On The Butcher's Block: T-Bone Steak

Delicate and dainty it most certainly is not, but if you’re looking for substance and style twinned with knockout flavour, T-bone steak is the way to go. It’s an impressive cut that will very happily satisfy even the biggest of appetites. Or you can hark back to the ’70s and serve it as a knockout centrepiece is a super-retro mixed grill. 

Where it's cut from
The T-bone’s unique proposition is that it delivers two steaks in one. It’s cut from the short loin of the beef animal, which is found in the middle of the rib cage and runs from the spine down to the flank. A very close cousin to Porterhouse steak, each T-bone has the distinctive T-shaped bone running through it, holding together a sirloin steak on one side and a fillet steak on the other. Each of these has its own character and the bone, with all it’s associated connective tissues, delivers flavour and ensures succulence on cooking.    

Taste and Texture 
On the one hand you have the sirloin steak – well marbled, topped with melting fat and offering well-rounded flavour. On the other, there’s the fillet steak, prized as one of the finest beef cuts and delivering buttery soft texture alongside refined flavour. In combination, the T-bone means you get a bit of everything, from tenderness to robust bite and delicate taste to punchy flavour.

Succulence comes courtesy of the sirloin’s layer of superficial fat that renders down and bastes the steak as it cooks. The meat from both sides of the bone is marbled, too, so the T-bone is one juicy proposition.   

How to cook it
Some people worry that it’s tricky to cook a T-bone steak  – we don’t agree. There are just a few tricks to remember that’ll make sure you get the best results: 

Give it a try
T-bone steak makes an indulgent sharing platter for two when served on a rustic board with some tempting sides. Go simple with super-crispy chips and an unfussy salad of rocket and watercress dressed with balsamic and olive oil. A crumbling of blue cheese doesn’t go amiss, either. Or add some assertive spice (your T-bone can more than handle it) in the form of Parmentier potatoes tossed in smoked chipotle and a punchy tomato and red onion salsa spiked with hot green chilli.

A glass of full-bodied red such as a classic Cabernet or Merlot balances well with the T-bone’s texture and fat content. For a perfect match and to draw out all the flavour of the meat, choose a wine produced in a real beef-loving country like Chile or Brazil.