The Steak Cut You Won't Find On Texas Roadhouse's Menu

While many chain restaurants can serve you a decent filet mignon or New York strip, Texas Roadhouse brings a wider variety of beefy cuts to the rodeo. The beloved Western-themed eatery is a go-to when you want everyone in the family to get a cut that they love — unless someone is craving hanger steak, that is. Unfortunately, this tasty piece of beef has never been a part of the Texas Roadhouse lineup.

Cut from the belly of the animal, hanger steak has a flat, relatively thin shape, a tender texture, and plenty of fatty marbling that contributes to an ultra-beefy flavor. It sounds like a perfect entree to follow a basket of Texas Roadhouse rolls, perhaps with a loaded baked potato on the side, but you won't find it at locations in America nor around the globe. Texas Roadhouse restaurants do exist outside of the U.S., and some international menus have small differences from American ones, but the selection of steaks hardly varies from country to country.

Hanger steak is not only absent from your local Roadhouse, but many mainstream grocery stores as well. In fact, you would have the best luck finding it at a butcher shop or online. Multiple factors make hanger steak hard to find, and those same traits are likely why Texas Roadhouse isn't able to offer it as a consistent menu item.

Hanger steak is sometimes referred to as butcher's steak, since butchers often keep it for themselves. Why the stinginess? Each animal has only one hanger to give, so the delicious cut is always in short supply. Additionally, while hanger steaks can be fairly affordable, they didn't used to be that popular with consumers, so it's not like butchers lose a ton of profit by leaving them out of the cold case.

Over the years, hanger steak has gained wider recognition and availability, but its scarcity is likely the main reason it would be difficult to sell at Texas Roadhouse. With 730 locations around the world and over 600 in the U.S. alone, there are hardly enough hangers per animal to supply Roadhouses at a consistent rate. To put it in perspective, there are six prime ribs and six to eight T-bone steaks per head of cattle. While both cuts are undoubtedly prized, they are slightly more sustainable for a chain restaurant to offer.

Another possible factor is that hanger steak can overcook somewhat easily due to its thin, flat shape. The grill masters at Texas Roadhouse are hardly amateurs, but it's possible that the hanger is too tricky to manage on a busy line. Steaks with similar shapes, such as flank and skirt, are notably missing from the menu. If you're itching to try butcher's steak for yourself, whip up a grilled hanger steak recipe at home, and check out our ranking of every Texas Roadhouse steak to help you choose from the current offerings.