Already beefy with flavor, Grilled T-Bone steaks don’t need much attention before they hit those hot grill grates. The best way to grill a t-bone steak is keep it simple with seasonings and serve with something buttery, like this Cowboy Butter dipping sauce, a rich garlic butter sauce for steaks.
What You Can Expect From This Recipe
For me, grilled T-Bone steaks are the least intimidating cut of steak that one can grill. It’s a cut of steak that has moderate marbling to keep the meat moist and tender while cooking and it’s got a bone to add even more flavor.
When you’re looking for a special steak dinner option, grilled t-bones are a great choice. It’s a quick and flavorful steak dinner that’s ready in about 15 minutes.
And who doesn’t love the fact that you’re basically getting two steaks in one. The Filet Mignon sits on the smaller side of the bone, and the New York Strip is the larger piece of meat on the other side. Both very desirable cuts of meat.
T-Bones come from the area below the backbone which is home to some of the most tender and popular cuts of beef, such as the tenderloin, strip steak and Porterhouse. And each of these cuts are very well suited for grilling. Source: Cattlemen’s Beef Board.
So what you can expect from this grilled t-bone steak recipe is a quick easy beefy steak dinner, made luxurious with a butter dipping sauce.
Grilled t-bones are the perfect easy steak dinner.
Table of contents
How To Serve Grilled T-bones
So with that said, let’s talk about my favorite way to serve grilled t-bones. That’s with Cowboy Butter.
Cowboy butter is not a compound butter, but rather a garlic butter sauce for steak that is simply out-of-this-world loaded with flavor.
With an ingredient lineup that includes horseradish, Dijon and hot sauce, this butter sauce will win over your heart. You’ll want to slather it on everything. It makes for a perfect steak recipe.
Let’s take a look.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- T-Bone Steaks: Most of the T-Bones that you’ll find in a general grocery store will be about 1 to 1-½ inches thick and will weigh around 12 ounces. I personally find this size very easy to manage on the grill and much less fussy than a thick cut tenderloin.
- For The Cowboy Butter (Garlic butter sauce for steak):
- Lemon Juice: Fresh squeezed
- Prepared Jarred Horseradish
- Fresh Parsley: Chopped
- Dijon Mustard
- Unsalted Butter
- Seasonings: Paprika, Chile Powder (preferably New Mexico Chile Powder), garlic and Thyme
- Shallots
- Chives
- Your favorite brand of Hot Sauce.
Ingredient Subs and Swaps
- Steak: Substitute Porterhouse Steaks for T-Bones.
- Thyme: Use either dried or fresh thyme. Dried herbs are more potent so a good rule of thumb for substitutions is one tablespoon of fresh herbs to one teaspoon dried.
- Chives: You can use dried chives in place of fresh.
- Garlic: Substitute ½ teaspoon of garlic powder or garlic salt for fresh garlic.
Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: Make the Cowboy Butter: In a saucepan over low heat melt the butter. Once melted stir in lemon juice, garlic, shallot, mustard, horseradish, chile powder and paprika.
- Step 2: Whisk to combine. Stir in parsley, chives and thyme and hot sauce and season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat but don’t remove the pan from the stove. This will keep in warm while you grill the steaks.
How To Grill T-bone Steaks
Pro-Tip: Let the steaks sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling. If the meat is cold when it hits those hot grates, it may cause the muscle fibers to tense up, resulting is a less tender steak.
- Step 3: Grilled T-bones are easy. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel. Season the steaks with salt and fresh ground black pepper or Montreal Steak Seasoning is good here. Using either a charcoal grill, or gas grill. Heat a gas grill to 500 degrees. For a charcoal grill, heat charcoal briquettes until turn white and are glowing. Once those grates are nice and hot, turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Cook the steaks until golden brown on one side, about 4 – 5 minutes. Turn the steaks and continue to grill another 3 – 5 minutes for medium rare (135 degrees internal temperature) 5 – 7 minutes for medium (140 degrees) or about 8 minutes for medium well (150 degrees).
- Step 4: Transfer the grilled T-Bones to a wooden cutting board. Loosely tent the steaks with foil and let rest for five minutes before serving.
- Step 5: To serve place a small bowl of Cowboy Butter on each plate for dipping.
Storage
- This recipe for Cowboy butter makes enough for several steaks. If you’re grilling only two T-Bones, you’ll most certainly have left over butter. Store the butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to a week. To reheat, simply microwave in increments of ten seconds in the microwave until melted. Or reheat stovetop on low in a saucepan. Serve Cowboy Butter over grilled chicken, grilled salmon, drizzle it on baked or fried potatoes.
- If you have any left over steak, simply wrap it in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate. Tip: To use any left over steak , fine dice it and make a quick cheesy omelette the next morning.
Common Questions About Grilling A T-Bone Steak
Cook time completely depends on the thickness of the steak and the desired doneness. A thicker cut T-Bone may take about six minutes per side. Whereas a thinner steak will take 4 – 5 minutes. How do you know when a T-Bone steak is done? PRO TIP: Use a digital instant read meat thermometer to determine if the steaks are cooked to your desired doneness.
If you don’t have a grill, a grill pan, cast iron skillet or carbon steel pan (all oven proof) will work beautifully for pan-seared T-Bone steaks. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add two tablespoons oil or butter to the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the seasoned T-Bones. Sear two-three minutes, then turn and sear the other side for two-three minutes. Use a meat thermometer to measure desired doneness. Even though pan searing will work quite well, when cooking a t bone, steak grilled is the way to go.
A T-Bone steak is smaller than a porterhouse and delivers that same tenderness and beefy steak flavor we all crave. Both steaks are cut from the short loin. The Porterhouse steak is cut from the rear section of the loin, are larger than T-Bone steaks and have a larger tenderloin (filet mignon) section. T-Bones are cut closer to the front of the loin and have a smaller filet mignon.
Marinating is routinely used for tougher cuts of steak like flank steak or sirloin. T-Bone is a more tender cut, so simple seasonings like salt, pepper, smoked pepper or Montreal Steak Seasoning is all that’s needed. Don’t use a seasoning that will overpower the beefy flavor of the steak.
As with any cooked meat, tent the steak with foil and let it rest for 5 – 7 minutes. This allows the juices within the steak to redistribute. This prevents them from running all over your plate when you cut into it.
Tips For Success
- Don’t skip the step of patting the steaks dry before grilling. A dry steak will sear and brown quicker and easier than one that’s damp.
- Even though you can readily find t-bone steaks at your local grocery store, try taking the time to visit a reputable butcher shop. They’ll be able to help you pick out the best t-bone for grilling, and may even be able to cut the steak to the thickness you desire.
Sides for Grilled T-Bones
- Garlic Butter Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes or Scalloped Potatoes.
- A Simple Green Accompaniment Salad
- Flemings Steakhouse Mac and Cheese
- Green Vegetable Medley
And if you’re looking for even more dinner ideas, don’t miss my category for Beef Recipes. You’ll find lots of great recipes, including the most popular on my site for Beef Tagliata. And if you’re in the mood for a high-brow dinner, check out Tournedos Steak, dressed to the nines in a luscious red-wine mushroom sauce.
I hope you give this grilled t-bone steak recipe a try. Serving it with Cowboy butter seems like such a natural fit and our favorite way to serve t-bones.
If You Love A good Grilled Steak, Check These Out:
- The Best Steak Kebabs Marinade
- Grilled Sirloin Steak with Zesty Lemon Relish
- Grilled Flank Steak With Caramelized Fresh Sweet Corn
- Easy Grilled Flank Steak with Horseradish Sauce
- Grilled Ribeye Steak with Mustard Sauce
And if you’ve been curious about cooking with Bison, take a look at my Bison Steak Recipe. A guide to “how to”.
Grilled T-Bone Steaks with Cowboy Butter
Equipment
- Grill
- Grill pan, cast iron skillet, or carbon steel pan An oven safe fry pan.
Ingredients
- ½ Cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice fresh, about ½ lemon
- 1 Tablespoon garlic minced, about 2 small cloves
- 2 tablespoons shallot minced
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ Tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 Pinch red chile powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon Parsley fresh and chopped
- 2 Tablespoons chives fresh and chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 ½ teaspoon fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce your favorite brand
- kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make the Cowboy Butter: In a saucepan over low heat melt the butter. Once melted stir in lemon juice, garlic, shallot, mustard, horseradish, cayenne, and paprika.
- Stir in parsley, chives and thyme and hot sauce and season with salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Turn off heat, cover the pan, but don't remove the pan from the stove. This will keep in warm while you grill the steaks.
- Grill the steaks. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel. Season the steaks with salt and fresh ground pepper or Montreal Steak Seasoning is good here.
- Using either a charcoal grill, or gas grill. Heat a gas grill to 500 degrees. For a charcoal grill, heat charcoal briquettes until white. Once those grates are nice and hot, turn the heat down to 350 degrees.
- Cook the steaks until golden brown on one side, about 4 – 5 minutes. Turn the steaks and continue to grill another 3 – 5 minutes for medium rare (135 degrees) 5 – 7 minutes for medium (140 degrees) or about 8 minutes for medium well (150 degrees).
- Step 3: Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. Loosely tent the steaks with foil and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
- To serve place a small bowl of Cowboy Butter on each plate for dipping.
Notes
Nutrition
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Grilled T-Bone Steaks with Cowboy Butter … It’s What’s For Dinner
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
Your cowboy butter has stolen my tastebuds!!! Sooooo good!
Velva
Wow!
Dreaming of cowboy butter.
Nicely done.
It’s nice to learn something new! I did not know that the filet mignon and the New York strip with the two sides of a T-bone. The filet mignon is my favorite cut of beef, so I obviously should eat more T-bone. Your cowboy butter sounds sinful. It would be hard not smothering the steak with it, but then, you’d probably overpowering the wonderful flavor of the beef. A fabulous steak!
Great looking steak and they are perfect for Bev and I as she prefers the filet and I prefer the strip. I can imagine how good it would be with the butter sauce when I try it.
Gosh, the cowboy butter looks spectacular! And I love steak, and t-bones are one of my favorites — get some of both the strip and tenderloin that way. Nice recipe — thanks.