Porterhouse steak substitutes

Literally the same cut from a little further forward on the loin, so the strip side is identical and the only real difference is that the tenderloin section is smaller, sometimes barely a sliver.

Best for

grilling, cast-iron searing, bistecca alla fiorentina, reverse sear, sharing

Cook exactly as you would a porterhouse. In the United States the difference is a labeling rule: the tenderloin must measure at least 1.25 inches across at its widest point for the steak to be sold as a porterhouse, and at least half an inch for a T-bone. A big T-bone can be nearly indistinguishable from a small porterhouse. Since T-bones usually cost less per pound, they are often the better buy.

The most faithful substitute available, because you are serving the same two muscles that a porterhouse contains, just no longer joined by the bone.

Best for

steak for two, special occasion dinner, pan-searing, grilling

Cooking them separately is actually easier than cooking a porterhouse, since the filet no longer needs to be shielded from the hottest part of the grill. Pull the filet at 125F and the strip at 130F for medium-rare. The one thing you lose is the browned meat right against the bone, which many people consider the best bite on the whole steak.

The strip half of a porterhouse on its own, so you keep the firm, beefy chew and the fat cap but lose the soft, mild tenderloin section, and the steak reads as one note instead of two.

Best for

grilling, pan-searing, steak dinner for one, steak sandwiches

Boneless steaks cook noticeably faster and more evenly than bone-in ones, so drop about two minutes per side compared with a porterhouse of the same thickness and start probing early. Because there is no bone insulating one side, you also get better crust coverage. Aim for a 1.25 to 1.5 inch thickness so it does not overcook while browning.

Fattier and softer eating with a distinctly richer, more buttery flavor, but with none of the lean-versus-tender contrast, so you trade variety for indulgence.

Best for

grilling, reverse sear, special occasion steak, steak for a crowd

The bone-in versions bring back the bone flavor a porterhouse offers and look just as dramatic on the plate. Because ribeye carries far more intramuscular fat, expect flare-ups on a grill and keep a cooler zone ready. Ribeye also stays palatable at medium, whereas the tenderloin side of a porterhouse turns dry and cottony past medium-rare.

The budget option and the biggest step down: much leaner, chewier and cleaner tasting, so the meal becomes a good weeknight steak rather than a steakhouse centerpiece.

Best for

grilling on a budget, steak salad, steak bowls, feeding several people cheaply

Salt it at least 40 minutes ahead, cook to no more than 130F, rest it, then slice it thinly across the grain and fan it out. Finishing with a compound butter replaces some of the fat a porterhouse supplies on its own. Do not serve it as an uncut slab and expect porterhouse eating.

A different way to solve the same problem, which is feeding two to four people one impressive piece of beef; both cuts have a fat cap that bastes the meat and both slice into strips with a genuine beefy chew.

Best for

grilling for a group, reverse sear, steak sandwiches, budget steak dinner

Season heavily, sear the fat cap, then finish over indirect heat to 130F and rest 10 minutes before slicing across the grain. Neither cut is as tender as a porterhouse's filet side and neither has anything like a tenderloin's softness, but per pound they cost a fraction as much and they carve dramatically at the table.