These 4 Words Are The Secret To Upgrading Your Texas Roadhouse Meal
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Any time you order dinner at Texas Roadhouse (which, in April 2025, dethroned Olive Garden as America's top casual restaurant), you know that you are in for certain pleasures: pillowy yeast rolls with cinnamon butter, salty peanuts (but please don't throw the shells on the floor), enormous tankards of chilly beer, and the occasional server line dance. What if we told you, however, that there was a way to make Texas Roadhouse's superstar attraction, its hand-cut steaks, even better? Before you scoff, hear us out: there's a four-word shortcut to Flavortown when you're ordering, and it's "herb crusted chicken seasoning" ... preferably with the word "please" at the end!
On its menu, Texas Roadhouse offers Herb Crusted Chicken, a boneless, skinless chicken breast dish dressed with lemon and a secret seasoning blend. While the Roadhouse keeps the composition of its herb crust confidential, some well-rated copycat recipes have narrowed it down to dill, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and paprika, along with good ol' S&P. What's good for the chicken is good for the cow, to mangle a well-known proverb, and the seasoning that tastes so good on chicken makes your steaks shine, no matter the cut. Whether you opt for a juicy ribeye or the six-ounce sirloin that happens to be Texas Roadhouse's most popular steak, you can add a new dimension of flavor to your steak when you order the herb mix on top. If you want to control how much you consume, you can even ask for it to be served on the side. Heck, you can try it on chicken tenders or pork chops!
Herbs and steak have always been a winning pairing
If you cook your own steak at home often, or even occasionally, it shouldn't surprise you that an herb mix really enhances the flavor of a great steak. Herbs, fresh or dried, are often used to add character to the flavor of steak, whether infused in a butter and used to finish the meat or thrown in the skillet to add their bright, complex flavors as the steak cooks, as is the case with rosemary and thyme sprigs. Over on Foodie's sister site, Tasting Table, the best fresh herbs for steak were covered, including surprising additions like deep-fried sage, bay leaves steeped in jus, and chervil in a homemade béarnaise. Short on time or lacking a windowsill herb garden? We love a product that does the work for you while you taste the rewards, like McCormick Grill Mates garlic & crushed herbs grilling seasoning, which includes dried lemon peel for tang.
Of course, Texas Roadhouse is no slouch in the seasoning department already, earning consistently high marks for the delectable flavor of its beef. In fact, its steak seasoning has merited several copycat recipes of its own. You certainly won't be subjected to a flavorless steak if you decide not to experiment with the herb crusted chicken seasoning, but we personally can never pass up the opportunity to make a great dish even better with an insider hack. If you already love a main dish or side at the Roadhouse — not just steaks! — try it with some versatile herb seasoning.
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