Beef and reef

The term began to appear in print in the late 1960s. Here’s a reference from the Syracuse Herald Journal, 1967, in an editorial review of ‘The Fabulous Fireside Inn’.

“Another speciality is the Beef and Reef platter of broiled Alaska king crab a filet mignon with drawn butter.”

‘Beef and reef’ and ‘surf and turf’ emerged around the same time. Whichever was first must have influenced the other and whoever coined the second must have been delighted to find another rhyme that fitted the meaning so precisely. ‘Surf and turf’ is the more commonly used, especially in the USA, with ‘beef and reef’ best known in Australia.