Ruth's Chris Steak House has built up an astounding reputation as a top tier steakhouse.
Learn the how and why behind the success of the simple but stunning steak meals
that have made Ruth's Chris Steak House famous and beloved across the globe.
When it comes to Ruth's Chris steaks, it's hard to replicate the magic without a kitchen gadget
that successfully delivers a serious amount of heat in the right manner. To that end,
it's worth knowing that, as Dine magazine reports, Ruth's Chris founder Ruth Fertel
happened to also be a physics and chemistry buff, having earned degrees in those subjects.
She put this knowledge to good use in the steak business by designing a unique type
of broiler to cook steaks at an ultra-high temperature of 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.
The steak might also briefly hit the oven afterward if the customer requests one that's
cooked beyond the "medium" range. A former chef for Ruth's Chris Steak House confirmed via Quora -
"Each steak is broiled in special broilers made for Ruth's.
This enriches those flavors by cooking at a very high temp."
To those who are unfamiliar with advances in kitchenware, it's kind of a big deal.
According to Fine Cooking, infrared broilers are unique because they get very hot,
very quickly, and tend to heat more evenly than traditional gas or electric grills and stoves.
Is there anything butter doesn't improve? This dairy section all-star doesn't miss a
beat when it's time to make a steak really sizzle and shine. Ruth's Chris Steak House
does not shy away from the ol' butter tray either. According to The New York Times,
Ruth Fertel sealed the deal with her steaks by insisting her kitchen staff top every
single piece of steak with a generous portion of butter prior to serving it.
Apparently, this always ensures the most flavor possible out of the experience
This isn't just some unconfirmed bit of folklore about Ruth's famous matriarch
either. As a Quora member who worked at Ruth's Chris explained in a thread -
"Their little trick is they put clarified butter on the steak as it is leaving the kitchen."
They go on to say that this tactic also adds to that sizzle
factor the restaurant is known for, adding -
"The plate is scorching hot because they keep them in the oven and the
room temperature butter hits the plate and sizzles for effect."
Ruth's Chris restaurants take on a wet-aging process for steaks in which the meat is
refrigerated for up to 28 days at a temperature designated by the Ruth's Chris Steak House
culinary team The steaks are then immediately sealed to keep in all of the meat's juices and
sent to the restaurant in that state. It's never frozen at any point in the process. Aging allows
enzymes to break down so that the ultimate result is a more tender piece of steak.
Colin Shive, the current general manager and former executive chef at a Ruth's Chris Steak
House location in Chesterfield, Missouri talked about the process on St. Louis' Fox 2 News.
"Once the, the beef is processed,
we age it 28 days to, uh, develop the flavor and the tenderness."
So it seems this deliberate aging technique is the standard protocol for every Ruth's Chris location.
When the Ruth's Chris Steak House server sets your ribeye down with
a special oven mitt holding the plate and he or she warns you not to touch it,
they're not just putting on a show - those are some really hot plates! Not
only does this ensure that every bite of steak is warm, but it also makes for that
sound that we all know equates to a delicious steak — the Ruth's Chris "signature sizzle."
But why bother heating those plates up in the first place?
A Ruth's Chris employee breaks it down like this on Reddit:
"We do the 500 degree plate thing, mainly so your first bite is as hot as your last.
It's also that hot to make it so all of your senses are stimulated down
to the sound of the sizzling butter on the plate."
Also, if that butter from the top of the steak hits the plate, you know it's gonna sizzle there,
too, adding its own bit of wow factor to the dining experience. As you can clearly see,
the hot plate technique is key at Ruth's Chris Steak House.
The term "USDA Prime" might sound like some sort of fancy marketing gimmick to make Ruth's Chris
steak sound ultra-special, but it's actually legit. The chain only serves USDA Prime cuts,
which are the best possible quality of beef that's available in the country's cattle supply. The USDA
inspects all the beef we consume, and only two percent of that beef is considered
"prime." Prime meat is usually more tender because it comes from younger cows,
and it's usually a high-end restaurant offering, not what's on tap at the local grocery store.
While there are some arguments that grass-fed beef is more sustainable and more nutrient-dense
than the cattle who eat both grass and corn, the corn eaters tend to yield a steak that's
got more flavor, at least according to proponents of the meat. Ruth's Chris
sources its beef from cattle that start as grass-fed then transition to eating corn,
a common practice of many cattle ranchers, according to PennState Extension.
Ruth's Chris Steak House founder Ruth Fertel is still put on a pedestal by the restaurant
more than a decade after her death, and rightfully so. Her original restaurant in New Orleans created
a system that clearly works, at least in the eyes of the restaurant's many diners and its
executives. When former CEO Craig S. Miller took the reins in 2004, he told the New York Times -
"the first thing I did was get a little plaque to put on my desk that said, 'What Would Ruth Do?' "
According to a Redditor who worked at the steakhouse,
the restaurant strives to continually maintain her standards, saying -
"Honestly, the company rarely deviates from anything Ruth implemented herself. I think we
will always have the family style sides, sizzling plates, and butter in almost every food item."
Ruth Fertel once told the Orlando Sentinel that the secret to running a successful steakhouse is -
"Being very, very consistent with your food — that and giving good service."
Most would agree that her legacy of top-notch service and consistently
delicious food has definitely lived on.
"You can go into any Ruth's Chris Steakhouse around the country or around the world and
you're always gonna get a consistently great meal because they get and serve the best of the best."
When you're talking about steak, if the meat is high quality, then it stands that there
shouldn't be a need for a ton of seasoning. Ruth's Chris definitely proves this with its successful
run of steak slinging that isn't bothered with fanciful add-ons or rare ingredients.
What does the chain use to season a ribeye cut, for example? A Ruth's Chris Steak House
executive chef at a location in Waikiki, Hawaii, told Hawaii News Now that it's all pretty easy.
"Sea salt and pepper, that's it. It's very, very simple."
All the higher-ups at Ruth's Chris Steak House maintain that all any cut really needs
is a simple mixture of kosher salt and some black pepper to bring out the innate flavor of the meat,
help the steak retain moisture, and create a nice crust on the meat, to boot.
Perhaps one of the secrets to Ruth's Chris Steak House founder Ruth Fertel's initial success
was her determination to become an expert in every single aspect of dealing with beef.
Per the Phoenix Business Journal, she basically taught herself how to
be a butcher and made it her mission to only serve large cuts of steak in her restaurant.
A keen eye toward cutting the meat to perfection is a standard the
steakhouse chain has continued long after its first steaks were served back in 1965.
The cut of the steak still matters at Ruth's Chris today, and the technique for cutting is likewise
executed with precision. Ruth's Chris Steak House also prioritizes thick cuts,
insisting that the thicker cuts are less likely to dry out during the aging and cooking process.
While it may be true that fresh meat isn't necessarily superior to meat that's been frozen,
there are inherent advantages to using the fresher stuff. These include a reduced risk
of the meat texture changing during thawing and some possibly enhanced nutritional benefits,
though that last point may still be up for debate. All told, it's still considered
a real gamble to serve meat that's been frozen. That's a risk that Ruth's Chris Steak House just
isn't willing to take with its USDA Prime, corn-fed beef. Ruth's Chris prides itself
on serving steaks that have never been frozen so considering how tasty the steaks are, there
might be something to the argument that fresh is better than frozen when we're talking about beef.
As the saying goes, you usually get what you pay for when it comes to quality and service
at a restaurant. The same goes for Ruth's Chris Steak House, which is truly a culinary experience
and not merely a place to chow down on some meat. As such, you can anticipate spending
a lot of money knowing that your meal, and in particular your steak, will be made to order,
This is yet another reason why Ruth's Chris steaks are so delicious. The chefs there never ascribe
to a one-size-fits-all mentality when preparing a given meal. Perhaps the only caveat here is having
to definitely know what you like when it comes to the doneness of your meat. You'll also have
to trust the process, like sometimes ordering a steak that's slightly undercooked because,
in the case of Ruth's Chris, the meat will continue to heat up by the time
it gets to the table because it's resting on that piping hot plate.
This is part of the magic though, along with that legendary tongue-twisting name.
"Later, Ruth admitted, 'I've always hated the name, but we've managed to work around it.'"
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