The Texas Roadhouse Cut Of Meat That Is Surprisingly Not Gluten Free

If the process of dining out includes the requisite question, "Do you have a dedicated fryer?" then you definitely adhere to a gluten-free diet. While restaurant selection may be a challenge for those who've been diagnosed with celiac disease or suffer from a wheat allergy, it would be easy to assume that any sort of meat palace would have a wide variety of safe options. In general, a steak-heavy menu shouldn't be loaded with hazards since there is no naturally occurring gluten in plain cuts of protein. "Plain," however, is the operative word. We go to restaurants expecting dishes to be seasoned and sauced, and that could signal hidden gluten. That's exactly the case with one steak at Texas Roadhouse: The prime rib, whose marinade contains gluten.

It's difficult to ascertain the prime rib's gluten status by just glancing at the chain's regular online menu. Fortunately, Texas Roadhouse offers a list of gluten-free offerings along with a special diet generator that allows customers to research multiple allergens in all of the dishes. The company doesn't specify what source of gluten is in the marinade, but it very well might be soy sauce. Most if not all online copycat recipes for the brand's overnight bath of sauce call for that ingredient, which contains wheat.

There is good news for Texas Roadhouse fans who cannot consume foods with gluten: The chain's other nine steaks won't cause any wheat-related digestion issues. All of the cuts, which are hand-carved in-house, are USDA Choice — the second-highest grade of beef on the market behind Prime, which means there is slightly less fat content but still enough marbling for a tender bite. The company lets the meat do most of the work when it comes to flavor, using just two simple ingredients — salt and sugar. Both salt and sugar are tenderizers and the latter helps caramelize the steaks to create an exterior char.

You might assume that, as is the saying for the state, everything's bigger in Texas Roadhouse. But the chain's largest steak, the 23-ounce porterhouse T-bone, isn't its best seller. The most requested slice is the 6-ounce sirloin, though customers can instead order 8-, 11-, or 16-ounce portions that come with two sides.

Dinner accompaniments are a bit easier to navigate when it comes to steering clear of gluten — the fries are off limits (back to that pesky fryer issue) as are the show-stealing scratch-made rolls, our favorite menu item. But there are plenty of fresh vegetables (a bit boring, but OK), applesauce (c'mon, are you 5 years old?), a house salad (yawn), and potatoes, baked or mashed. Just remember to order those sans gravy.