By Dylan Clay
Two of the most popular cuts of steak are the New York (NY) strip and the Ribeye steak. Often people will have a preference for one or the other.
The main differences between the New York Strip and the Ribeye steak is that the New York Strip is less tender and less rich than the Ribeye. The ribeye steak is also sourced from the upper rib of the cow, where-as the New York strip comes from the loin (near the rear).
While they do come from different places on the cow, both cuts of steak do in fact contain a sub-unit of the same muscle (discussed below).
Truth be told, both the Ribeye steak and New York Strip steak contain similar musculature; The main muscle that we need to concern ourselves with is the longissimus dorsi.
All ribeye steaks contain an “eye” muscle – it is the meatiest portion of the entire steak. This muscle is called the longissimus dorsi.
Beef grades like “Prime, Choice, and Select” are based on the marbling (intramuscular fat) found in this specific muscle.
Surrounding this muscle are the spinalis dorsi, the complexus, and the longissimus costarum muscles.
If you’re interested in learning more about the muscles of the ribeye steak (there are four), read this article.
All I mean to say by the above is that the musculature that comprises these steaks is in fact the same.
The above also helps to further reinforce the fact that where these cuts come from dictates something like tenderness.
In this instance, the meat sourced from the upper rib is more tender than the short loin simply because it’s used less for movement; Hence, the ribeye is more tender.
The Ribeye steak comes from the beef rib primal, pictured below:
More specifically, the rib primal is separated from the chuck primal at the 5th and 6th rib. It is also separated from the loin primal at the 12th and 13th rib.
Rib steaks are then meat taken from Ribs 6 through 12.
Rib steaks can be fabricated any number of ways and consequently, Butchers will then market them in different ways:
The muscles that comprise the ribeye can also be separated to form cuts like ribeye filets, ribeye cap roll, etc.
The New York (NY) strip steak is found in the short loin sub-primal – part of the loin primal, pictured below:
The New York strip can go by a number of different names:
When this muscle is left “bone-in” it’s called either a t-bone or a porterhouse steak. The respective name is based on the size of the tenderloin muscle.
When a carcass is halved, this section of the cow looks like the below which creates the stereotypical “t-shaped” bone:
In the photo above, the top muscles are the NY Strip and the bottom muscles are the tenderloin.
In the picture below, if the dotted yellow-lined steak was removed from the t-bone, it would be called a NY Strip steak.
Here’s a picture of a boneless NY Strip Steak:
If the Butcher opts to remove the tenderloin (psoas muscle) from the short loin, the beef strip loin subprimal remains. From there they cut the entire muscle into steaks.
Note: Without a tenderloin there are no t-bone or porterhouse steaks, as both include a piece of tenderloin.
In most cases, NY Strip and Ribeye steaks aren’t much different in terms of price per lb.
Usually, if you’re at a meat case and you see both cuts next to each other, the NY Strip will be slightly cheaper per pound than the ribeye.
To confirm this, I looked at my local grocery store and Wild Fork Foods:
| Steak | Wild Fork Foods Pricing | BJ’s Supermarket Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| NY Strip Steak | $9.98/lb | $9.49/lb |
| Ribeye Steak | $12.98/lb | $12.49/lb |
This isn’t really surprising though.
In terms of beef fabrication, Butchers will pull roughly the same number of steaks per carcass
The above really depends on the size of the beef being butchered but those numbers are fairly typical and the thickness is also standard.
Usually when there’s less of something on a cow, the price goes up.
For instance, we can look at the tenderloin; There are two tenderloins per cow. For this reason, the price will go up to around $25-30+ per pound
The ribeye steak is also more desirable as it’s more tender and rich – both factors that increase price per lb.
While it’s really hard to describe something like taste over the internet, in general, Ribeye steak is more rich and tender than the NY Strip.
Granted, the people that seem to like NY Strip more will cite the “chewier” mouthfeel of the NY Strip as being a quintessential “steak” quality.
USDA Grading aside, ribeye steaks are richer due to having more intramuscular fat.
To make up for the lack of marbling in the New York strip steak, Butchers will leave on a band of back fat. The idea being that when the back fat is allowed to render in the pan, it adds richness to the surface of the meat.
Note: In almost every case this extra back fat will not entirely render. It’s essentially inedible gristle and isn’t meant to be eaten.
I’d also say that the NY Strip is more “beefy” than a ribeye.
Something I’ve tried to elucidate throughout this article is the fact that where the various muscles are located on the cow matters – a lot.
Simply put, the further a muscle is from the hooves of the cow, the more tender it is. Similarly, the more a muscle is used for movement, the less tender it is.
The Rib primal is one of the most ventral on the entire cow. It’s not used much for movement, if at all – as a result it creates some of the most tender cuts of steak on the entire animal.
The NY Strip is more-so used by the cow as this “subunit” of the longissimus dorsi muscle helps to flex the vertebral column; As a result it’s less tender than the Ribeye steak.
