Smoque Barbecue produces some of the city’s best Texas-style brisket. But when the owners accidentally got sent a package of steaks instead of brisket, they decided to see what they tasted like after throwing them in the smoker. The result is Chicago’s latest neighborhood steakhouse.
When you see the plates of shrimp cocktail and beef tartare, or notice a bartender is making gin martinis while servers pour bold reds, you might think, “oh, steakhouse.” But Smoque Steak isn’t your dad’s steakhouse, because here, they’re cooking the ribeyes and skirts in a three-step process.
“I’d never smoked a steak before so I thought I’d give it a try and I thought it was life-changing. I thought this was the best steak I ever had and I wanted to figure out how to do it,” said co-owner Barry Sorkin.
Steaks are first seasoned with salt and pepper. Then phase one.
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“We start by smoking it – just a little bit of smoke to put some flavor on it,” said Sorkin.
The steaks are smoked for about 20 minutes.
“Part of it is that you don’t want a super intense smoke. You still want that ribeye to eat like a ribeye,” he said.
The Food Guy
They’re cry-o-vac’d, then phase two: placed in a water bath called sous vide.
“We use sous vide to finish the cooking, and get a real precise finished temperature,” he said.
Phase three takes just a minute or two.
“It comes out of the sous vide and goes in a cast iron skillet with a little clarified butter,” said Sorkin.
Once seared, they’re finished with housemade garlic butter while still warm.
“It’s a steak that eats like a steak but a steak like no other,” he said.
There’s more than beef here, a fine house salad with crisp watermelon radish, or a creamy bowl of grits with some butter-poached lobster tail and roasted peppers, scallions and corn.
“It’s upscale, but also a little bit downscale at the same time,” said Sorkin. “We wanted to have something for everybody; even if you don’t eat steak, there’s still something great here.”
Reservations are a must. And how about this: not only do they have a lot, but even the block the restaurant is on has free parking. Hallelujah. You’ve saved $20 before you even step inside.
Here's where you can go:
3310 N. Elston Ave.
773-219-1775
