons of heavy cream. While stirring, let the heavy cream reduce the sauce until it coats a spoon again. Remove from heat and set aside for topping the steak.

 Meanwhile, build a two level charcoal fire or preheat your propane grill. Prepare your Porterhouse steak by seasoning with salt and pepper on both sides. I prefer to cook thicker steaks of about 1-1/4 inch to 1-1/2 inch in thickness (a little less than 2 pounds). During grilling, the thicker steak results in a more even medium rare throughout the meat.

 Place the steak on the hottest part of the grill and leave it there for 2 minutes. If using a propane grill, close the lid. On a charcoal grill, keep the lid off, but keep an eye open for flame ups and put them out with a squirt bottle or simply move the steak to prevent charring. After two minutes, flip the steak over and brown the other side - two minutes.

Once both sides have been browned, move the steak over to the lower heat and finish cooking. In general it should take about 7-8 minutes to cook to medium rare (internal temperature of 130°F), but because the building of fires is different every time, I recommend using an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature. Just insert the probe from the side of the steak and plunge the probe into the center. Don't worry if it takes longer than eight minutes, that just means your heat is too low. Continue to let it cook until the internal temperature reads 130°F. Remove from grill and let the steak rest for five minutes loosely covered with aluminum foil. 

 The filet of the Porterhouse steak should not be cooked beyond medium rare or it may toughen. I solve this by rotating the steak such that the strip steak is closer to the high heat while the tenderloin cut is on the cooler side. This will cook the filet a bit slower and not dry it out while trying to finish the top loin. Serve with mushroom topping over the steak or on the side.

Grilled Porterhouse Steak (serves 2 hearty eaters)