Texas Roadhouse's Country Fried Steak Uses An Unexpected Premium Cut

Texas Roadhouse has built its reputation on serving quality, well-priced steaks. If you order the country fried steak and expect a low-quality cut, you might be surprised to learn that the chain actually makes this dish with sirloin. Country fried steak is often made with something called cube steak. It's a tougher, inexpensive round primal cut that is mechanically tenderized to help give it a more tender texture, which makes it easier to eat and better for frying. Traditionally for this dish, the cube steak is coated in batter, then fried similarly to chicken, and served with gravy on top.

As a result of the less-desirable cut, the steak dish is often less expensive than other more tender, well-marbled cuts. But the Texas Roadhouse menu reveals that sirloin is used in the chain's version of the dish. While sirloin is slightly tougher and less marbled than something like a ribeye, it's still generally regarded as a decent cut, especially for the price. Texas Roadhouse refers to its version of the dish as Country Fried Sirloin, likely as a way to let diners know immediately that it's made with a good cut of steak.

Texas Roadhouse sells more sirloins than any other type of steak, and the country fried steak could have something to do with it. This dish comes with your choice of white or brown gravy. For a true country fried steak feel, go with the brown gravy, but if you want a dish more similar to fried chicken, choose the white gravy. The meal also comes with two sides, plus the option to "top your steak" with anything from blue cheese crumbles to three grilled shrimp.

Texas Roadhouse does its best to ensure quality with every order. According to a Reddit user in the subreddit r/restaurant who claims to be a former Texas Roadhouse kitchen manager, the kitchen manager is supposed to inspect the cuts of steak at the start of the shift to ensure they're good for serving. "If there is any [country fried steak] that didn't meet standard, they should have been pulled, they could have had the offending gristle trimmed and the remaining good part rendered for chili meat," the user said, adding that the meat is tenderized prior to being fried. While Texas Roadhouse isn't known for fine dining, it does strive to offer a good customer experience. The Reddit user added that if customers have any problems with their country fried steak order, they're encouraged to speak to a manager.