When I worked at Longhorn Steakhouse for almost ten years, I learned a lot as both a front-of-house and back-of-house worker. As someone who has worked as a server, bartender, speed cook, and prep and line cook, I want to tell you a secret about everything Longhorn.
Perhaps you want to work there or just can’t get enough of the wild west shrimp and chicken coated in parmesan. Either way, you will enjoy these interesting facts and tips about the franchise. Who knows, you might even switch up your usual order and discover a new favorite entree. Let’s say you already know and love Longhorn Steakhouse, but I hope you can learn something new about it.
Even though I’ve worked for the company for a long time, I still love the tasty food and great service that Longhorn Steakhouse continues to provide. Next, let’s talk about menu hacks and what it’s really like to work at Longhorn Steakhouse.
Longhorn Steakhouse has built a reputation for serving incredibly juicy, flavorful steaks that keep customers coming back again and again. But what makes their steaks so mouthwatering and delicious? The answer lies in the high-quality beef they use.
Longhorn Steakhouse only uses USDA graded beef for their steaks, ensuring they meet strict guidelines for marbling, tenderness, and flavor. In particular, Longhorn uses upper-tier USDA Prime and Choice grades for their steak offerings. Let’s take a closer look at these premium beef grades and why they make Longhorn’s steaks so tasty.
Longhorn Steakhouse Uses USDA Prime and Choice Beef
Longhorn Steakhouse sources fresh, never frozen beef from the top tire USDA grades of Prime and Choice. While many steakhouses stick to Choice as their “top” grade, Longhorn goes a step further by also using the even higher Prime grade for some steaks.
USDA Prime beef consists of the top 2-3% of all beef produced in the US It has the most abundant marbling, which gives the beef outstanding tenderness and extremely flavorful fat throughout. USDA Choice is the tier right below Prime, making up around 53% of all graded beef. It has slightly less marbling than Prime but is still considered very high quality with great taste and tenderness.
By using these upper echelon grades, Longhorn ensures every steak they serve melts in your mouth with full, beefy flavor in every juicy bite. Lesser quality beef simply can’t compare.
What Grades of Beef Does Longhorn Use?
Longhorn Steakhouse utilizes specific grades for their various steak offerings:
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USDA Prime – Longhorn’s signature Flo’s Filet is cut from premium Prime beef tenderloin for exceptional tenderness. Their bone-in ribeyes are also Prime grade for marbling and flavor.
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Upper 2/3 USDA Choice – Many of Longhorn’s non-Prime cuts like the New York Strip, Porterhouse, and T-bone steaks are top-tier Choice grade. This is still high quality with great marbling.
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Mid-Choice – Cuts for Longhorn’s sirloins, stuffed sirloins, and various chuck cuts utilize the mid-range of Choice beef. Still flavorful and tender.
By using Prime and upper Choice, Longhorn sticks to the very best cattle grades available. Even their mid-Choice beef is superior to the low Choice/Select often seen at budget steakhouses.
Why Doesn’t Longhorn Use Wagyu or Dry-Aged Beef?
Longhorn Steakhouse keeps their beef program simple – just fresh, never frozen USDA Prime and Choice steakhouse cuts. Here’s why they don’t branch out into Wagyu, dry-aged or other niche steaks:
No Wagyu – Longhorn sticks to the top grades of classic American beef. The very high cost and limited supply of true Japanese Wagyu would not allow Longhorn to offer these steaks at their affordable pricing.
No Dry-Aging – The dry-aging process requires special facilities Longhorn likely does not have access to across all their locations. Dry-aging also reduces yield and takes time, increasing costs. With their fresh beef program, dry aging is not needed to achieve tenderness and flavor.
By focusing on consistent quality from USDA Prime and Choice grades, Longhorn can provide amazing steaks anyone can enjoy at reasonable prices. Exotic beef like Wagyu and dry aging are not needed to achieve their lauded taste and tenderness.
Wet Aging and In-House Cutting
While not dry-aged, Longhorn Steakhouse does use a wet aging process and in-house butchering for extra freshness and quality:
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Wet aging – Beef is vacuum-sealed and allowed to age for multiple weeks. This breaks down connective tissues for more tenderness.
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Cut in-house – Steaks are hand-cut on-site at each restaurant daily for optimal freshness and portion control.
Though simple, these steps ensure Longhorn’s steaks arrive at your table at peak juiciness and flavor straight from USDA Prime and Choice beef.
Why Longhorn Steakhouse Beef Tastes So Good
By serving only fresh top Choice and Prime steaks, Longhorn Steakhouse is able to consistently deliver an amazing steakhouse experience at just a fraction of the price of upscale steakhouses. Even without exotic Wagyu or dry aging, the rich marbling and carful wet aging of Longhorn’s beef keeps customers raving about their succulent, juicy, and savory steaks.
While many chain restaurants cut corners on meat quality, Longhorn does the opposite – sticking to upper tier USDA graded beef for satisfying steak meals anyone can enjoy. Their simple focus on freshness and choosing only Prime and top Choice grades means you just can’t go wrong when ordering a steak at Longhorn.
So next time you’re craving a great steak, head to Longhorn Steakhouse to taste the Prime and upper Choice difference for yourself. From tender prime rib to buttery fillets and sizzling T-bones, Longhorn serves up premium steaks with delicious marbling and flavor in every bite. Their passion for quality beef shines through brilliantly with steaks you’ll want to enjoy again and again.
Upgrade chicken with sweet chili ginger sauce
Several years back, Longhorn introduced a new appetizer called spicy chicken bites. Essentially they are a few chicken tenders chopped into small bite-sized pieces that are dredged and fried. Once they are fully cooked, the line cook will coat them with a sweet chili ginger sauce. Well, I wont lie; that sweet chili-ginger sauce is banging!.
If you want to try something new and different, this sauce will make any chicken dish taste better. You can request to have your chicken tenders tossed with the sauce. Or, order a grilled chicken dinner and have it glazed over each piece. You’ll also love the lunch menu’s crispy buttermilk chicken sandwich, which comes with a lot of that same orangey sweet sauce.
You can swap your steak seasonings
Whether you order an appetizer, a steak, or a chicken dish, you’ll notice right away that Longhorn spices all of their food very strongly. This allows guests to request a light amount of seasoning if they dont enjoy overly salty foods. The great thing about Longhorn’s seasonings is that you can ask for different ones that don’t come with the steak you’re ordering.
Prairie dust is used to make chicken, pork chops, French fries, and many other foods. It is one of the Longhorns’ secret recipes. There is only one difference between flat-top and char seasonings: flat-top seasoning has dill seed in it, while char seasoning does not. I don’t think you should switch the two because dill seeds burn and taste bad when cooked over an open flame.
Now, if there is one seasoning you ought to try, its the seven-pepper seasoning. It usually comes with the seven-pepper sirloin salad, but I think you should try it with any steak you order. It will seriously spruce up a boring sirloin and tastes perfect on a New York strip.
The Absolute Best & Worst Steaks To Order At LongHorn Steakhouse
FAQ
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