Cut · Short loin, on the bone
Kansas City strip
A Kansas City strip is, in its most common American use, a bone-in strip steak: the striploin cut with a section of the bone left on and no tenderloin attached. The boneless version of the same muscle is the New York strip. The name is a trade term, not an official specification, and restaurants and butchers use it in somewhat different ways.
At a glance
- Primal
- Short loin, bone-in
- Muscle
- Longissimus lumborum; the tenderloin is not attached
- Bone
- A section of the vertebra and rib bone; the tail may be left on
- Steak size
- Usually 2.5–4 cm / 1–1½ in thick, 350–500 g / 12–18 oz
- Best cooked
- Rare to medium-rare, 50–55 °C / 122–131 °F
A strip steak that keeps its bone
The Kansas City strip comes from the short loin, the section between the last rib and the hip. It is the striploin, the longissimus lumborum, cut into steaks with the bone left in. That bone is a section of the vertebra and the start of the rib, a flat or slightly curved piece along one side. There is no tenderloin on the other side of the bone; a steak that has both is a T-bone or a porterhouse.
The meat is the one-muscle, one-grain, single strip-of-fat steak described in the striploin article: leaner than a ribeye, with a firmer bite and a layer of external fat along its back. The bone is what the name adds.
What the name means and what it does not
In the most common American use, a Kansas City strip is a bone-in strip steak, and the boneless one is called a New York strip. The USDA's IMPS series does not use either city name: it lists a bone-in strip loin steak and a boneless one as separate items, 1179 and 1180 respectively. Both city names are trade terms.
The name is generally linked to the city's history as a major cattle market and meatpacking center, but there is no standard definition behind it, and the origin of the term has not been traced in a source we can cite. Usage differs. Some menus use "Kansas City strip" for a bone-in strip with the tail of the muscle left attached; some butchers call a bone-in strip simply a "bone-in strip"; and some restaurants apply "Kansas City" to a boneless steak, which is the New York strip under another name. The rule is that the label tells you less than the steak does.
Abroad the steak takes the local name of the strip, with the words for "on the bone": sirloin on the bone in Britain, striploin on the bone in Australia, faux-filet avec os in France and bife angosto in Argentina. The table above gives each, and the Kansas City strip vs New York strip comparison covers the difference in practice.
What the bone changes
The bone does not change the meat, which is the same strip cut across the same muscle. What it changes is the way the steak cooks. The bone sits along one edge and conducts heat poorly, so the meat next to it cooks a little more slowly than the rest. In a thick steak that edge stays slightly rarer; some cooks stand the steak on the bone for a minute to start it.
The bone also protects the steak from curling in the pan as the fat strip contracts, and gives the cook a handle. It adds weight, so a bone-in steak costs more per gram of edible meat than a boneless one of the same grade.
Cooking it
The same rules as for the striploin apply. A steak 2.5–4 cm / 1–1½ in thick is seared hard over high heat, on a grill or in a heavy pan, and pulled at 50–55 °C / 122–131 °F for rare to medium-rare. The fat strip wants rendering: score it, or stand the steak on that edge in the pan for a minute so that it browns.
A thicker steak, 4 cm / 1½ in or more, does better with the reverse sear: a slow start to about 45 °C / 113 °F in the center, then a hard sear. The thermometer goes into the thickest part, away from the bone. After a rest of 5 minutes the steak is cut off the bone and sliced across the grain.
Buying one
Look at the steak, not the label. A good bone-in strip has an even thickness from the fat edge to the far side, a fat strip of about 5–10 mm, and no more than a small amount of connective tissue. The center cut of the short loin is the most uniform; steaks from the hip end carry a second muscle and a seam of tissue between them.
Marbling is graded on the ribeye, not on the strip, so two steaks from the same carcass can show different fat. Ask whether the steak has the tail on, how thick it is and how much it weighs, since the name does not define any of these. For the full comparison of the muscle, and its other names around the world, see the striploin article.
Keep reading
- Cut · Short loin, two musclesT-boneStriploin and tenderloin on one bone — the porterhouse and the fiorentina.
- Cut · Rib, the marbled steakRibeyeEye, cap and fat seam from the rib — the marbled steak used to grade the carcass.
- Cut · Loin, the psoasTenderloinThe psoas: the most tender, leanest premium cut — filet mignon, chateaubriand, lomo.
- Buying guide · Bone-in vs bonelessKansas City strip vs New York stripSame striploin muscle, with the bone or without it: what the two names usually mean and how they vary.
Names around the world
10
The same muscle, named by language and by trade system.
| English | Kansas City strip · KC strip · bone-in strip steak |
| Español | Kansas City strip · strip steak con hueso · bife angosto (AR) |
| Tiếng Việt | Kansas City strip · strip steak có xương |
| Français | Faux-filet avec os |
Every cut's name, country by country →
Trade and national systems
| System | Name | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Kansas City strip · KC strip · bone-in strip steak · bone-in top loin (usage varies) | IMPS 1179 |
| United States (boneless) | New York strip · strip steak · top loin steak, boneless | IMPS 1180 |
| United Kingdom | Sirloin steak on the bone | AHDB |
| Australia / NZ | Striploin on the bone (bone-in short loin steak) | HAM |
| Argentina | Bife angosto (bone-in strip) | IPCVA |
| France | Faux-filet on the bone · contre-filet avec os | Larousse |
Frequently asked questions
What is a Kansas City strip?
In its most common American use, a bone-in strip steak cut from the short loin. The boneless version of the same muscle is the New York strip.
Kansas City strip vs New York strip: what is the difference?
Usually only the bone. Both are strip steaks from the same muscle, but some sellers use the Kansas City name for a boneless steak, so the label alone does not settle it.
Is a Kansas City strip the same as a T-bone?
No. A T-bone or porterhouse has the tenderloin on the other side of the bone. A Kansas City strip has the strip muscle only.
How do you cook a Kansas City strip?
Over high heat to 50–55 °C / 122–131 °F for rare to medium-rare, with the fat edge rendered; a thick cut does better with a reverse sear.
Another question about Kansas City strip? Ask the butcher: write to us. Answers that help others are published here, with sources. hello@steakpedia.com or use the form: Contact →
Sources
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- 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
- North American Meat Institute. The Meat Buyer's Guide, 8th ed. Washington, DC, 2014.
- 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
- McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, rev. ed. New York: Scribner, 2004.
- Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (UK). Beef Meat Purchasing Guide. Kenilworth, 2016. ahdb.org.uk
- AUS-MEAT Limited. Handbook of Australian Meat, 7th ed. (International Red Meat Manual). Brisbane, 2005. www.ausmeat.com.au
- Instituto de Promoción de la Carne Vacuna Argentina (IPCVA). Cortes de carne vacuna argentina — nomenclatura y usos. Buenos Aires. www.ipcva.com.ar
- Larousse Gastronomique, rev. ed. London: Hamlyn, 2009.