Buy bone-in steak

Bone-In: Meat and Steaks with Bones

Large tomahawk, classic T-bone, or hearty short ribs: cuts with bones are among the most popular cuts, especially for grilling and barbecuing. In English, they are usually referred to as “bone-in cuts” or “bone-in steaks.”

The bone is intentionally left attached to the meat during butchering. This results in distinctive cuts that differ significantly from boneless steaks, both in appearance and in preparation.

At Kreutzers, you’ll find not only bone-in beef steaks but also other bone-in cuts, depending on availability. This category is therefore ideal for anyone looking for Tomahawk and T-bone steaks, as well as ribs, ribeye, or larger cuts for the grill and oven.

What bone-in cuts are available?

Depending on the type of animal and the specific cut, a wide variety of bone-in cuts are produced.

Cut	Typical Characteristics	Preparation
Tomahawk Steak	Ribeye with a long rib bone	Grill, reverse sear
T-bone steak	Roast beef and filet on a T-bone	Grill, Skillet
Porterhouse steak	Like T-bone, but with a larger filet portion	Grill, reverse sear
Bone-in ribeye	Ribeye with rib bone	Grill, pan
Short ribs	Ribs with more connective tissue	Smoker, low and slow
Spare ribs	Rib cut from Pork	Grill, BBQ, Smoker
Rack	Back section with rib bones	Oven, Grill

This means that “meat on the bone” encompasses much more than just classic steaks.

If you’re looking exclusively for beef steaks without a focus on the bone, you’ll find a wider selection under “Steaks.”

Tomahawk Steak: Ribeye with a long bone

The Tomahawk steak is one of the most striking bone-in cuts. Essentially, it’s a ribeye cut from the upper rib section, with a long rib bone still attached to the meat.

It’s characterized by the ribeye’s marbling and its correspondingly high total weight. As a result, Tomahawk steaks are often grilled as a single large cut, then removed from the bone and sliced.

If you’re looking for the same cut of beef without the characteristic long bone, you can compare various entrecôte and ribeye steaks.

T-bone or Porterhouse?

T-bone and Porterhouse steaks combine two well-known cuts of beef on a T-shaped bone:

• on one side is roast beef or strip loin,
• and on the other side is the filet.

The main difference lies in the filet portion. In a Porterhouse, this portion is larger than in a T-bone.

T-bone	Porterhouse
Roast beef + filet	Roast beef + filet
smaller filet portion	Larger filet portion
Distinctive T-bone	Distinctive T-bone
Classic bone-in cut	Extra-large steak cut

That’s exactly why both steaks are so appealing: with a single cut, you get two different meat textures.

You can also explore these cuts separately under “Roast Beef” and “Beef Fillet.”

Ribeye Bone-In, Côte de Boeuf, and Other Terms

When it comes to bone-in steaks, you’ll encounter various German, French, and English terms.

“Bone-in” simply means that the bone remains attached to the meat during the cut. A bone-in ribeye is, accordingly, a ribeye with the rib bone still attached.

The term “Côte de Boeuf” is also used for a hearty, bone-in cut from the beef back. With the Tomahawk, the same basic concept is even more clearly evident due to the particularly long rib bone left attached.

However, not every “bone-in” steak is automatically dry-aged, and not every cut aged on the bone is a Tomahawk. Aging and cut are two distinct characteristics that you should check separately for each product.

Steak on the bone or boneless?

Whether you prefer a steak on the bone or a boneless cut is primarily a matter of preparation and personal preference.

Bone-in Steak

Bone-in cuts are often larger and thicker. With T-bone and Porterhouse steaks, the bone also connects two different sections of the steak. Tomahawk and bone-in ribeye are particularly well-suited as larger cuts for grilling or barbecuing.

Boneless steak

Boneless filet, ribeye, or rump steaks are usually easier to portion and can be prepared effortlessly in a pan or on the grill.

For this reason alone, the bone is not a seal of quality. More important factors include the cut, origin, breed of cattle, marbling, aging, and processing.

You’ll find a wider selection of different cuts under “Beef.”

Short Ribs and Ribs for Low & Slow

Not every bone-in cut is a steak.

Short ribs come from the rib section and contain significantly more connective tissue than classic short-cook cuts. Their strength therefore lies in long cooking times at moderate temperatures.

These cuts are particularly well-suited for smokers and BBQs using the “low and slow” method. During the long cooking time, the collagen-rich connective tissue breaks down, and the meat develops the desired tender texture.

Spareribs from Pork also belong to the world of bone-in cuts and are typically cooked for an extended period in a smoker, grill, or oven.

Grilling Bone-in Steaks Properly

Large bone-in steaks require more attention than a thin steak cooked in a pan. The thickness of the cut is the most important factor.

A tried-and-true method:

1. Pat the meat dry.
2. Prepare the grill for direct and indirect heat.
3. Sear the steak over high heat.
4. Then continue cooking in the indirect heat zone under controlled conditions.
5. Check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer.
6. Do not place the probe directly against the bone.
7. Let the meat rest briefly before slicing.

Alternatively, you can cook a thick bone-in steak using the reverse-searing method: first warm it over low heat, then sear it over high heat at the very end to create a crust.

Which method works best depends on the cut. A tomahawk or porterhouse requires a different approach than short ribs.

Dry-Aged Bone-In Cuts

Especially with larger cuts from the back, you’ll often encounter a combination of bone-in and dry-aged.

During dry aging, the meat matures in the open air under controlled conditions. In the process, it loses moisture and develops a more pronounced aged flavor.

However, the term “bone-in” alone says nothing about the aging process. A bone-in steak can be offered as dry-aged, wet-aged, or aged in some other way. That’s why you should always check the specific aging method in the product details.

Quality and TKF at Kreutzers

Kreutzers works with select breeders, producers, and manufacturers and inspects the products offered at multiple points along the value chain. You can find more information on this under “Quality Criteria.”

Larger bone-in cuts, in particular, do not always sell at the same rate. Individual products may therefore be offered as “frozen-fresh” (TKF). In this process, excess cuts are flash-frozen before reaching their best-by date so that more of the slaughtered animal can be utilized.

You can tell right away from the product label whether your tomahawk, T-bone, or other bone-in cut is being offered fresh or as “frozen-fresh.” You can find more about this concept under “Frozen-Fresh.”

For shelf life and storage, refer to the information on the respective product and its packaging.

Order Steak and Bone-in Meat Online

Whether it’s a Tomahawk steak, T-bone, Porterhouse, bone-in ribeye, short ribs, or another bone-in cut: At Kreutzers, you can order bone-in meat online and select the cut that’s right for your grill, BBQ, smoker, or oven.

When making your selection, pay particular attention to weight, cut, origin, marbling, and aging. Especially with large bone-in steaks, it’s also worth considering whether you’d like to prepare the cut for one person or to carve and share with others.