Porterhouse Steak

What is a porterhouse steak? The porterhouse is an interesting cut that includes a strip steak on one side of the bone and the tenderloin fillet on the other side. Yes, those are the same two meats that you find in a T-bone steak, but a porterhouse fillet is larger and thicker than a T-bone.

It’s a popular cut to order at a steakhouse, but you can easily learn how to cook porterhouse steak at home, either in a cast-iron skillet or on the grill. Here, we’ll focus on pan-cooking the steak and finishing it in the oven, just as would be done at many fine restaurants. But when you home-cook this steak, you save cash and gain some well-deserved culinary pride.

Porterhouse Steak Ingredients

• Porterhouse steak: Make sure you have a good, big cut of steak, as in a 2-pound steak. You’ll cut it into a 2-inch thickness. A steak this beefy, so to speak, takes a while to cook, so plan ahead.
• Salt and pepper: Use a high-quality salt and a good coarse pepper. These are the only seasonings a great steak needs, though the butter adds plenty of flavor as well.
• Olive oil: Olive oils vary in their smoke point, but it’s safe to assume it will begin to burn at around 370°F. Be careful not to burn the oil, as it will ruin the taste of the steak.
• Butter: Yes, 3 tablespoons of butter is a lot, but this is a big steak and you want a big flavor profile, so be generous with the butter.

Directions

Step 1: Season the steak

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Preheat the oven to 300°. Pat the steak dry with paper towels, and season it with the salt and pepper. Then let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Sear the steak

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet over high heat. Then place the steak in the skillet and cook it until a golden brown crust forms, three to four minutes on each side. Roll the steak to cook the sides as well.

Step 3: Add butter, and pop it in the oven

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Top the seared steak with the butter, then place the skillet in the oven. Continue cooking the steak to your desired degree of doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°; medium, 140°; medium-well, 145°), 20 to 25 minutes, flipping it once. When the steak is done, remove it from the pan and let it stand for five minutes.

Step 4: Cut the steak

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Cut the strip steak and tenderloin off the bone, then cut these pieces into thick 2-inch slices and place them back around the bone to serve.

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Porterhouse Steak Variations

• Grill it instead: As noted, you can cook this steak on the grill. Prep it as stated above, then cook it on a hot grill, adding butter to the top side of the steak in batches.
• Add garlic and rosemary: For some added flavor, toss whole peeled garlic cloves and fresh rosemary sprigs into the skillet as you prepare this porterhouse steak recipe, discarding them before you serve it.
• Leave it on the bone: If you prefer an on-bone presentation, just skip the last step of the recipe and serve this mighty steak whole.

How to Store Porterhouse Steak

This steak will keep well in the fridge for three to four days, secured in airtight packaging. You can reheat it in a pan with more butter, or in the oven with a bit of oil added.

Can you freeze cooked steak?

If you’ll be using it in a stew or chopping it up for tacos or fajitas, then yes, go ahead and freeze leftovers for up to three months, but don’t plan to re-serve frozen cooked steak as steak, as it were.

Porterhouse Steak Tips

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

What should I serve with porterhouse steak?

A steak this big and tasty is asking to be served with the classics, so go with potatoes and hearty green vegetables.

Do I need to tenderize this steak?

Provided you salt your porterhouse well, you don’t need to tenderize the steak using other steps. Just don’t skip the rest period after you season it.

Is porterhouse steak an expensive cut of meat?

Porterhouse is somewhere in the middle range in terms of price. These days, an average price range for a porterhouse steak will be anywhere from $18 to $25 per pound.