The One Texas Roadhouse Steak Cut That Might Be Frozen

Texas Roadhouse is popular for a reason. Customers love its pillowy bread, signature steak sauce, and the special seasoning that makes the Texas Roadhouse steaks taste so good. There's also something special about walking into the restaurant and seeing freshly cut steaks on display. According to the Texas Roadhouse website, the chain makes all its food from scratch: its rolls are baked fresh every five minutes, and its steaks are cut daily by an in-house butcher.

However, according to several Reddit posts, the Porterhouse T-bone steak is allegedly shipped to restaurants pre-cut and frozen. One Texas Roadhouse employee shared on Reddit, "My managers have always told me not to suggest the Porterhouse T-Bone steak," adding that it's generally considered the chain's "not so good steak." Another Reddit post from a former employee alleges that the Porterhouse T-bone is the only steak not cut in-house.

A Porterhouse T-bone steak is cut from a three-bone rib section of the sirloin, and a butcher must slice through substantial bone to prepare it. According to Texas Roadhouse employees who've posted on Reddit, the Porterhouse T-bone steak arrives frozen because the restaurants lack the bone saw necessary to cut it on-site. While this is just a rumor — there's no definitive proof or confirmation from Texas Roadhouse — it raises some questions.

If you've ever been to a Texas Roadhouse, you've seen its meat-cutting area, which includes a display of fresh steaks that resemble what you'd find in a butcher shop. However, the workspace is relatively small, which could explain why Texas Roadhouse might choose to cut porterhouse steaks elsewhere. That, and seeing someone use a bone saw isn't exactly appetizing.

There might be another reason the Porterhouse T-bone steaks allegedly arrive frozen. While it may seem counterintuitive, cooking steaks from frozen isn't the culinary misstep you might think — it could even yield better results than thawing the meat first. After all, Alton Brown's favorite steak starts frozen, and different cuts of steak benefit from being cooked in specific ways. When done correctly, cooking a steak this way creates an irresistibly crispy crust and helps prevent the steak from losing moisture or becoming overcooked.

At 23 ounces, the Porterhouse T-bone is the chain's largest and most expensive cut of steak. It's also prone to overcooking, which might explain why it could be cooked from frozen. Either way, if the rumors are true, there's likely a strategic reason why Texas Roadhouse uses frozen porterhouse steaks.