What Is Texas Roadhouse 'Road Kill' Made Of?

Texas Roadhouse has earned a reputation for serving up sizzling slabs of high-quality beef. Hand-cut by an on-site butcher and seasoned to perfection with some surprising ingredients, the chain's USDA Choice-grade lineup includes just about every cut a steak lover could imagine, from a New York strip to a doubled-up porterhouse T-bone. But there's one item on the menu that may leave Texas Roadhouse newbies scratching their heads. We are, of course, talking about the Road Kill.

It may not sound particularly appetizing, but don't be fooled by its name — there is, thankfully, no actual "road kill" involved in the making of this plate. The moniker is simply a playful nod to the fact that the dish is made from chopped steak, which is served up smothered in a delectable mess of sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, and gooey jack cheese. While that may sound like a loaded cheeseburger sans the bun, the meat used in chopped steak actually differs from hamburger meat in that it specifically calls for ground sirloin. 

Whereas the standard ground beef used for burgers is fattier, ground sirloin is much more lean. The downside to this is that less fat equals less flavor, so the key to achieving a yummy chopped steak is going heavy on the seasoning — something that Texas Roadhouse totally nails with its Road Kill patty. As one commenter wrote in a Reddit thread, "The Road Kill is really underrated. Looks like road kill but tastes like heaven."

Like every other Texas Roadhouse beef offering, the Road Kill is made to meet a diner's preference for doneness and can be customized with a slew of sides, including a baked potato, mac and cheese, green beans, and the chain's thick and fluffy steak fries. One could also upgrade their order with the addition of grilled shrimp or ribs, also known as "sidekicks." Given its seemingly endless customization options, it's no surprise that the Road Kill has become something of a cult favorite among Texas Roadhouse regulars. On TikTok, user @melowrush may have summed it up best when he described the chopped patty as being similar to a Salisbury steak. "I would honestly put it in my top five things of trying from [Texas Roadhouse]," he says in his video, adding that it would also pair wonderfully with some good ol' brown gravy.

If you're looking for more diner-approved tweaks to take the dish to the next level, TikTok is indeed full of them. From adding jalapeños to the topping mix like user @kayyeatss to stuffing the whole shebang into one of the chain's famously pillowy, baked-from-scratch rolls à la the brilliant food hacker shared in a post by @lady_is_awesome, the chopped steak dish can be pretty much perfected precisely to your tastes. And if you want to bring the Road Kill taste home? You're in luck. The internet is filled with copycat recipes that aim to capture the sirloin patty's well-seasoned flavor in your own kitchen.