This Was John Wayne's Preferred Cut Of Steak (And He Loved Grilling It Himself)

John Wayne, perhaps more than any other actor, defines the idea of a cowboy. During his career, he acted in over 150 films, many of them Westerns like "The Searchers," "Stagecoach," and "True Grit." In fact, Wayne holds the record for the most starring roles of any actor. Given his position as America's silver screen cowboy, it should perhaps come as no surprise that Wayne was partial to tossing a thick slab of beef on the fire from time to time — or that his top choice was a cowboy steak.

Cowboy steaks are similar to ribeyes, with a few big differences. Really, you can think of them as somewhere between a tomahawk and a regular ribeye. The cut of meat is roughly the same for all three, with the bone being the thing that separates them. Ribeyes are typically boneless, whereas tomahawk steaks have a long extension of rib bone out from the meat. With a cowboy steak, that bone is present, but it is "Frenched," or cut much shorter. It is a less dramatic presentation than the tomahawk, but an equally delicious cut of steak.

Wayne wasn't one to stop by the old chuck wagon for a meal either, nor was he a tenderfoot at the grill. The Duke, as he was often called, had his own opinions about the best way to cook and serve a cowboy steak. According to "The Official John Wayne Way to Grill," Wayne felt that all these steaks needed before they hit the fire was a little olive oil and a few simple spices, including salt, pepper, thyme, garlic powder, lemon pepper, red pepper, and dried parsley.

It might be hard to out-cowboy the cowboy steak recipe of John Wayne himself, but we do have a few suggestions concerning how you might add even more flair to the steak itself or the meal surrounding it. For starters, while the spice mix that Wayne suggests does sound delicious, there isn't much that screams of the Old West more than a coffee-rubbed steak. Perhaps a middle ground between the two is the way to go, paying homage to Wayne's spices while also adding a sprinkle of coffee.

The next suggestion is one that can seriously elevate any steak: cowboy butter. It may not have been around during Wayne's grilling days, first appearing on the scene around 2010, but there is no denying that a pat of this flavor-packed compound butter is a rich way to finish a cowboy steak fresh off the grill. Cowboy butter has proliferated across the internet, the ingredients changing slightly along the way, but a fairly classic recipe involves mixing butter with Dijon mustard, garlic, chives, parsley, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, smoked paprika, and black pepper. With an ingredient bill like that, you know it's good.

The last suggestion to fit in with this cowboy-themed meal is a classic Southern side, a good old fashioned cowboy caviar recipe. When you're grilling big, fatty steaks like these cowboy cuts, and especially if you're topping them with compound butter, whatever you're serving on the side had better be light. And what is better than a cool serving of beans and chopped fresh vegetables with a little light dressing? Now that's a meal fine as cream gravy.