The Porterhouse Lost It's Luster?

[Troutman]

When I was a kid growing up in the Midwest, the Porterhouse Steak, along with it's baby brother the T-bone, were the absolute king of steaks. I've eaten so many in my life that I've lost count. In fact I want one for a pillow in my coffin. In recent years; however, with the advent of so many different cuts of beef, I've ventured out into the great beef unknown and have kind of abandoned my cherished friendship.



So yesterday I decided to venture over to Costco to pick up 20# of pork butts for a large cook (different topic and future post) and I happen upon some smaller choice t-bones. Didn't really appeal to me, I like them at least 1-1/2" to 2" thick. I saw the meat cutter wandering around so I asked him where all those prime, thick porterhouses they used to sell were? He says they kind of fell out of vogue and folks stopped buying so they quit carrying them. WHAT? Has this cut lost it's luster? Are people abandoning them for rib eyes and tri-tips?

The good news is my butcher will always have them available. He sells CAB so they're good. Will probably venture over there sometime this week and gorge out on a big thick one.

An on that same topic, there's a YouTube blogger that travels the world and videos his experiences. He's a Scandinavian by the name of Harold Bladr. My wife and I have been watching his travels through the Philippines and Vietnam because we're gearing up to make the trek in 2021. Anyway I ran across this video of his in Florence, Italy. The guy travels Italy extensively and loves the place.

In this episode he goes to a Trattoria that specializes in steak, something you'd see like in NYC at a high end steak house. They have this 1 kilo steak challenge. Eat this 36 or so ounce Porterhouse, aged and cooked to perfection, and you get it comp'd (which he does in the end). He gets a little wordy so feel free to skip through a lot of the intro. At the 4:30 mark he ventures into their meat locker. Killer steaks !!!

So back to the original question, has the Porterhouse/T-bone lost it's luster in the world of beef steak ??

[Nate]

As a life long native of the Midwest I too have consumed a lot of beef in the form of t-bones and porterhouses... mostly t-bones though.... I never remember getting these as extremely thick cuts... I would say most at inch or so.

Not it sure why but it seems your observation is correct. I don’t see these cuts as much but some... not sure if the rise of all all things boneless contributed or what... some things tend to fall in and out of favor.

[ssandy_561]

It appears that the Ribeye is the King of all steaks now.

Fine by me. If it lowers the cost of the porterhouse steak that’s great. I’ll just eat more porterhouses.

[Mr. Bones]

Yup!

[Richard Chrz]

agreed as well, When I find them at our local grocer, I tyically can buy them on sale for about 9 dollars a lb. I typically buy a few and freeze them at that price.

[mountainsmoker]

I would say no especially the Porterhouse. Peter Lugar in NYC still serves the same aged one it has since it opened. I think it is 36 ounces but would have to look it up As do a lot of the steak houses still serve it.

The porterhouse is not hard to get even chains like Texas Roadhouse and higher end chains like Ruths Chris have them on their menu.

[barelfly]

I’d say for me it has. Like you, the t-bone was what I always asked for as a kid when we were having steak, which wasn’t often. As I got older, I still picked up t-bones and tired my hand at grilling them, college days we thought we were cool and would pack T-bones for camping outings and grill them and pour some beer on them for added flavor.......

as ive entered the culinary world, I’ve found my preferences have changed to the marbling of steaks, going for ribeyes. But as I’ve been on this site for a few years, even that has changed a bit to some of the other cuts that are even better than a ribeye in my opinion, like flat iron or the Coullette cuts I get. I still do the ribeyese, but only on the weekends and it’s usually my dry aged ribeyes.

But it I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a t-bone or porter house steak.

[Richard Chrz]

Well I was not cooking them when they were popular (and my dad was/is not good at grilling) so I did not grow up eating steak, or good food for that matter, but I do enjoy the cooking process of that cut, and like you, I want nothing to do with a thin t-bone/porterhouse. Personally I want the two inch cut. I like the hardiness of that cut, you can use really strong (to me) flavors (blue cheese, rosemary black pepper, etc.. with it and not over power the cut. Add in a good Red Zin or Petite sirah, and the fixings, you have a really great meal.

[JoeSousa]

Not sure about industry-wide but I do know the last 10 years or so I have gravitated towards ribeye and NY strip when I want a good steak where the previous 10 years the porterhouse would have been my go to. Can't think of any logical reason why.

As far as the general public is concerned I would guess that cuts that used to be "butchers cuts" like tri tip, picanha, flank, hanger, etc. Ahave grown in popularity and that is taking some attention off the regular steakhouse cuts like ribeye, porterhouse etc. So that could have something to do with it as well.

And now I guess I need to go to my butcher and get a couple nice porterhouse for dinner soon.

[Red Man]

I still love a nice thick porterhouse.
The grocery store I shop at still carries them.

[Mr. Bones]

Tell yall what: Loves me a great T-Bone, or Porterhouse Steak...

I always make way more then I can eat at one sittin, on accounta cause I got th fire an smoke rollin, anyhow...

Oftentimes, I'll chunk up some leftovers, give it a lil CI kiss in some butter, and/or bacon grease, along with my onions/peppers, etc., an toss into a pot of chili...

Dang dang good eatin, yall!

[HawkerXP]

Love us some porterhouse or T bones. Especially when managers special @ 50% off! Oh yeah baby! HouseHomey

[HouseHomey]

Did some one say discount??

[Murdy]

I think as people started to like their steaks thicker and rarer, butchers started doing more strips and fillets than t bones, as they can be cut thicker to a smaller portion, which is what people were looking for.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I love a good porterhouse, it's 2 steaks in 1! But, for the same price (thanks to the bone) I get a better value with a ribeye by weight. That's my guess why they are dying out anyhow.

[Steve B]

I don’t know. To me the porterhouse is still king. When my wife and I go out to a good steakhouse I always order the porterhouse for 2. Yup that’s right. For 2. Just for me. 🤫😂 Although the last couple of years I’m finding it hard to finish one. Guess my tummy is shrinking. Haaa tell the mirror that. 🥴
I think all of the grocery stores around me carry
t-bones and porterhouses. SoI believe it’s still prevalent.

[Mr. Bones]

LOL Brother!
Many Thanks fer th much needed multiple chortles, chuckles, an even outright guffaws, to aid me about my way, today!

[smokin fool]

Never see Porterhouse around here but I don't look for them either with the price of beef around here.
T-bones, Rib eyes and Strip loins are all the rage around here.
Best Porterhouse I had was from a gas station/convenience store/butcher shop???? north of Bala, On.
This guy hung and aged his meat for 90 days before cutting and it was the bomb, my buddy was a magician on the Q and did them to perfection....Man, I'm hungry now just thinking about this….

[Oak Smoke]

Before retiring I took customers to good steak houses regularly. A lot of them were 30 years younger than me. You could say, this place makes an incredible porterhouse, and often get, I can't hold that much or I don't eat red meat. Their eating habits were different than mine. They would order a fillet or salmon or chicken. I had to smile and bite my tongue. You can have a free porterhouse and you want.....chicken?

[Oak Smoke]

FireMan some may have, but they were kind enough not to say so. I even took a vegetarian to dinner once. When she mentioned she was a vegetarian I thought I was in bid trouble, but in the same breath she said this place has a great salad bar I'll be fine. There aren't words to express how much I appreciated her class in that situation.

[JoeSousa]

I have a friend who has taken me out to steakhouses countless times and regularly threw business dinners at steakhouses. But he doesn't eat steak. He would always order chicken. In his opinion the best chicken he could get was at a nice steakhouse so he was always happy.

[jfmorris]

I've got a future son-in-law who is a chicken eater, no matter whether its a steak house, mexican restaurant or seafood place. His parents and sister aren't that way - I know them - just him. When he first started coming around, I would make sure chicken was on the menu, but now I just throw down whatever I am grilling, and he can take it or leave it. He usually eats whatever I grill, or at least picks at it.

If you offer me a free porterhouse, I'm taking it!