T-Bone Steak
Beef in the Midwest · down 22% this week
Per a typical 170g serving, scaled from the per-100g figures in USDA FoodData Central (Beef, short loin, t-bone steak, bone-in, separable lean only, trimmed to 1/8" fat, choice, raw).
- 1 SouthwestCheapest $6.79/lb
- 2 Southeast $8.52/lb
- 3 Southcentral $9.01/lb
- 4 Midwest $9.21/lb
- 5 Northeast $10.86/lb
- 6 Northwest $12.72/lb
Buying t-bone steak in the Southwest saves about 47% versus the Northwest this week.
- How to pick a good one
- A T-bone is two steaks joined by a bone: strip on the large side, tenderloin on the small. Check that the tenderloin section is a decent size, since a sliver of it means you are paying T-bone prices for what is nearly a strip. A porterhouse is simply a T-bone with a larger tenderloin.
- What a good price looks like
- Priced at $10 to $18 a pound, but that price includes the bone — on meat weight alone it is effectively 20% dearer than the label. Under $11 is a good price. You are paying a premium for two cuts in one piece; buying a strip steak separately is usually cheaper per pound of meat.
- What you actually get
- The bone is 15 to 20% of the purchased weight, so a 16 oz T-bone gives about 13 oz of raw meat and roughly 10 oz cooked. That still serves one to two. A porterhouse is the same cut with a tenderloin section over an inch and a half wide.
- How to store it
- Three to five days refrigerated, and worth drying uncovered in the fridge overnight if you plan to sear it.
- In the kitchen
- Bring it to room temperature and dry it well. If you want to cook the two muscles separately, cut them both off the bone first with a boning knife following the contour — you lose the presentation but gain control. Otherwise leave it whole and rely on positioning. Trim the outer fat rind, which will not render in the time available.
- Getting the most out of it
- The two muscles cook at different rates, which is the whole challenge — the tenderloin overcooks while the strip is still coming up. Position the tenderloin side away from the hottest part of the grill, and rest the steak well before carving both sides off the bone.
Price from the USDA weekly retail meat report (conventional, per lb). Nutrition per typical serving, computed from USDA FoodData Central.
T-Bone Steak — FAQ
What's the price of t-bone steak this week?
As of the week of September 4, 2026, the price of t-bone steak in the Midwest is $9.21/lb, down 22% from last week. Prices come from the USDA's weekly retail meat report.
Which region has the cheapest t-bone steak right now?
The Southwest has the cheapest t-bone steak this week at $6.79/lb — about 47% less than the Northwest, where it runs $12.72/lb.
How much protein is in t-bone steak?
A typical 170g serving of t-bone steak has about 37.6g protein and 272 calories (12.4g fat), per USDA FoodData Central.
What can I cook with t-bone steak?
SeasonSort indexes 1 recipe using t-bone steak, each priced per serving from this week's data — starting from about $4.21 a serving. The cheapest are listed on this page, with a link to the full filtered list.