Have you ever heard of txuleton? A week ago, txuleton steak was missing from my gourmand vocabulary. I have a feeling you might not have heard of it either. Keep reading, and you’ll soon find out what it is.
I’ll start my educational story with a trip to London, even though London has no direct connection to txuleton. During my annual audit of life, I realized I had traveled to London five times last year. Each time, I religiously visited Hatchards bookstore—a beautiful five-story bookshop on Piccadilly Road, next to Fortnum & Mason and opposite the Royal Academy. Founded in 1797, Hatchards is the oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom and the official bookseller to the royal household. It is also one of my favorite bookstores in London. This place has its own spirit, which is why I make it a point to visit every time I am in this iconic city.
During one of these visits, I came across a book called Steak: The Whole Story by Tim Hayward. I decided to gift it to my steak-loving husband for Christmas.
Tim Hayward is an award-winning food journalist, broadcaster, and author of several culinary books. He is also a renowned food writer and restaurant reviewer. Steak: The Whole Story is not just a cookbook—it’s a deep dive into the world of beef. More than half of this thick, comprehensive book is dedicated to everything about cattle, including their breeds, feeding, and butchery. It’s more like an encyclopedia or a bible of steak.
In this book, Hayward shares a story of visiting Bilbao, Spain, where he dined at the Basque restaurant Asador Horma Ondo. “This is where you come to eat some of the best steak in the world,” he writes. That steak was txuleton.
Txuleton (pronounced choo-leh-ton) originates from the Basque region, and the “Tx” in Basque sounds like the English “ch,” similar to “churro.” It can be also called txuleta, or chuleta.
My gourmand soul was intrigued. This was something new to me. Naturally, I searched online to see if this type of steak was available in Dubai. To my delight, it was! So, my husband and I embarked on a gourmand educational dinner to try this steak with a name most people don’t know how to pronounce—txuleton. We visited Jara by Martin Berasategui, a Basque restaurant at the Dorchester Hotel in Dubai. The dinner was delightful, and we truly enjoyed the steak.
So, what exactly is txuleton, and what makes it unique? It is the opposite of what you might expect. First of all, it is a Basque steak. The Basque Country is a distinctive region in northern Spain and southwestern France, renowned for its high-quality cuisine and deep-rooted culinary traditions. In fact, the Basque Country boasts one of the highest concentrations of Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in the world. If you’re a foodie, a trip to the Basque Country is a must! It’s now on my wish list, too.
Back to txuleton. This steak comes from the Galician Blond (Rubia Gallega) breed of cattle. These cows are not raised primarily for meat but rather as working animals on farms or as dairy cows. They live long lives—sometimes up to 18 years. Only after their productive years have ended are they slaughtered and transformed into delicious steaks. Typically, txuleton comes from cows aged 8 to 18 years. As cows age, their muscles and fat mature, deepening the flavor and resulting in darker, redder meat.
This contrasts sharply with common beef production practices in the U.S. and other major steak-producing countries, where cattle are usually slaughtered before they even reach their second birthday, with 2.5 years being the absolute latest.
Our txuleton was a hefty cut—a 1 kg, bone-in steak with rich, buttery yellow fat. It wasn’t melt-in-your-mouth tender, but it had a deep, beefy taste that was truly distinctive.
Curious about trying it at home, I researched whether txuleton was available for purchase. It turns out you don’t have to travel to the Basque Country to get your hands on one. Several countries offer it online, though it is labeled in different ways across various platforms—txuleta, chuleton, Galician steak, or Rubia Gallega steak. As with many cuts in steak culture, naming consistency seems to be lacking.
If you ever get the chance to try txuleton steak, I highly recommend it. It’s an experience that every steak lover should have at least once!