Bone-in vs. Boneless

Bone-In or Boneless steak, it is a century-old debate. Do you like the bone because of the added flavor or prefer the ease of eating a boneless steak?

 In this article, we discuss the different steak options in beef. The longest most sought-after muscle in beef is the longissimus dorsi. It runs from the rib to the sirloin offering some of the best steaks around. Beef have 13 ribs. 12 of which make it a part of the infamous full prime rib roast. Rib roasts can either be bone-in or a boneless ribeye roll. From there it can be cut into about 16 steaks per ½ of animal at ¾ inch thickness. The rib steak is the bone-in option while the ribeye is boneless. 

The loin section is the next area of the cattle that has the longissimus dorsi muscle. This is where your t-bones and porterhouses come in. The T-Bone is the bone-in version with the longissimus dorsi muscle in the loin. Likewise, a strip steak would be a T-bone without the bone and just the LD muscle. In addition to the LD, the loin also contains the psoas major muscle. The psoas major is commonly referred to as the tenderloin or filet mignon. It is known as the “tenderloin” because it is the most tender muscle of the animal. It sits on the interior side of the vertebrae and is adjacent to the LD. The combination of these two muscles gives you the bone-in porterhouse option. Personally, I love the ability to eat the best of both muscles in one steak. However if high class and boneless is more your style the Filet Mignon would be for you. Half of a beef would likely yield 10 T-bones and 6 Porterhouses. 

Finally, both muscles end in the sirloin. The sirloin offers both muscles with a large bone in between them. There will be about 6 bone-in sirloins in a half of beef. Once that bone gets so big that a package is more bone than meat we take out the bone and make it a boneless sirloin. Each half will have about 2 boneless sirloins. 

Now that you know more about the different bone-in vs boneless options be sure to fill out the this or that image at the bottom of the blog, post it on Facebook, and tag us for a chance at a prize! Also be sure to come in and find out for yourself which you like better, bone-in or boneless.