13 Things Steak Enthusiasts Should Know About Texas Roadhouse

Steak enthusiasts have no shortage of steakhouse chains to try in the U.S. You can splash out on a decadent dinner at a high-end chain or opt for an affordable steak dinner that won't break the bank. Texas Roadhouse falls in the latter category. You may know the casual steakhouse chain for its Lone Star vibes and wide variety of steaks at reasonable prices. But how much do you really know about Texas Roadhouse's steaks?

When Kent Taylor opened the first Texas Roadhouse in Clarksville, Indiana, in 1993, he had a vision of serving great steaks at great prices. Taylor took inspiration from the easy-going roadhouses in Texas where people could get a decent meal without pretentiousness. Although the chain had somewhat of a rocky start, it now has over 580 locations across the country. There are several things set the chain apart from its competitors, one of the main ones being the steak.

Whether you're a newbie to Texas Roadhouse or a long-time fan of the chain, there are a few things that might surprise you about the chain's red meat. From the grade of beef to the seasonings and cooking methods, these are some things you should know about Texas Roadhouse's steaks.

While some steakhouse chains aim to please all palates with a wide range of proteins, pasta, and vegetarian dishes, Texas Roadhouse focuses mainly on steaks. Red meat makes up 44% of the menu with a wide variety of cuts on offer. It's been that way since the beginning. Instead of jumping on new trends or overhauling the menu to try to get new people in the door, the chain has always focused on giving people what they want from a steakhouse — quality beef.

There are several Texas roadhouse steaks to choose from including the best-selling six-ounce sirloin, the bone-in ribeye, and the 23-ounce porterhouse T-bone. You can also opt for a slice of prime rib, filet medallions, or steak kabobs. If you're feeling extra ravenous you can get a Texas-size Combo that pairs your steak with another protein like chicken, shrimp, or ribs. The Country Dinner plates also include options like beef tips or a country-fried steak. Of course, there are also dishes for diners who want something other than steak like chicken, salmon, burgers, and sandwiches.

Texas Roadhouse serves approximately 300,000 meals a day across its hundreds of locations. That's a lot of beef to go through, which might lead you to believe that the chain buys as much beef as it can get from wherever it can get it. However, that's simply not the case. The company is actually committed to working with reputable suppliers that follow strict guidelines.

All of the beef served at Texas Roadhouse is sourced from just four suppliers in the United States and Canada, each of which practices humane and sustainable beef production. The company's 2023 Sustainability Report states, "Our beef suppliers adhere to North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and National Cattlemen's Beef Association's (NCBA) Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) animal handling standards."

Furthermore, Texas Roadhouse serves only fresh beef. To ensure the product is at its prime when it arrives at the restaurants, the company uses something called cold chain monitoring. This means that every delivery vehicle is equipped with a temperature monitor that the company can see and track in real-time. 

While responsible sourcing plays a role in why Texas Roadhouse steaks are so good, it's really the quality of the beef that matters most. The company only uses beef that has been evaluated and certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This means that the producers have paid the USDA to assess their beef and grade it based on characteristics like tenderness and marbling. There are three grades for retail beef: Prime, Choice, and Select.

The steaks at Texas Roadhouse are USDA Choice beef, meaning they have a decent amount of marbling or fat rippled throughout the lean muscle. Marbling is what gives steaks their juiciness, tenderness, and rich flavor. Prime steaks have the most marbling, but they're also more expensive than Choice or Select cuts. That's why you often find Prime beef offered at high-end steakhouses. Select-grade beef has very little marbling. Much of the steak sold at supermarkets is Select-grade beef. If you want flavorful steaks that won't break the bank, Choice-grade beef is the way to go. That's one of the reasons Texas Roadhouse manages to offer its steaks at competitive prices.

If you've ever wondered why restaurant steaks always taste better than the ones you cook at home, aging could be the answer. Aging breaks down some of the tough tissues in the meat, making the steak more tender and giving it a richer flavor. There are two ways you can age beef: wet or dry. Dry aging is when the beef is left in a temperature-controlled room in the open air. This gives the beef an intense beefy, nutty flavor. Wet-aging involves vacuum sealing the beef and letting it age in its own juices. Wet-aged beef tends to be milder than dry-aged beef.

On an episode of WBRC News, Texas Roadhouse employees revealed that the chain ages its steaks for no less than two weeks. The tenderloin is aged for 14 days, while the other cuts are aged anywhere from 22 to 25 days. The employees didn't state which aging method the chain uses, but there's a good chance its steaks are wet-aged. The main reason is that dry aging can be more expensive because you need a dedicated aging room. Considering that Texas Roadhouse aims to keep costs low, wet aging would make more sense. 

It's easy to see why prime rib is such a popular steakhouse order. This well-marbled cut of meat comes from the primal rib section of the cow, which is the same area the ribeye comes from. However, the difference between prime rib and ribeye comes down to preparation. Ribeye is typically cut into steaks that are grilled individually, whereas prime rib is often roasted in larger pieces and then sliced afterward. This helps to seal the juices in, making the steak tender and flavorful.

Texas Roadhouse is very particular about how it prepares its prime rib. When employees from the chain were featured on an episode of KPVI News, they demonstrated how the chain marinates the meat in a mixture of soy sauce, liquid smoke, minced garlic, oil, kosher salt, and sugar and lets it sit for 12 to 24 hours. In terms of cooking, another employee stated on an episode of KTTC News that the meat is cooked at about 450 F for about 15 minutes, then slow-roasted at 350 F for two to three hours to get a nice medium-rare cook.

It's pretty rare to find a mid-range steakhouse chain with in-house butchers who cut every steak by hand, but that's exactly what you get at Texas Roadhouse. Every restaurant you visit will have a highly trained butcher or meat cutter who cuts the steaks in a special cooler set to 34 F. The company is so serious about the art of meat cutting that it holds a National Meat Cutter Competition for its employees every year. The winner who cuts the most high-quality steaks takes home $25,000.

A Texas Roadhouse employee on Reddit revealed that the only steak that is not cut in-house at the chain is the porterhouse because the locations do not have band saws to cut the bone. They also stated that many of the steaks are pre-cut in the morning, so if you want a steak that is cut to order, you need to request a specific size that's not listed on the menu. For example, the largest sirloin on offer is 16 ounces. If you request an 18-ounce sirloin, you'll have to pay an additional cost, but your steak will be cut shortly after the order is put in.

When Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor spoke to FSR magazine in 2018, he stated that the diner experience was crucial to the chain's success. The chain is known for its friendly service and boisterous dining rooms where staff often break into line dances. It's also famous for its personal touches like in-house bakers to make the chain's famous rolls, butchers to cut the steak, and glass display cases where you can hand-pick your own Texas Roadhouse steak.

The butcher's cases serve several purposes. Besides the obvious function of drawing attention to the expertly cut raw steaks, the display area allows you to interact with the butchers and ask any questions you may have about the steaks. Not sure which temperature that ribeye should be cooked to or what the best cuts of steak are for your tastes? They can offer suggestions. This adds something special to the dining experience. In addition, you can pick the exact steak you want based on which cut catches your eye. Furthermore, the cases prove that the steaks are fresh and ready to hit the grill.

Most steakhouses have signature seasoning blends to give their steaks some extra oomph, and Texas Roadhouse is no exception. Unless you request otherwise, your steak will be liberally seasoned with a proprietary blend of spices and then cooked on the grill. Be warned though — the chain doesn't go light on the seasoning. As one employee said on Reddit, "The way we were taught is to 'coast to coast' each side."

Despite the heavy-handed seasoning, most diners don't seem to mind. In fact, there are multiple copycat recipes for the seasoning online. One of the reasons Texas Roadhouse's steak seasoning tastes so good to so many people is the great balance of salt, sugar, and spices like paprika, turmeric, MSG, and dehydrated onion and garlic. The salt and MSG enhance the flavor of the meat, the sugar caramelizes on the surface of the steak, and the other spices add earthy flavors. If you want to replicate the Texas Roadhouse flavor at home without playing around with spice proportions, you can buy bottles of the seasoning on Amazon.

Like any steakhouse worth its salt, Texas Roadhouse has a tried-and-true method for getting the perfect sear and temperature on your steak. Once you've chosen your cut (either from the display case or the menu), the cooks will season your steak and follow very specific steps to make sure it has a nice crust on the outside and an enticing diamond grill pattern. It should also be cooked just the way you requested it, whether that's blue-rare or well-done.

A former Texas Roadhouse grill cook outlined exactly how the chain cooks its steaks on Quora. They said that regardless of the cut or size of the steak, it's seared for one minute per side on a flat top grill that can reach temperatures of over 500 F. Then the steak is moved to a gas grill and cooked to the requested temperature. As the former cook said, "If your steak at Texas Roadhouse doesn't come out with perfect diamonds seared on it by the grill, either your cook screwed up or they don't know (or care) what they're doing. We took a whole lot of pride in making those grill marks line up perfectly where I worked."

Nearly every steakhouse chain offers sides to go with your steak. More often than not, those sides will cost you extra on top of what you're already paying for the steak. Not at Texas Roadhouse. Every steak you order from the chain comes with your choice of two sides. There are plenty of options to choose from including mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed vegetables, Caesar salad, and Texas red chili. Plus, every table gets a basket of Texas Roadhouse's famous free bread rolls with honey cinnamon butter.

Texas Roadhouse prides itself on making most of its sides in-house, from scratch. That means you won't be getting any fast food-style mashed potatoes made from potato flakes or sad salads that come out of a bag. That being said, an employee on Reddit stated that there are a few items brought in from outside. For example, the ranch dressing is bought because the ingredients can be hard to find in some places. In addition, the corn is frozen and the green beans come in a can. For what it's worth, the chain does add its own seasonings to the corn and beans.

Steak purists may balk at the idea of adding anything to a good steak other than salt and pepper. But for those who want some extra flavor beyond the savory seasoning that Texas Roadhouse adds to its meat, there are plenty of ways to finesse your steak. The chain makes its own steak sauces that you can request on the side. The Classic Steak Sauce features bold flavors of tomato and tamarind, while the Roadhouse Gold Sauce is smoky with hints of apple butter and raisin.

If steak sauce isn't your style, but you want to add an extra kick to your meat, consider the Roadkill Steak. It features a chop steak topped with melted Jack cheese, sauteed onions, and sauteed mushrooms. You can also request any other steak smothered with the same toppings or gravy. And in keeping with Texas Roadhouse's philosophy of giving guests what they want, you can customize the toppings by requesting to have some of the ingredients left out.

One of the things that people have always loved about Texas Roadhouse is its affordable prices. But like all good things, those stellar prices may be coming to an end. In the beginning of 2024, Texas Roadhouse raised its prices for the third time in a year. The first price hike happened in April 2023, with an increase of 2.2% across the board, followed by another hike of 2.7% in October of 2023. March 2024 marked another increase of 2.2% on all menu items.

There are several reasons Texas Roadhouse decided to up its menu prices. During an earnings call, CFO Chris Monroe told investors the increase was meant to offset inflation and the decrease in cattle supply. Other considerations included labor wage increases and competitor pricing. While higher food costs are never a good thing for consumers, it's fair to say Texas Roadhouse is still less pricey than many other chains. For example, the 6-ounce sirloin with two sides will set you back $13.99 (depending on location). It's not the same value as the good old days, but it's also not bad for a steak dinner out. And hey — at least the bread rolls are still free.

If inflation and price increases have you feeling the pinch, there are some Texas Roadhouse hacks you should know about that will get you more food for less money. The first is the filet medallions, which are an often overlooked menu item. The dish includes three medallions that total nine ounces of beef. It comes with rice and two sides and rings in at about $23.50 (depending on location). That's cheaper and heftier than the Dallas filet, which costs about $27 for eight ounces of beef and only comes with two sides.

If you're dining out with a group, the family packs can also save you money. There are several packs to choose from that include mains like ribs, pulled pork, sirloin steak, and barbecue chicken. They also come with your choice of sides and either the chain's freshly baked rolls or Texas toast. A bargain-hunting couple on TikTok reported snagging a Texas Roadhouse family meal for just $29.99. However, it should be noted that prices vary considerably among locations. Many commenters on the TikTok post cited prices of $34.99 and upwards at their locations.