T-bone steaks rank as one of the most prized cuts of beef. A T-bone steak contains meat from both the short loin and the tenderloin, which are considered two of the best-quality types of meat from a cow. T-bone steaks must be a minimum of 1/2 inch thick, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's, or USDA's, Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications. You can easily recognize a T-bone steak by its distinctive T-shaped bone.
Protein
A standard 3-ounce cooked portion of T-bone steak with all visible fat removed provides 22 grams of protein, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. This is close to half of the USDA's recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of protein for both adult men and adult women. Men's RDA for protein is 56 grams per day, while women's is 46 grams per day. Meeting the RDA is adequate for nearly 100 percent of people.
Fat
You'll ingest 8.2 grams of fat, including 3 grams of saturated fat, from a 3-ounce serving of T-bone steak, notes the Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association. If you're on a 2,000-calorie per day diet, a 3-ounce T-bone steak provides 11 to 18 percent of your total recommended daily fat intake and 14 percent of your daily saturated fat limit, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Minerals
A 3-ounce serving of T-bone steak provides nearly 40 percent of the RDA of zinc for adult men and 54 percent of the RDA of zinc for adult women. This serving size has nearly 40 percent of the RDA of iron for adult men, but only 17 percent for women ages 19 to 50. It also provides 26 percent of the RDA for phosphorus, 15 percent of the RDA for selenium and 14 percent of the RDA for copper.
Vitamins
You'll get 80 percent of the RDA of vitamin B-12 from eating a 3-ounce T-bone steak, along with 25 percent of the RDA of vitamin B-6. This serving offers 28 percent of the RDA of niacin for adult women and 25 percent of the RDA of niacin for adult men. It also contains 19 percent of the RDA of riboflavin for women and 16 percent of the RDA of riboflavin for men.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture's Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications; Item No. 1174: Beef Loin, T-Bone Steak; March 2010
- USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
- Institute of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients
- Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association: Twenty-Nine Ways to Love Lean Beef
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010; December 2010
- Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies; Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) -- Recommended Dietary Allowances and Adequate Intakes, Elements
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