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I don't quite understand the idea of the tomahawk steak. Just wow factor?

Isai Rocha

We hate to be the ones to pull back the curtain on this steak trend, as tomahawks have brought so much joy to thousands on Instagram while they gleefully swing around their steaks like Danny Trejo in Machete. But really, someone has to address this as a scam.

See, it's not unusual to drop a cool $100+ on a tomahawk, and we want you to know that you're paying a $50 to $80 upcharge for nothing more than a cool photo op, as tomahawk steaks are just over-glorified ribeye steaks.

You're not getting much more meat or extra flavor, you're literally paying for an extra foot of bone that you can't even eat.

"Essentially, you're just buying the bone," Chef Michael Puglisi of Electric City Butchers said about the tomahawk. "It's more about aesthetics than anything."

Puglisi and his partner Steven Sabicer run a whole animal butcher shop in Santa Ana, California, and they were a little reluctant in letting the cat out of the bag. But as skilled butchers who work closely with beef on a daily basis, they kept it real with us.

They definitely don't mind selling the tomahawk at their butcher shop, as the meat that's cut off the bone just gets sold as pieces of short rib, so there's no loss on their part.

"We will always honor a guest's wish to get it cut like a tomahawk," Sabicer said with a chuckle.

If you're not convinced, just take a look below, as I've carefully illustrated the subtle difference between a tomahawk steak and a bone-in ribeye steak:



The steak on the left is a glorious tomahawk, ready to be grilled up and used in battle. To the right is your usual bone-in ribeye — just as delicious, just not as flashy. They both look pretty similar, though, don't they?

Now, let's get some price comparisons rolling.

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse typically sells its bone-in ribeye for about $54, easily feeding at least two patrons. If you go for their Tomahawk ribeye, though, you're looking to spend $119 for that bad boy.

Lock and Key in Downey, California does it right, as the ounce gap between their bone-in ribeye and monstrous tomahawk at least feels like you're getting your money's worth. Their 18-ounce ribeye goes for about $55, while their 40-ounce tomahawk more than doubles the ounces for $99. There is a good chance that about 10 to 15 of those ounces are bone, though.

Ok, so we won't completely bash the tomahawk. You are getting a little bit more meat on the tomahawk, but you are absolutely not getting double the meat. If you were, it would be worth the doubled mark-up price, so as it stands, you're paying for that bone, baby.

And then there's the fact that I'm too cheap to pay 20 a lb at a real butcher shop.

I like 1 1/2” to 2”

I'll take, "What is Bone-in ribeye" for $200 Alex.

No better cut of meat IMHO.

I'll take, "What is Bone-in ribeye" for $200 Alex.

No better cut of meat IMHO.

my wife loves a bone in rib-eye, I cook her a good bone-in-ribeye, I get a bone in too!
.

look here you knuckleheads,

A Ribeye is the bestest ever.......

A Porterhouse is good friend worthy, (If I'm buying).

Sirloin is for people who eat with a napkin on their lap,

Filet, you need to be sporting a man-bun, with 2 napkins on your lap, A1 steak sauce is even acceptable while trying to infuse some additional excitement here.

This years goal is to try some of that Wagu,

expect a go-fund me account here shortly.

Last good one I had was at the Tamarack in Lakeside, MT. It was good, a 32oz cut with about a foot of expensive bone sticking up in the air. We ordered two while eating at the bar and it made a bit of a spectacle. It also fell into the category of what is mentioned below..

Foodies and chefs are a special kind of annoying.

Does that mean you can't cook?

Perfect.
I love clarifying this glaring statement.

I am a butcher....
There aren't many butchers in grocery stores

Butchers can take an animal apart from its living state to a fully processed ready to cook piece of meat.

Most of the guys in grocery stores today are simply meat cutters.
They take processed primal cuts of meat and simply cut them into smaller pieces for retail purchases.
Most can't cut their way out of a paper bag and are absolutely clueless at to animal anatomy.

A butcher isn't a chef and vice versa.

A crew chief of a Nascar team knows every single working part of that vehicle and can assemble or disassemble it blindfolded.....but he doesn't drive the car....

I've cut up almost every North American big game anima speciesl and every single domestic livestock species.

I cook well enough for my taste, but I don't ever want to be a chef.