The Big Texan Steak Ranch is a large

steakhouse A steakhouse, steak house, or chophouse is a restaurant that specializes in steaks and chops. Modern steakhouses may also carry other cuts of meat including poultry, roast prime rib, and veal, as well as fish and other seafood. History Choph ...

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

and

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...

located in Amarillo,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is a

roadside attraction A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboard (advertis ...

known for

competitive eating Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions can l ...

. The restaurant opened in 1960 and was originally located on

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

. It relocated to its present location on an

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

frontage road in 1970. The building is painted a bright yellow, with blue trim. A large bull statue advertises their "free" 72 ounce steak eating challenge.

Description

Located on a frontage road alongside

, (formerly

), the restaurant has 650 seats, and three-quarters of its customers are tourists. Big Texan 05

The adjacent motel has 54 rooms and 28 stalls for horses. Beth Duke, who has worked to help revitalize Amarillo's business district, described the restaurant as "an international icon because it captures the spirit of Texas. It’s big — big promotions, big events, big steaks, and the kind of cowboy heritage that people want to see when they come to Texas." Taxidermied grizzly bear and customer

Moose and deer heads at the Big Texan steakhouse

The restaurant's décor features

chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...

s made out of

wagon wheels Wagon Wheels are a sweet snack food sold in the United Kingdom as well as other Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India. They are also sold in Ireland. They consist of two biscuits that form a sandwich with a m ...

and

taxidermied Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...

big game specimens. Regular events include

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, or d ...

music performances and

Texas hold'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in ...

competitions. In addition to the gigantic steak dinner, the restaurant also serves smaller steaks, seafood, sandwiches and

quesadilla A quesadilla (; ; Mexican diminutive of ''quesada'') is a Mexican cuisine, Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla that is filled primarily with cheese, and sometimes meats, spices, and other fillings, and then cooked on a griddle or stove. Trad ...

s. Another menu item is

Rocky Mountain oysters Rocky Mountain oysters or mountain oysters, or meat balls, also known as prairie oysters in Canada (), is a dish made of bull Testicles as food, testicles. The organs are often deep-fried after being skinned, coated in flour, pepper and salt, an ...

, which are battered and fried bull testicles.

72 ounce Steak Challenge

Countdown clock aThe Big Texan Steak Ranch

72 ounce steak challenge at the Big Texan Steak Ranch

The Big Texan is best known for its 72

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight, or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States ...

(4.5 pounds or 2.04 kg)

steak A steak is a cut of meat sliced across muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally Grilling, grilled or Pan frying, fried, and can be diced or cooked in sauce. Steaks are most commonly cut from cattle (beefsteak), but can also ...

. The steak is free to anyone who, in one hour or less, can eat the entire

meal A meal is an occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The English names used for specific meals vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal. A meal is different from a ...

, consisting of the steak itself, a bread roll with butter, a baked potato, shrimp cocktail, and a side salad; otherwise, the meal costs $72.00. Those who have successfully consumed the 72 ounce steak challenge have their names recorded and posted at the restaurant. The table at which the steak is eaten is recorded on a 24/7 live stream which can be found on the restaurant's website. To date, over 10,000 people out of about 90,000 people who attempted this challenge have accomplished this feat. According to the restaurant, when featured on the TV show ''

Man v. Food ''Man v. Food'' is an American food reality television series. It premiered on December 3, 2008 on the Travel Channel. The program was originally hosted by actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman. In each episode, Richman explores the "big foo ...

'', the challenge started in 1960, when founder Bob Lee decided to hold a contest over which of the cowboys working in the stockyards could eat the most steaks in one hour, with a prize of $5 () at stake. One cowboy ate four and a half 1-pound steaks, a shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, a dinner roll, and a salad in the hour's time to win the $5. Lee was so impressed with the achievement that he declared, "Whoever eats that much again in my restaurant, he gets it for free." Those who take on the 72oz steak challenge are required to sign a waiver acknowledging the rules. They pay for the meal in advance and, if they are successful, their money is refunded. The steak is cooked to the participant's preference, and the challenge takes place at a table for six on a raised platform in the middle of the main dining room. Before the challenge officially begins, participants are allowed one bite of the steak to verify it's cooked to their liking. The record for the shortest time to finish the entire 72oz steak challenge had been held by

champion

Joey Chestnut Joseph Christian Chestnut (born November 25, 1983) is an American competitive eater. , he is ranked first in the world by Major League Eating. On July 4, 2007, Chestnut won the 92nd Annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest held at New York City. ...

(at 8 minutes and 52 seconds), breaking Frank Pastore's 1987 record (of 9 minutes 30 seconds, which stood for 21 years) on his March 24, 2008 visit. On May 26, 2014, he was bested by 125-pound competitive eater Molly Schuyler, who polished off the meal in just 4 minutes 58 seconds, and came back for seconds (14 minutes and 57 seconds for two meals). She did not, however, eat a third steak meal in the same hour. Schuyler returned on April 19, 2015 and would finish her first meal in 4 minutes 18 seconds, beating her own record by 40 seconds. She had defeated four other teams of competitors in the challenge, devouring two more meals in twenty minutes. The unofficial record (for all animals, including humans) was held by a 500-pound

Siberian tiger The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to Northeast China, the Russian Far East, and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korea, Korean Peninsula, but currently ...

who ate the steak in 90 seconds in 1999, until bested by a lioness in 2012 clocking in at 80 seconds.

In media

The 72 ounce Steak Challenge meal is shown in the movie ''

Waking Up in Reno ''Waking Up in Reno'' is a 2002 American road comedy-drama film directed by Jordan Brady and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Charlize Theron, Patrick Swayze, and Natasha Richardson. The screenplay by Brent Briscoe and Mark Fauser focuses on two ...

'', with

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker, singer and songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing and starring in the independent film, independent Drama (film and television), drama f ...

taking the challenge. It is also shown on the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

's ''

'', where host

Adam Richman Adam Montgomery Richman is an American actor and television host. He has hosted various dining and eating-challenge programs on the Travel Channel, History Channel, and Discovery+. Early life and education Richman, an only child, was born in ...

completes the challenge and in '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'', where Bourdain declines to compete but his cameraman takes part and fails. The Big Texan Steak Ranch is known for its Cadillac white stretch limos with longhorn hood ornaments, one of which appears in the 2006 animated film ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

'' as Texas oil baron Tex Dinoco. Becky Ransom and the Big Texan Steak Ranch ("free 72-ounce steak if consumed in 60 minutes") are acknowledged in the film's credits. In the Season 3 episode of ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in First-run syndicati ...

'', "

And They Call It Bobby Love "And They Call It Bobby Love" is the second episode of the third season of the American animated series ''King of the Hill'' and the 37th episode overall. Written by Norm Hiscock and directed by Cyndi Tang-Loveland, it originally aired on t ...

", the Steak Ranch was parodied with a similar restaurant called the "Panhandler Steakhouse." Bobby Hill accepts the challenge only to spite the girl that spurned his affections (who was also a vegetarian). He completes the challenge but upon returning home subsequently vomits. In a season 10 episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' "

Maximum Homerdrive "Maximum Homerdrive" is the seventeenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on March 28, 1999. "Maximum Homerdrive" was written by John Swartzwel ...

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

accepts a big-steak eating contest. A

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

advertising the restaurant appears in a panel in

George Takei George Takei ( ; born April20, 1937), born , is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS ''Enterprise'' in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Takei was born to Japanese-American parents, with w ...

's autobiographical graphic novel '' They Called us Enemy''.

Big Texan Motel

Located adjacent to the restaurant on The Big Texan Steak Ranch property is the 54-unit Big Texan Motel. The cinder-block construction motel is designed to resemble a main street in an old west town, and features Texas-themed decor and a Texas-shaped pool. In 2004, a 20-stall stable was added behind the main motel building.

References

External links