Ever wonder why Ruth's Chris is one of the most popular steakhouses in the United States?
It could be that each steak sizzles with a dollop of melting butter.
Or maybe it's how the ribeyes are wet aged to perfection.
Keep watching to find out what makes their steak so delicious.
Ruth's Chris prides itself on serving USDA Prime cuts from cattle raised by premium beef
suppliers.
But what is prime beef?
The United States Department of Agriculture classifies beef into three categories.
USDA Prime beef, which tops the department's quality charts, features abundant marbling
and is typically sold in high-end restaurants.
USDA Choice beef is second in terms of quality.
It has less marbling than USDA Prime beef but is still tender and juicy.
Last but not least, USDA Select beef comes at the lower end of the scale and tends to
be on the leaner and drier side.
The beef served at Ruth's Chris is sourced from Midwestern Hereford, Angus, and Shorthorn
cattle that is initially fed on grass and then transitioned to eating corn, according
to Ruth's Chris.
This is done to ensure both flavor and quality.
Grass-fed beef is said to be more nutrient-dense and sustainable while corn-fed stock tends
to be more tender and well-marbled.
According to Taste of Home, grass-fed beef is leaner and has a somewhat gamey taste.
Cattle that have first been fed on grass and then on corn tend to be bulkier, fattier,
and more flavorful.
"And how would you gentlemen like those steaks prepared?"
"Prepared?
Oh, you mean cooked."
"Yes sir, cooked is what I should have more definitely said."
Ruth's Chris beef is wet-aged for between 24 and 28 days, depending on the cut, before
it's shipped off to the restaurants.
The process increases tenderness by breaking down the enzymes in the meat, the restaurant
notes.
So what's wet-aging and how is it different from dry-aging?
Wet-aged steaks are vacuum-sealed in plastic bags and placed in the refrigerator for days
or weeks.
Dry-aging, on the other hand, involves storing meat in a temperature and humidity-controlled
area for around two or three weeks.
Dry-aged beef is considered superior to its wet-aged counterpart since it tends to have
a more earthy and robust flavor, according to Serious Eats.
Since dry-aging is more expensive and takes more time than wet-aging, many restaurants
opt for the latter to cut costs.
And this is precisely why the founder of Ruth's Chris, Ruth Fertel made the switch.
The restaurant used to dry-age its beef in the past but switched to wet-aging to increase
consistency and save time and money.
"Let's slop'em up!"
Once the wet-aging process is complete, the meat is shipped to Ruth's Chris restaurants
fresh — the beef is never frozen, according to the restaurant.
Freezing meat can be risky since it can affect its texture.
This is because the freezing process creates ice crystals that affect the cell membranes
of the meat.
When ordering ribeye steak at Ruth's Chris you can also rest assured that it has its
full nutritional value.
While convenient, freezing can lead to loss of nutrients and vitamins, particularly if
the beef is incorrectly frozen and stored.
According to Meat 'n Bone, if you want a piece of meat to retain its flavor, texture, and
nutrients, it should be vacuum-sealed and flash frozen, which means frozen fast at a
very low temperature.
It's also important that the meat is frozen immediately after it's been cut.
What makes Ruth's Chris' ribeye steaks so good is the restaurant's unique broiling process.
Ruth Fertel used her knowledge of chemistry and physics — she had degrees in both fields
— to design a proprietary broiler that cooks steaks at super high temperatures.
Also, unlike our frying pans at home, the broiler heats up level surfaces to an even
temperature.
And the end result: perfectly seared and consistently colored ribeye steaks.
Today, all ribeye steaks at Ruth's Chris' are prepared in an infrared broiler.
What makes infrared broilers different from cooking with gas or electricity is their ability
to radiate heat evenly.
Infrared broilers not only heat up quickly but also help chefs make that ribeye to your
exact specifications.
Just make sure you're patient when you're waiting for your steak, even if you're really
hungry.
"Get ovah here!"
"You want your steak?"
"Yeah, right now."
"Here's your stupid steak!"
In addition, what makes Ruth's Chris' broiler so special is its ability to reach extremely
high temperatures of up to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that your ribeye is both tender
and juicy — most conventional broilers won't go higher than 550 degrees Fahrenheit, according
to "Bon Appétit."
Ruth's Chris ribeye steaks aren't only cooked at roaring hot 1800 degrees but are also served
on 500-degree plates, a practice that gives the restaurant's dishes their signature sizzle,
according to Ruth's Chris.
Legacy franchisee and operator of Ruth's Chris restaurants in San Antonio and Toronto, Lana
Duke summed this up for Dine.
According to her, Ruth Fertel wanted, quote,
"The last bite to be as hot as the first.
The sizzle in the plate kept it hot to the very last bite.
'If it doesn't sizzle, send it back.'
That helped to build the brand."
While many diners wouldn't have Ruth's Chris' sizzle any other way, some have complained
about the restaurant's practice of serving steak on hot plates.
One customer wrote on Reddit,
"The last time I went to a Ruth's Chris I ordered a medium rare ribeye and they brought
it to me on a 500 degree plate, so by the time I was halfway finished with my ribeye
it had cooked up to medium well.
The plate was so damn hot it basically ended up ruining my $70 steak."
In contrast to that claim, a Ruth's Chris employee said that the restaurant undercooks
its steaks and the cooking process is finished on the plate.
They also mentioned that diners are welcome to ask for a room-temperature plate or both
a sizzling and a standard plate.
All Ruth's Chris ribeye steaks are served with a dollop — or more precisely tablespoon
— of butter, a technique that creates the appealing crackling sound when the hot plate
arrives at your table.
A former Ruth's Chris employee explained on Quora:
"Their little trick is they put clarified butter on the steak as it is leaving the kitchen.
The plate is scorching hot because they keep them in the oven and the room temperature
butter hits the plate and sizzles for effect."
According to KitchenSeer, topping ribeye steak with butter improves the meat's flavor and
texture and gives it a glossy finish.
But not everybody has been happy with Ruth's Chris' buttery recipe.
A reviewer on Tripadvisor complained that her meal at Ruth's Chris as swimming in butter.
They wrote:
"All I could taste was butter!
There was literally no flavor to the steak because of it."
And a reviewer on Quora expressed a similar sentiment:
"A really good steak does not need to be dripping in butter, much less a 500-degree plate.
The last thing I want is butter popping all over a nice white dress shirt and tie."
Forget fancy seasoning, because the secret seasoning on Ruth's Chris' steaks is nothing
but kosher salt and cracked pepper.
This approach lets the quality of the steak speak for itself.
It also has other benefits, per the restaurant's website, which states:
"The larger grains of kosher salt help create a tasty crust on your steak, and salt also
helps meat retain water.
Freshly cracked pepper will help to add a crunchy texture and further bring out the
flavor of the steak."
One Ruth's Chris chef told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he recommends adding some fresh garlic
to steaks as they're cooking too, but it's unclear if the restaurant does this.
This simple recipe has been a trademark of Ruth's Chris' since its very beginning.
In fact, a former employee posted on Reddit that the steakhouse, quote,
"Rarely deviates from anything Ruth [Fertel] implemented herself."
Ruth herself said that one of the secrets of her successful enterprise was consistency
— and this, of course, includes seasoning.
This combination isn't only delicious, but over the years has become familiar, which
means that customers know exactly what they are getting when they order ribeye steak at
Ruth's Chris.
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