T-bone steakvsTomahawk steak

The difference between a T-bone and a tomahawk

They come from different parts of the animal. A T-bone is cut across the short loin, through the backbone. The T-shaped bone divides it into two muscles: the strip on one side and a smaller piece of tenderloin on the other.

A tomahawk is a rib-eye steak from the rib section, cut with the whole rib bone left long and scraped clean. It is one steak, the rib-eye and its cap, with more marbling than either side of a T-bone.

Which is better?

Two textures

The T-bone gives you the strip's chew and the tenderloin's softness in one steak.

Richest flavour

The tomahawk. Rib-eye is the most marbled of the premium steaks.

Value

The T-bone. Much of a tomahawk's weight is the long bone, which you pay for and cannot eat. A bone-in rib-eye with a short bone is the same steak for less.

Porterhouse

A T-bone cut from the rear of the short loin, where the tenderloin is larger. USDA cutting specifications draw the line by how wide the tenderloin is.

How to cook each

T-bone: the tenderloin side cooks faster than the strip, so keep it toward the cooler part of the grill or pan and let the strip take the heat.

Tomahawk: too thick to cook by searing alone. Cook it gently first, in the oven or on the cool side of a two-zone grill, until it is about 10 °C short of the finish, then sear it hard. A probe thermometer takes the guesswork out of a steak this size.

Asking for them abroad

Spain

A tomahawk is a chuletón de lomo alto; T-bone is used as-is.

Argentina

A tomahawk is ojo de bife con hueso.

Italy

The T-bone is bistecca con l'osso, the family of the Florentine bistecca.

France

A tomahawk is côte de bœuf Tomahawk.