The Difference Between T-Bone & Porterhouse

For many steak lovers, one cut of steak is the pinnacle of beef cookery.

A truly great steak exists in the cut of beef in which you get both the melt-in-your-mouth filet, alongside a heartier, more robust NY strip in one go.

What more could you possibly want from one cut of meat?

For a lot of people, this is called a t-bone steak.

And for a lot of other people, it’s referred to as a porterhouse.

But which is correct?

Today, we’re gonna take a quick look at this debate and sort it out, once and for all.

The truth is, the porterhouse and the t-bone are two different kinds of steak, that happen to have quite a bit in common.

At a glance, they look pretty much identical. They both have the same shape, and both have the namesake t-shaped bone. Both steaks are cut from the same part of the animal, the short loin.

Technically speaking, they both are comprised of the same two cuts of steak: the smaller, tender filet and the larger, more chewy NY strip.

To find out what differentiates a T-Bone and a porterhouse steak, we can consult the USDA.

According to them, the difference lies in the size of the filet.

To qualify for the illustrious title of ‘porterhouse,’ the steak’s filet must be over 1.25 inches wide. This measurement is to be taken from the widest point of the filet.

If the steak meets this requirement, the result is a hefty, heavyweight cut of meat that could reasonably feed two.

To get this large filet, the steak needs to be taken from the rear end of the short loin, where the filet is at its largest.

If the steak’s filet doesn’t meet that 1.25 inch requirement, it is classified as a T-Bone steak. This smaller filet results in a less satisfying cut, but is also considerably cheaper than its more luxurious counterpart.

Now that we’ve got the technicalities sorted, we can get to the good part: the cooking.

Because porterhouses and t-bones actually are made of two separate pieces of meat, cooking the steak can be a challenge. For us, a filet shines better when it is cooked at a more rare temperature, while the strip side has the most flavor at medium rare. Combined with the fact that filets can cook faster, this makes for a technically challenging cook.

 

There are a couple ways to handle that challenge.

Once your steak is seared, try building a small, compact flame on your grill.

Place your strip side over that spot, and let the filet rest over a cooler spot. This will encourage your strip to cook faster, while your filet can go low and slow.

Another option is to wrap your filet in a piece of aluminum foil after the entire cut has been seared. The foil will dissipate and reflect the heat, causing the filet to cook more slowly.

Truthfully, we’d always reach for the porterhouse over the t-bone.

When it comes to steak, we tend to follow a ‘more is more’ ideology, and a porterhouse is just about the most you can get from one steak. It’s large enough to split with someone, sure...

But we won’t blame you for doing the exact opposite.