Legislators make a case for a state steak

Published 5:39 pm Wednesday, January 29, 2025

We, the people of Oregon, have been remiss, it seems.

We’ve named a state bird (Western meadowlark), a state flower (Oregon grape), a state nut (hazelnut), a state tree (Douglas fir), a state animal (American beaver), a state fruit (pear), a state vegetable (potato), a state pie, (Marionberry), a state beverage (milk), a state dance (square dance), a state mushroom (Pacific golden chanterelle), a state rock (thunderegg), gemstone (sunstone), fossil (Dawn redwood) and seashell (Oregon hairy triton).

But we have failed to name a state steak.

How could we?

Luckily, several Oregon legislators are stepping in to make up for this oversight.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 13, sponsored by Sen. Todd Nash, R-Enterprise, and Rep. Bobby Levy, a Republican from Echo, “Designates the T-bone as the official state steak.”

“I was down here when they unveiled the baked vegetable,” said Nash on a call from Salem on Wednesday, “and, you know, one thought crossed my mind: This potato needs a steak.”

So Nash, who is himself a cattle rancher, put forth the resolution earlier this month.

Actually, he said, his first idea was to name the ribeye the state steak. But, it turns out the ribeye is the state steak of Oklahoma, the only state that currently appears to have a state steak.

“We didn’t want to be copycats,” he said.

Gabrielle Homer, the president-elect of Oregon Cattlewomen, worked with Nash on the resolution.

She helped Nash land on the T-bone.

“The beauty of the T-bone is it’s kind of a two-fold steak,” Homer said. “So it has the strip side, which is the New York roast side or the New York cut steak side. And then there’s that bone. And then you have the tenderloin side.”

For Homer and Nash, the T-bone isn’t just dinner or a product from one of Oregon’s major agricultural exports, it’s a metaphor.

“It represents the state of Oregon to us,” Homer said. “There are two parts to it. Both are beautiful.”

“In the end, when you’re done with dinner and you have that bone laying on your plate there, it isn’t like a chicken,” Nash added. “It isn’t like a wishbone where you pull it apart and there’s a winner and a loser. Both sides are winners in this case.”

The next step for the resolution is a hearing, which is currently scheduled for Monday, Feb. 24.