Imagine walking into your butcher’s shop to buy steak and finding it hard to choose one among the many steak types in their shop? Unfortunately, choosing one steak over the other is difficult, but you should look for flavorful, impressive-looking, and giant slabs which will feed the whole family.
So how do you choose between porterhouse and ribeye steak cuts? Although these cuts are the most common steaks, people still debate which is better as they share similarities in taste, quality, and protein percentage. However, they have distinct differences and similarities. Read on to learn more about the steaks.
What is a Porterhouse Steak?
Porterhouse steak is the king of steaks as it weighs two pounds and is served as a meal for two in a restaurant. Thus, if you buy the steak to cook at home, you could cook half of it and preserve the other. This steak provides high proteins, iron, zinc, and B vitamins and is tender with a beef flavor.
This meat is derived from the intersection between the top loin and tenderloin connection and is easily recognized by the large T or crossed-shape bone which delineates the end of the cuts and bisects it in half. This steak compromises the side with the T-shaped bone and the other with strip steak and tenderloin steak on each side of the central bone.
Porterhouse steak is deep red and heavy marbled with fat with a rib of fat around the circumference. Therefore with perfect slow cooking, the meat is juicy and will meet your needs. The steak thickness might be about 1.5 inches or more when uncooked, and it will feed two people.
You can easily find the steak cut from the butcher’s shop. It is easy to identify porterhouse steak from other meat slabs in the butchery. However, if you are not sure, you may ask the butcher. Moreover, you can buy the meat slabs from online stores, and you should check the meat grades and prices to ensure you get the right steak quality.
Although the porterhouse steak has a T-shape dividing the two sides of the steak, the meat slab is not a T-bone. The difference lies in the tenderloin section. For instance, for a meat slab to be sold as a porterhouse steak, it must have 12 inches of meat from the center bine to the widest spot on the cut.
What is a Ribeye Steak?
The ribeye steak is tender and has a rich taste as it comes with the right amount of fat. You can choose a boneless or bone-in steak. The bone adds flavor and moisture to the steak but could prolong the cooking process. The meat with bone cooks slowly, and by the time some parts reach medium heat, other parts might be rare. Thus, the boneless ribeye would be easy to cook and taste good.
This steak contains about 11 grams of fat and delivers high protein doses, selenium, phosphorus, zinc, and B vitamins. Thus a well-marbled ribeye steak would get its unique flavor from the fat as it is among the richest steaks.
You can enjoy butter and juicy meat when you choose the ribeye steak from the butcher, and the central piece is smoothly textured with spinalis dorsi, which has more fat.
The ribeye steak is generously sized, weighs about 10 ounces, and could be twice this size, depending on the cow.
The thickness may vary, but it is approximately 1.25 inches to 2 inches.
The ribeye is extracted from the rib primal, the first primal section of the center of the cow. The steak is cut from the top-most part of the ribs between the sixth and twelfth rib.
You can buy the ribeye steak from the local butcher or trusted online stores, and you should check for different grades and price differences. You may find expensive ribeye steaks such as the full-blood Wagyu to the least luxurious steak grades.
What is the Difference Between Porterhouse and Ribeye?
| Comparison | Porterhouse Steak | Ribeye Steak |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance: Although the porterhouse and ribeye steaks are derived from the cow’s same section, they appear different. It is easy to tell the ribeye and porterhouse steaks from each other based on their appearance. | The porterhouse resembles the T-bone cut and contains one large center bone. The bone in this steak is T-shaped, and many people may confuse it with the T-bone steak, but they are two distinct steaks. | You can use the bone content to differentiate the meats. The ribeye steak has one bone towards the outside, and you can also find the boneless steak. |
| Fat Difference: Both steaks have fat, making the meat juicy and buttery, but you can use the fat composition to differentiate the steaks. For instance, the fat level and the fat position on the steak would differentiate the steak cuts. | The porterhouse steak is tender and has two tenderness profiles due to the different cuts. The meat is lean and is suitable for people on a strict diet. | The position of the ribeye and porterhouse steaks in a cow’s body impacts the fat distribution. The cow uses these muscles for movement differently. The fat in the steaks is marbling, which surrounds the meat on both sides, but the ribeye steak is more beefy and flavorful than the porterhouse steak. |
| Flavor difference: You think both steaks would have the same flavor as they are extracted from almost the exact location on the cow’s rib cage. | The porterhouse steak tastes incredible, some people think the strip is more tasteful than the loin side, but the meat is delicious. Unfortunately, the porterhouse steak loses the flavor battle to the ribeye steak. The porterhouse steak could be tender like most cow parts. The strip side is tenderer. | It has a beefy and delicious taste due to the fat, tender texture, and marbling. The ribeye steak is very tender compared to the porterhouse steak, as the marbling increases tenderness and infuses a delicious aftertaste. |
Cost: The ribeye and porterhouse steaks’ costs differ, but the steaks have the same average price. Unfortunately, the prices may vary depending on the meat grade and other factors which affect the steaks. | Porterhouse steak has a bone embedded within the steak, and the prices may depend on the bone size, but on average, you would pay $12 per pound for the steak. | The boneless ribeye might cost about $15 lb. The price is not fixed depending on the meat grade and market fluctuations. However, the bone-in ribeye is cheaper by $1 to $2 than the boneless steak, and for larger ribeye steaks, you should expect to pay more. |
| Cooking Time | You can grill and broil the porterhouse steak due to the shape and the bone location. It might be hard to pan-fry the porterhouse steak due to the bone structure. You may give the steak five extra minutes when on each side due to the center bone; thus, the steak would take less cooking time. | You can cook the ribeye steak by grilling, pan-frying, and broiling, as these methods will make the steak taste better. You should be careful when grilling the ribeye steak due to the high-fat content, which may cause flare-ups. Thus, pan-frying would be the safest method to cook the meat, especially if you are afraid of grilling flare-ups. |
| Safety | If you follow specific dietary standards, you will go for the steak lower in fat. Thus, it would be better to stick with the porterhouse steak for a better dietary outcome as it has less fat. | Ribeye steaks contain more fat, which may be unfavorable to people with high cholesterol and lifestyle conditions. |
Size | The porterhouse steak is bigger than the ribeye steak, and it can serve two people. You can cut it along the T-shaped bone. | The ribeye steak is smaller, and the boneless steak is smaller than the porterhouse steak. |
What are the Similarities Between the Porterhouse and Ribeye Steak?
Cooking Temperature
The porterhouse and ribeye steak need medium temperature; the heat would be about 135 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore you should check your grill to ensure the steaks are cooking at the correct temperature.
Storage
You can store both steaks for about three to five days, but it may be better to cook them as soon as you buy them to enjoy their tenderness.
Which is Better, a Ribeye or a Porterhouse?
Choosing the better steak option between ribeye and porterhouse steaks may be challenging, depending on your preferences. The porterhouse steak is lean and does not have too much fat, ideal for people with lifestyle health conditions.
Moreover, it tastes good and costs less due to the bone embedded in the meat. The steak is large and would be appropriate for a romantic night where you can share it with your partner as it offers two steak servings in one single bone. Its presentation is second to none due to the bone that cuts the steak to two.
On the other hand, ribeye steak is beefy, and you would go for this meat if you enjoy your steak as buttery and flavorful. However, it may not be ideal for people following strict diets. You can choose boneless meat, easy to cook and enjoy grilling your meat. Thus, you can select your steaks based on the fat content, price, safety, and preferred cooking method.
You may opt for this steak when serving many people as you can cut it into small pieces and serve many people. You can combine the Ribeye meat pieces with your salad to incorporate protein portions into your diet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where to Buy Porterhouse Steak?
You can buy the porterhouse steak from the butcher as it has the IMPS/NAMP-1173 unique ID, which makes it easy for the butcher to know it. However, you can buy it from trusted online stores which source their meat from farms. For instance, you can get it from the Snake River farms and Crowd cows.
Where to Buy Ribeye Steak?
You can buy the ribeye steak from the local butcher store using the IMPS/NAMP-112A unique ID, allowing the butcher to identify it from other steaks. Still, you can buy the Ribeye steak from trusted online meat vendors such as Snake River Farms and Crowds cow, which source their meats from the farms and stick with FDA regulations.
How Do You Cut the Porterhouse Steak?
The porterhouse steak is a tow in one steak which can serve two people, and you can cut along the bone to remove the larger strip section. You should turn the steak around, cut the tenderloin section off the T-shaped bone, cut each piece into ¼ inch slices, and replace the inside bone for better presentation.
Is Porterhouse and T-Bone the Same?
Although the porterhouse and T-bone steaks look the same, they are different; the Porterhouse steak is cut from the short loin and a larger steak strip. On the other hand, the T-bone steak is cut from the front and is a smaller steak.
What is the Porterhouse Cut?
The porterhouse cut is derived from the steak; it is the meat piece you get from cutting the two steaks which make up the porterhouse steak. You should cut the porterhouse into equal parts following the T-shaped bone embedded in the steak.
Is Filet Mignon Part of Porterhouse?
The filet mignon is the leaner part of the porterhouse steak cut from the tenderloin. It is one of the expensive cuts from the porterhouse steak due to its texture and leaner muscles. This might be the best meat for people on a diet as it does not contain fats, leading to high cholesterol.
Conclusion
Choosing one steak over another is challenging, especially deciding between the powerhouses vs. ribeye steaks. These steaks are juicy and beefy, and you can easily find them in the butcher shop or through trusted online shops. However, the porterhouse steak is large and has a t-shaped bone embedded in the meat. Although it is a single steak, it can serve two people. This steak has few fats and would be appropriate for people on a dietary plan.
The ribeye steak can be boneless or have an embedded bone but smaller than the porterhouse steak. It is fatty flavorful, and has a beefy taste which appeals to many steak lovers. Good luck finding the steak which meets your taste.
