Grilled Porterhouse Steak With Garlic Herb Butter

It’s difficult to top a two-for-one offer. That is precisely what a porterhouse steak provides. On one side, you get the soft taste of Filet Mignon and on the other, you get the deep beefy flavor of New York Strip steak.

With a beautiful thick steak like this, the reverse sear process is unbeatable. I’ll teach you how to cook a beautiful medium rare, as well as how to make an optional garlic herb compound butter to go with it.

What’s the difference between a Porterhouse and T-Bone steak? 

The porterhouse and T-Bone are effectively the same cut, both originating from the carcass’s short loin.

The porterhouse steak has more tenderloin fillet than the T-bone. Porterhouse steaks must have 1.25 inches of fillet from the widest point to qualify under USDA regulations.

The remainder of the T-Bone is just a T-Bone with a much smaller portion of tenderloin fillet.

Buying porterhouse steak

Look for a porterhouse steak with a lot of intramuscular fat when purchasing.

Look for one that is uniformly cut; nothing is worse than an uneven steak where one end cooks faster than the other.

Porterhouse steaks should be available at your butcher or local store. If you want to treat yourself, Snake River Farms’ steak is always of the highest quality.

How long do you grill a porterhouse steak?

Porterhouse is one of the biggest steak cuts available. The time it takes to cook a flawlessly grilled porterhouse depends on the thickness of the steak and the temperature of your grill.

Depending on the thickness of the porterhouse steak, I prefer two approaches.

• For steaks 1 inch thick or less, utilize the standard sear procedure, allowing 12 minutes from the first contact of the hot grill until it comes off to rest at a perfect 130F.
• For steaks that are 1 inch thick or thicker, utilize the reverse sear procedure to ensure that the interior cooks uniformly before finishing with a short two-minute sear.

I used the reverse sear for this dish since I was preparing 1.5 steak.

Steak temperature guide

To determine whether your porterhouse is done, use the same steak doneness recommendations as you would for any other steak.

• Rare 120-130F
• Medium Rare 130-135F
• Medium 140-150F

For additional information, please see our comprehensive guide to steak doneness.

How to grill a porterhouse steak

1. Prepare and season your steak

Preparing the steak is equally as crucial as cooking it.

Remove the meat from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Allowing the steak to rise slightly out of the fridge allows you to grill it knowing that as long as you check the internal temperature, it will be excellent inside and out every time.

We’re going to keep the seasoning basic with Kosher salt and ground black pepper.

Kosher salt is excellent for grilling steaks. It’s not too fine, and it’ll remain crystallized for a bit longer when grilling. This contributes to the formation of a lovely salty crust on the outside of a charred steak.

2. Setup your grill

For this recipe, you may use a gas or charcoal grill, or even a blistering hot cast iron skillet. I went with my Weber Genesis.

I want a two-zone heating environment inside the grill because I’m going to reverse sear this porterhouse. Fire it up to 200-250F with high direct heat on one side and low indirect heat on the other.

3. Grill your porterhouse steak

If your steak is thick, the reverse sear technique is the finest approach to get a flawless rare or medium rare finish.

This approach entails gently brining the interior portion of the steak on the cold side of the grill before ending with a hot sear to get a beautiful crust.

When your grill is hot, lay your steak on the indirect side.

When the steak reaches an internal temperature of 80°F, turn it over and continue to cook until it reaches 115°F.

Remove the steak from the flame and turn your grill to high.

Place your steak back on the grill to sear after the grill has achieved temperature. The real sear stage will be quick. Total time: around two minutes.

Ignore the admonition to never flip a steak more than once. Flipping many times results in a more equal sear and a tastier crust.

Once both sides of the steak have grown a good crust, I begin probing every 2030 seconds with my Thermapen until I get my desired internal temperature of 130F for medium rare.

Using a high-quality quick read thermometer while grilling steaks is always a smart idea.

4. Rest your steak

Is it essential to rest the steak? Resting a steak is essential in my view.

Why bother purchasing a steak, prepping it, and setting up your BBQ to cook it precisely just to waste the whole meal by failing to rest it?

During the final few minutes of cooking, the fibers relax, the liquids redistribute, and the interior temperature rises to perfection.

If you want to impress someone, slice the steak and then arrange the pieces on the bone for a steakhouse-style presentation at home.

How to make compound butter

Although the garlic and herb compound butter is optional, I strongly suggest it.

Compound butter is one of those things that once you know how simple it is, you’ll be making all kinds of taste combinations in the future.

In a mixing dish, combine room temperature unsalted butter, chopped rosemary and thyme, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.

Once everything is fully combined, arrange it in an 8-inch-long line on cling wrap. Then roll it up and hold both ends of the cling film and keep wrapping until it becomes a firm log.

Once you’re satisfied with the form, put it in the fridge to solidify. Take as much as you like to melt over your nicely cooked steak.

Other steak recipes to check out

• Reverse seared Tomahawk Steak
• Grilled Rump Cap Steak
• Perfect Medium Rare Steak
• Creamy Mushroom Sauce on Grilled Flat Iron Steak
• Mind blowing side dishes for steak