The Cut Of Beef Texas Roadhouse Uses For Its Country Fried Steak

If someone's heading to Texas Roadhouse for a meal, there's a good chance they're getting one of its grilled steaks, which are hand-cut at every restaurant by each location's own dedicated meat-cutter. But those are just some of the types of steak the chain serves, and if a patron has a hankering for a classic Southern version, they can turn to the Country Dinners menu section and order country fried steak. Texas Roadhouse lets you know what kind of steak it uses to make it right up front, calling it Country Fried Sirloin.

The boneless sirloin is first pounded to about ¼ inch thick. Then it's hand-battered in an egg-and-buttermilk dip and seasoned flour, fried until  crispy, and served topped with cream gravy. It comes with two of Texas Roadhouse's sides (we ranked them all), and there are optional steak toppings like sauteed mushrooms and onions or bleu cheese crumbles for an extra cost. Customers can request brown gravy instead of white cream gravy, or none at all.

Sirloin is a lean beef cut with a firmer texture, which can stand up to being pounded thin, because it comes from a rear part of the cow that's used more by the animal between the rib and hip areas. Because it doesn't have as much marbling as some other cuts, it doesn't taste as rich, but it packs lots of beefy flavor. There are different types of sirloin, with the more tender and flavorful top sirloin cuts generally used for steak, and the tougher bottom sirloin cuts for roasts, ground beef, and stews.

The terms country fried steak and chicken fried steak are often used interchangeably, and the two Southern dishes are very similar, but there are differences between them. Both are made with beef that's tenderized and thin, usually cube or round steak. Country fried steak is traditionally coated just with seasoned flour, fried, and served topped with brown gravy. Chicken fried steak, instead, is first dipped in egg and then seasoned flour — like its namesake fried chicken — and served with a peppery white gravy. Its origins go back to German immigrants, who we can thank for its creation.

By the traditional descriptions, Texas Roadhouse's Country Fried Sirloin seems to really be chicken fried steak, since it uses an egg dip and comes with cream gravy. The chain could be trying to avoid confusion about whether the meal is steak or chicken for people unfamiliar with chicken fried steak (at locations outside the South, of course). Or, since it also serves Country Fried Chicken prepared the same way, maybe it wanted to keep things uniform between the two dishes while avoiding calling the poultry version Chicken Fried Chicken.

Cream gravy like Texas Roadhouse's for its Country Fried Sirloin and Chicken is sometimes called country or white gravy. It's made with milk, flour, cream, black pepper, and meat drippings, with salty and flavorful bacon fat a common choice.