What Makes Kansas City Strip Steak Different From A New York One?

With so many cuts of beef to choose from, picking your go-to steak at a restaurant or at the grocery store can certainly be confusing. Further complicating the matter are the different names associated with each cut, and the subtle differences they may imply. A New York strip steak, as it's commonly known, is cut from the short loin of the cow, and is well-loved for its balance of tenderness, marbling, and (relative) affordability. Some meat fanatics, particularly in the Western U.S., know it by an entirely different name, however: the Kansas City strip steak.

So, what exactly differentiates a Kansas City strip steak from a New York strip steak? It depends on who you ask. Some steak aficionados claim that the difference lies in the bone— Kansas City strips can be served bone-in, while New York strips are boneless. Others claim that the length of the steak, the part of the loin it's cut from, or the amount of fat left on the tip make the difference. Though the distinction is disputed, the reason for the two names can be traced to its regional history, both in Kansas City — a major hub of the cattle industry — and in New York City, where the cut was refined and popularized.

The origin of the New York strip steak can be traced back to Delmonico's Restaurant, which introduced the concept of fine dining to the United States in the 19th century. Lore dictates that the steakhouse's decision to feature this cut on its menu led to its popular association with New York City and the cosmopolitan reputation it evoked. The restaurant was so influential that it coined another moniker, the Delmonico steak — though, confusingly, this term isn't interchangeable with strip steak. There are at least eight cuts (including strip steak) that have been referred to as Delmonico steaks; it's believed that the restaurant rotated which cut was served on a nightly basis.

Why, then, do some know the short loin cut as a Kansas City strip steak? There's no definitive answer, but many claim that it was known by the Kansas City moniker even before its association with New York. The Midwestern city has a history as one of the largest meatpacking and cattle trading posts in the U.S., so it's understandably quite likely that the cut in question originated in K.C. In fact, in the late 1990s, incensed Missourians kicked off a media campaign to reclaim the strip steak, with articles appearing in outlets like Time and Deseret News.

Even if you don't know exactly what to call it, you can still enjoy a char-grilled strip steak accompanied by your side dishes of choice. And that's true no matter where you're grilling from.