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Wikipedia gives the impression that Kansas City strip refers to the same cut as New York strip. Are they really the same cuts? If so, which name is more "authentic"? And if not, what's the difference between them?

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6 Answers

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The Kansas City Strip and the New York Strip refer to the same cut of meat. Apparently restaurants in New York City in the 1930's decided they couldn't sell a fancy steak named after Kansas City (where the stockyards and slaughterhouses were located). So, they just started calling it a New York Strip.

If you want a steak renamed by a egotistical chef, order the New York Strip. If you want a steak named for the cut of beef originally selected by butchers working next to the stockyards, order the Kansas City Strip.

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New York Strip seems to definitely be the name that has taken off though, I'd never even heard the term "KC Strip" - and I grew up in Texas and currently live in Utah - far from the east coast. – Ryan Elkins Feb 19 '11 at 15:03
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Wikipedia is correct about two things:

  • Both the Kansas City strip and New York strip are literally the same thing as a "strip steak";
  • The particular cut of meat used is the short loin, and does not have any tenderloin.

However, sources do not tend to agree on whether or not the strip steak includes a bone. For example:

  • Gourmet Sleuth's Guide to Beef Cuts says that a strip steak can be either bone-in or boneless, but that a NY strip (or KC strip) is boneless. It also calls out the "shell steak" as being bone-in.

  • On the other hand, the Cook's Thesaurus singles out the shell steak as being the boneless version (implying that NY strip and KC strip are bone-in).

  • Most sources will equate the strip steak to a club steak (as Wikipedia does), but some sources use the term to refer to boneless cuts, whereas others will explicitly call this a "boneless club steak" or "hotel-style steak".

  • You also have to be really careful with what Wikipedia considers to be the "international" name - club steak - because it is used interchangeably with the Delmonico Steak (which refers to at least 3 different cuts), and according to some, the label "club steak" may even get slapped on a rib steak.

The best way to think about this is probably the following:

The terms New York strip, Kansas City strip, or strip steak can all be applied to any cut of meat that is solely from the short loin, bone-in or boneless; however, you are likely to notice subtle differences from one butcher or steakhouse to the next, regardless of the specific name used, due to inconsistent interpretations.

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Funny to me as a Brit that there is so much diversity on the cut. Whilst you can get a butcher to cut what you like, you have to look very hard to find a steak in a restaurant called anything other than rump, sirloin, t-bone or fillet. [braising/chuck steak is also about, but that is different] – Orbling Feb 19 '11 at 0:17
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@Orbling: Americans love their beef and their choices. Actually, in Canada we have completely different terminology for a lot of the cuts, sort of a weird hybrid of American and British. – Aaronut♦ Feb 19 '11 at 1:16
I'm sure the English love their beef too, as indeed Canadians no doubt do. Just we do not really have a culture left of choosing non-standard cuts; almost everyone buys in supermarkets, pre-pack stuff, variety is rare - butcher shops are rarer still. – Orbling Feb 19 '11 at 1:18
@Orbling: Indeed, butcher shops are rare here, and so is quality meat. It's a shame, really. – configurator Feb 19 '11 at 1:29
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My understanding of the difference has to do with the shipping weight. Shipping via rail cars back in the early 1900's and "iceing" down the beef from the midwest was cheaper by removing the bone..hence the New York strip. Locally in the midwest, they left the bone in and referred to it as the Kansas City strip.

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up vote 0 down vote

It is fairly easy to find a New York strip steak in Kansas with all the chain eateries there, though difficult to find in the single or multiple local restraunts. It is quite difficult to find a KC strip steak away from the Kansas area. Did find a place in Long Beach, Washington serving KC strip steaks a while back though. Both steaks are exactly the same cut of beef.

Cheers

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up vote 0 down vote

In OK, If you buy it at WalMart it's a NY, if you buy it at the IGA it's a KC. Identical - never seen one on the bone.

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KC Strip is a NY with the bone left attached...

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Really? I've found plenty of references to boneless Kansas City strips and bone-in New York strips. – Jefromi♦ Apr 1 at 15:26

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