What is this? A Tomahawk has the same large cut of meat as a Porterhouse, without the filet, but the rib bone stays attached. This gives the steak a different flavor when properly cooked. Since most of the meat on a Tomahawk and Porterhouse are the same, the flavor and texture is also the same.
It can also be referred to as a “tomahawk chop,” “bone-in ribeye,” and “cote du boeuf.” A highly marbled, exquisitely tender and flavorful steak, the tomahawk is primarily taken from the longissimus (Latin for “longest one”) dorsi, or loin, of the steer.
The tomahawk is carved from the beef rib – the same primal section as any other ribeye. It's a very thick (at least 2 inches) steak cut from ribs 6-12 on the rib primal. This cut will include the longissimus dorsi (eye of ribeye), spinalis (the ribeye cap), and the complexus.
The porterhouse is a composite steak that's derived from the point where the tenderloin and top loin meet. If you remove the bone and cut out the two steaks that make up the porterhouse, you get a tenderloin steak and a top loin (or New York strip steak).
Tomahawk steak is not the same as a T-bone steak. A tomahawk steak is a cut from the beef rib primal which is essentially a ribeye with the bone left in. T-bone steak, on the other hand, is cut from the short loin of the cow and has a “T” shaped bone.
They're both fantastic steaks. If you prefer the taste of a bone-in ribeye choose a Tomahawk. But if you like that super tender filet go with a Porterhouse.
As for its flavor profile, porterhouse is considered one of the highest-quality cuts available, which means it requires little in the way of adornments to deliver a delicious meal.
What defines a porterhouse? “[In Australia] porterhouse bone-in is the sirloin on the bone,” says Aaron Smith, chef and owner of The Glenelg Public House on the Gold Coast. “A lot of this stuff is also regional like in America they call it cilantro, here we call it coriander.
The T-Bone and the Porterhouse: Two very different names for two very similar steaks. If you remember nothing else about these two cuts of steak, remember this: The porterhouse is a bigger version of the T-Bone. The T-Bone is one of the most easily-identifiable steaks.
Porterhouse steak is expensive because it requires a large portion of the cow to be dedicated to a single steak, thus you typically only have one porterhouse steak per animal.
A Tomahawk steak is a bone-in Ribeye, taken from the rib area. The butcher can sometimes take out the bone, leaving the boneless Ribeye cut. So Tomahawk has full bone vs OP Rib which will only have a short stump bone and Ribeye no bone.
Is it worth it? Well, that's up to you. If you are looking for a chunk of beef that looks and feels like you could go out and hunt more beef with it, the Tomahawk Steak is the cut for you. It's an impressive steak that's great for dropping jaws.
The large rib bone gives the steak its fantastic signature flavor and unique look. Tomahawk Steak is highly marbled, extremely tender and very flavorful meat. Its typically prepared very simply with a generous amount of salt and some pepper.
Terminology. In the United States cuisine, a bone-attached beef rib can be called "rib steak", "beef rib", "bone-in beef rib", "tomahawk steak", "bone-in rib steak", "ribeye steak" or "cowboy cut". In Australia and New Zealand, a bone-in rib steak is called a "ribeye".
“Tomahawk” was derived from the Algonquian word otomahuk (“to knock down”). Early versions were made by tying a stone head to a handle with animal sinew or by passing a double-pointed chipped stone through a hole bored in a handle.
The rib eye steak is one of the most beloved, flavourful, and tender cuts of beef both here in Australia and around the world. It is also known as the rib fillet or the scotch fillet steak, depending on where you go.
The Porterhouse is the cut for you if you like a good steak sandwich – all you need is a fresh roll, some fried onions, rocket and mustard or tomato sauce and you're ready to go.”
The scotch fillet and sirloin (aka porterhouse), coming from the region near the backbone, fit the bill here perfectly. Even more tender is the eye fillet (or tenderloin). The rump, from the inside of the leg, is more active, but while it might not be quite as tender, it is often well priced.
The winner of the debate between ribeye vs porterhouse boils down to preference. Some people prefer ribeye for its incredibly tender and flavorful meat. However, others enjoy porterhouse because it's bigger and contains two different cuts of steak to enjoy, a prime difference between porterhouse and ribeye.
What two steaks make up a porterhouse? A porterhouse steak includes strip steak on one side of the bone and a tenderloin filet on the other side of the bone. These are the same meats that a T-bone steak has, but the filet on a porterhouse is generally larger and thicker than that of a T-bone.
Bone Content / Appearance
This is an easy one: porterhouse steaks have a bone, and ribeyes don't. As mentioned above, if a ribeye has a bone (a rib bone, of course), the cut is properly labeled as a rib steak.
In terms of tenderness, the Porterhouse steak is tender, just like most cow parts, including the filet mignon. The strip side is usually more tender, but nothing like the premium side of the Porterhouse. The Ribeye is also a very tender cut. Marbling makes this steak very tender with a delicious aftertaste.
No, Porterhouse steaks are not usually tough. They are actually one of the more tender cuts of steak since it contains both the strip and tenderloin. It's important to cook them properly so as not to overcook them and make them tough.
The Porterhouse Steak. The Oxford English Dictionary listed the origin as Manhattan's Pearl Street around 1814 when the owner of a particular porter house, Martin Morrison, started serving rather large T-bones. A porter house was a bar and steak house that became popular back in the mid to late 1800's.