Cut · Rib, on the bone

Cowboy steak

A cowboy steak is a thick, bone-in ribeye, cut one rib wide with a short section of the rib bone left on and scraped clean. It is the same meat as a boneless ribeye; the tomahawk is the same steak with a longer bone. The name is a trade term, not an official specification, and sellers draw the line between cowboy and tomahawk in different places.

Also known as: cowboy ribeye · bone-in ribeye · ribeye con hueso · bife ancho con hueso (AR) · ribeye có xươngLast reviewed Nov. 2, 20268 sources

A ribeye that stays on the bone

The cowboy steak is cut from the rib primal, ribs six to twelve, and consists of the same three muscles as any ribeye: the large longissimus eye, the spinalis cap along its upper edge, and the fat seam between them. What sets it apart is that it is cut one rib thick, usually well over 3 cm / 1¼ in, with a section of the rib bone left attached like a handle.

The bone is typically frenched: the meat, fat and membrane between the ribs are scraped away, leaving a clean stub. Frenching is partly for appearance and partly practical, since the exposed bone does not char as easily as the membrane around it. The steak is normally sold for one person or shared by two.

Cowboy, tomahawk, côte de bœuf: where the names part

In the United States, cowboy steak and tomahawk are both bone-in ribeyes, and the usual distinction is the bone: a tomahawk keeps 12–20 cm / 5–8 in of frenched rib, a cowboy steak a shorter stub of roughly 5–10 cm / 2–4 in. Some butchers also cut the cowboy slightly thinner and lighter than a tomahawk, which commonly weighs 1–1.5 kg / 2.2–3.3 lb.

That is a convention, not a rule. Neither name is an item in the USDA's IMPS series, which lists the cut as item 1103, the bone-in rib steak; both are trade names. Some vendors and menus use cowboy for any bone-in ribeye, some use it for a tomahawk, and some apply it to a steak with the bone left unfrenched. The Steakpedia article on the tomahawk follows the short-bone reading used here, and the wider ribeye article groups the two together.

Outside the United States the same steak travels under other names: côte de bœuf in France, chuletón in Spain and bone-in bife ancho in Argentina, usually cut thicker and larger and often shared by two or three. The detail is in the table above and in the ribeye article.

What the bone does and does not do

The bone does not add flavor to the meat in any measurable way; the meat is the ribeye. What the bone changes is cooking behavior. Bone conducts heat poorly, so the meat next to it cooks a little more slowly than the outer edge, and a thick cut leaves a wide gap between a seared crust and the core.

It also changes the price. The bone is sold with the meat by weight, so a cowboy steak costs more per gram of edible meat than a boneless ribeye of the same grade. With a short bone the gap is smaller than with a tomahawk, but it exists.

Cooking it: slow first, sear last

At 4 cm / 1½ in or more, a cowboy steak is cooked as a thick cut. The usual method is the reverse sear: a slow start in a low oven, over indirect coals or in a water bath until the core reaches about 45–48 °C / 113–118 °F, then a hard sear over high heat. It is pulled at 52–55 °C / 126–131 °F for medium-rare, rested 5–10 minutes and carved off the bone into slices.

A thin version, under 3 cm / 1¼ in, can be seared like an ordinary steak, but a thick ribeye cooked only over high heat browns well outside while the center lags. Put the thermometer in the thickest part, away from the bone. The rib's generous fat wants enough heat to soften; see steak temperatures for the full scale.

Buying one

Look at the eye and the cap, not the bone: marbling, a well-formed cap and an even thickness across the steak. A clean, pale bone shows careful frenching, and a thicker cut is the more forgiving to cook. The grade and the aging of the rib set decide the eating quality; the bone length does not.

Because the name is loose, ask the seller what they mean by it, and for the thickness and weight. A butcher's "cowboy" may be a steak of 600 g / 21 oz or one of well over 1 kg / 2.2 lb. For a boneless ribeye of the same cut see the ribeye, and for the same steak with the long bone, the tomahawk. The comparison with the boneless steak is covered in cowboy steak vs ribeye.

Names around the world

9

The same muscle, named by language and by trade system.

English	Cowboy steak · cowboy ribeye · bone-in ribeye
Español	Cowboy steak · ribeye con hueso · bife ancho con hueso (AR)
Tiếng Việt	Cowboy steak · ribeye có xương

Every cut's name, country by country →

Trade and national systems

System	Name	Reference
United States	Cowboy steak · cowboy ribeye · bone-in ribeye with a short frenched bone (trade name, not an IMPS name)	IMPS 1103
United Kingdom	Bone-in rib-eye · rib steak · sometimes sold as cowboy steak	AHDB
Australia / NZ	Rib eye on the bone · bone-in cube roll steak (cowboy steak on some menus)	HAM
Argentina	Bife ancho con hueso · ojo de bife con hueso	IPCVA
France	Côte de bœuf (bone-in, usually thicker and larger) · entrecôte with bone	Larousse
Spain	Chuletón (bone-in, aged, usually thicker)

Frequently asked questions

Sources

8

1. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications: Fresh Beef Series 100. Washington, DC, 2014. www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/IMPS_100_Fresh_Beef%5B1%5D.pdf
2. Huerta-Leidenz, Nelson. International Nomenclature Guide of Beef Cuts for the U.S.A. and Other Countries Targeted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Denver: U.S. Meat Export Federation, 2013. www.usa-beef.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1064.GUIDE_beef-cuts_ingl%C3%A9s_09oct13.pdf
3. North American Meat Institute. The Meat Buyer's Guide, 8th ed. Washington, DC, 2014.
4. McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, rev. ed. New York: Scribner, 2004.
5. Instituto de Promoción de la Carne Vacuna Argentina (IPCVA). Cortes de carne vacuna argentina — nomenclatura y usos. Buenos Aires. www.ipcva.com.ar
6. Larousse Gastronomique, rev. ed. London: Hamlyn, 2009.
7. AUS-MEAT Limited. Handbook of Australian Meat, 7th ed. (International Red Meat Manual). Brisbane, 2005. www.ausmeat.com.au
8. Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (UK). Beef Meat Purchasing Guide. Kenilworth, 2016. ahdb.org.uk