Which Supermarket Has The Best Quality Meat
There are tons of supermarkets out there, so this article is going to focus on a handful of well-known supermarkets.
When shopping for meat, you should look for good marbling and nice red color with no brown spots.
Another factor in the quality of meat is whether the cow is given growth hormones or antibiotics. Animals fed right and treated humanely are not just for marketing. They make for better tasting, healthier meat. As a bonus, you can feel good that the cow lived its best life before it landed on your plate.
A Flexible Service With Affordable Pricing
PorterRoad
Porter Road is based out of Kentucky, which is where the company processes its meats. All meat is sourced from pastures in Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania and free of antibiotics and hormones. Its also dry-aged and hand-cut at Porter Roads own facilities.
For meat delivery, you have a few different options. You can pick and choose the beef, pork, lamb and/or chicken cuts you want, sign up for a subscription or get a curated box with Porter Roads favorites. The company also has bundled boxesincluding a Stay At Home Bundlethat make great gifts for family friends across the country. Most meat, with the exception of sausages, ground beef and large roasts, arrives fresh.
Here’s What To Look For When Shopping For Steak Knives
There’s nothing like cutting into a porterhouse steak or a lamb chop and having no resistance from the knife or meat. Part of what allows the meat to “slice like butter”as the saying goesis starting with a very tender cut. A proper steak knife also plays a role, making it much easier to cut the meat. “The edge, shape, and material all play an important role in the selection of a quality steak knife. A high-quality knife will have a smooth, sharp edge, that slices cleanly through food, rather than tearing through it,” says the team from F.N. Sharp. But with so many sets of steak knives on the market at drastically different price points, where does one begin? Here, we’re sharing what you need to know about purchasing steak knives, as well as how to sharpen, store, and care for them.
Don’t Miss: Does Mcdonald’s Still Have Steak Bagels
Is Organic Beef Grass
Organic beef does not necessarily mean it was grass-fed.
Organic means that the animal was not given added hormones or antibiotics or pesticides in the food. The feed can be grass, corn or soy .
Grass-fed meat means that the animal was pasture-raised and was not fed corn or soy. Grass-fed meat is often organic, but organic does not necessarily mean grass-fed.
Because cattle that are fed grain are inherently less healthy, organic does not necessarily mean better. Studies show that grain-fed cattle have unhealthy omega 6 to omega 3 fats. They have higher saturated fat and tend to be pro-inflammatory.
Grass-fed cattle have a much healthier omega 6 to omega 3 fat ratio.
They also tend to contain more vitamins, are less likely to have E. coli, less saturated fat, and fewer calories than commercial grain-fed meat.
So, if you are looking to purchase the healthiest steak, look for organic grass-fed beef with a USDA rating of at least Choice.
Beef Chuck Primal Cut
This cut of meat is a large section of beef cut from the shoulder, arm, and chest sections. With it, you can get other prime cuts, like Denver steak, blade steak, and flavorful roasts. This section of beef is known for its robust flavor and its ability to produce a number of popular steaks.
Pros
Beef that comes from this cut of steak are best used for roasts, where theyll cook slowly over low heat. The cooking process naturally tenderizes the beef with its own fat, leaving behind the rich, beefy flavor you want without the tough and chewy texture.
Cons
Some steaks that you get from the beef chuck primal cut, like the blade steak, have a long piece of fat running through them that youll need to cut around before you eat the meat. Some of these cuts can also be tougher than other steaks youre used to, so it may not be the best option for searing, cooking on the grill, or using another method that could dry out the beef.
Read Also: Does Mcdonald’s Still Have Steak Bagels
How To Choose A Steak: The Faqs
When choosing a steak to cook, youve got a lot of options to filter through. Prime or Select? Angus? Grass fed or grain fed? Dry aged or wet aged? Sirloin steak or T-bone steak?
Which combination of the above should you get? An Angus, Prime, grass-fed, dry-aged T-bone steak?
What does that even mean?
Below we answer all the common questions that arise as you try to decide what steak youre going to pick and cook.
Look For The Right Cut Of Steak
This is a highly subjective topic, but its generally agreed that the tenderloin is the most tender cut of steak. That being said, its not my personal favorite. Because its super lean, it can dry out if youre not careful!
When youre going all out, we recommend picking up a Prime ribeye or New York strip. Theyre the easiest steaks to cook because of their high levels of marbling, which build in a lot of forgiveness in case you accidentally overcook them.
Any 1-inch-thick steaks cut from the short loin or sirloin are also fantastic choices for the grill when youre on a budget. Thinner steaks from the plate tend to be tough but have a beefy flavor, and they grill up just fine if you marinate them.
I wouldnt recommend grilling steaks that come from the chuck, briske, or round. These tougher cuts are inexpensive, but theyre better suited for low-and-slow cooking methods.
Don’t Miss: Omaha Steaks Dry Ice Disposal
A Complete Guide To Steak
Not all beef is the same. Different cuts have unique flavors, textures, and colors. Often, you have to cook a particular cut a certain way, so you need to know the differences between the types of steak you’ll find most often in the grocery store or at your butcher’s counter. This complete guide to steak will make it so much easier for you to find a great steak. We’ll take the stress out of shopping by showing you how to select the best types of steak.
A Good Steak Starts With A Good Cut
Now that you know what to look for and what to avoid when you are shopping for the best steak, you can easily decide which cut is going to be good. Learning to grill, smoke, or sear a steak to perfection is much easier when you start with a good quality steak. You don’t have to buy the most expensive cuts, either. You can make an affordable rib eye steak that’s nearly as tender and more delicious than a high-dollar filet mignon. Some of the labeling you’ll see will let you know how the cow was raised and can help you to know that the beef you are buying is good quality.
The Bearded Butchers are dedicated to providing as much information as we possibly can to help you understand how to best process and prepare meats of all kinds. To help you, we maintain a blog and Youtube channel with lots of free, high-quality information. The Bearded Butchers and Beardedbutchers.com are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This means that The Bearded Butchers may receive a commission if you click on a link above and make a purchase on Amazon.com.
Also Check: How Do I Track My Omaha Steaks Order
How Much Porterhouse Steak For 100 People
For a big crowd of 100, you should serve at least 50 lbs of Porterhouse steak.
How Much Porterhouse Steak Do I Need to Buy for 100 People
You will need to buy 65 lbs of uncooked porterhouse steak from your butcher. Remember that you will lose some weight when the porterhouse steak is cooking.
With all of these suggested serving sizes, you can prepare an extra few pounds of meat, especially if you know that there may be extra people coming. Experienced caterers know this piece of advice to prevent a shortage of food during the event.
What Part Of The Cow Do Steaks Come From
Different types of steaks can come from nearly any part of the carcass of a steer. However, there are four areas most commonly associated with beef steaks:
- The Rib The Rib is the section of the carcass where the Delmonico, Tomahawk, and Ribeye are cut from.
- The Short Loin The Short Loin is where the Top Loin, T-bone, New York Strip, Porterhouse, and Club Steak are cut from.
- The Sirloin The Sirloin is where youll find, unsurprisingly, the Sirloin and Pin Bone Sirloin Steaks.
- The Tenderloin The Tenderloin contains the sought after Filet Mignon and Chateaubriand steaks.
The top and center muscles on a steers carcass are prized because they dont get much of a workout.
Since they arent used very much in the day-to-day life of the steer, the tissue remains tender.
This is particularly true of the Tenderloin, hence the name.
You May Like: Does Mcdonald’s Still Have Steak Bagels
Why Is Steak So Expensive
The most expensive cuts of steak like the ribeye, strip loin, tenderloin, and T-Bone all come from the four areas of the carcass mentioned above.
You pay extra for the most tender steak thanks to a couple of reasons:
- Supply and demand Steaks cut from the Rib, Shortloin, Tenderloin, and Sirloin have a reputation for being tender and flavorsome cuts of meat. This reputation, combined with the fact that these cuts are perfect for quick searing in a pan or grill using reasonably easy techniques, stokes demand and keep prices high.
- Scarcity The Ribeye, New York Strip, Tenderloin, T-bone, and Porterhouse only make up about 8% of the total carcass of a steer. This low meat-yield keeps prices high for the most desirable cuts.
- Lack of knowledge about other cuts Most people know what a Ribeye steak is and so are happy to order one in a steakhouse or buy one in the supermarket. Cuts like the Denver Steak, are less well known and people are less likely to purchase cuts of meat they are not familiar with.
Its a bit of a misconception that anything marketed as a steak is going to be an expensive cut of meat.
Flat Iron steaks, Denver Steak, and Ranch Steak are all taken from the relatively inexpensive beef chuck section of the carcass.
They might take a little more effort to cook but, when prepared properly, they are still delicious cuts of meat.
What Is Wagyu And Kobe Beef
Kobe beef is a type of Wagyu beef and Wagyu beef is beef from Japanese cattle. Kobe beef is comprised of a very particular strain of Wagyu called Tajima-Gyu that is raised to strict standards in the prefecture of Hyogo.
What sets Wagyu beef apart from beef from other breeds of cattle is the marbling: theres a lot of it. Thanks to years of selective breeding and a longer fattening period, Wagyu steaks have a nice, evenly distributed amount of fat. Whats more, the fat in Wagyu beef melts at a lower temperature than other breeds, which gives the meat a delicious, buttery flavor.
Kobe beef, which again, is a type of Wagyu beef, has even more marbling and tenderness than standard Wagyu beef. To be labeled as Kobe beef, cattle must meet even stricter standards concerning how the animals are raised, and the quality and marbling of their meat.
Thanks to these stringent standards, Kobe beef is expensive to produce, which means its expensive to buy. Retail, Kobe can cost around $100 a pound, while a 12-ounce steakhouse rib eye can set you back close to $400.
If youre in the market for Kobe steak in the United States, pay close attention to labels. In recent years, American meat producers have been importing Wagyu cattle from Japan, cross breeding them with American Angus cattle, and labeling the resulting beef as Kobe-style. Kobe-style isnt Kobe. Dont get me wrong, domestic Wagyu beef is a good cut of beef. But its not Kobe.
Recommended Reading: Creamy Dill Mustard Mcdonalds
Best Steaks On The Grill
Grilling is the classic way to cook a great steak. You can use high heat and short cooking times to get a perfect medium rare steak on the grill. Some of our favorite cuts for grilling are Porterhouse steaks, T-Bone Steaks, and New York Strip steaks. Rib eye steaks are simply to die for when you do a simple reverse sear on the grill.
How To Check Steak Is Cooked
Use your fingers to prod the cooked steak when rare it will feel soft, medium-rare will be lightly bouncy, and well-done will be much firmer. Our picture guide to checking steak is cooked shows you how to use the ‘finger test’, or a meat thermometer inserted into the centre to ensure it’s done to your liking.
Blue: 54C
Well done: 75C
Don’t Miss: Sam’s Club Philly Cheese Steak
What Might Still Nag At Some Is Why Costco Has Such Low Prices
There are several reasons, outlined here.
They save money by not advertising and not offering anywhere near the number of different items that traditional stores do, which is partly why theyre able to keep markups low.
But when it comes to meat, with some exceptions, there is generally not a ton of transparency about its exact origins. Many stores and specialty butchers that do tout the provenance of their meatwhich is usually also certified organic and humanely raisedunsurprisingly, will charge more for it, since its more expensive to rear and more highly valued by customers for whom those factors are important.
Costcos policies regarding animal welfare dont offer many details about beef in particular, except to say that they subscribe to and support the Five Freedoms of Animal Well-Being, and that since 2005 they have required animal welfare audits at slaughter in accordance with the American Meat Institute Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines, with all animal welfare auditors auditing their suppliers being PACCO certified. In contrast, Whole Foods, for just one example, provides more specific information about their beef sources and standards.
If you still think Costco steak sounds like a no-brainer, theres just one more thing to consider.
So Should You Buy Your Steaks At Costco
The answer is that famous cop-out that also happens to be true: Only you can decide!
If money is no object , getting your steaks and other meat from a trusted, skilled, local butcher is probably always the best bet, but if you want high quality at a lower price per pound, arent worried about dealing with excessive quantities, obscure origins, or blade tenderizing, and you can get in to shop at a Costco, then make haste to their meat department.
Don’t Miss: Did Mcdonald’s Discontinue Egg White Delight
Are Beef Tips And Steak Tips The Same Thing
From the regions restaurants come sirloin tips, which serve as a summer favorite, and the beef tips, also known as steak tips, make an appearance on many restaurant menus this time of year. The steak tips do not just include the bottom piece of sirloin even the tenderloin tip may be made from flap and round meat.
One Other Factor To Keep In Mind Though: Most Of Costcos Steaks Are Blade
This is also known as being needled, and means theyve been mechanically punctured to make them more tenderwhether that should be necessary to do to Choice and Prime beef is up for debate, but the fact is, they do it.
This has the potential to drive surface bacteria deeper into the meat, so to be safe, you should cook these steaks to the recommended internal temperature of 160 degrees. If you like your steak rare, you can ignore the suggestion and chance it , but food safety standards strongly advise against it.
If you buy a whole roast or loin to carve into steaks yourself , this wont be a concern.
Read Also: Omaha Steaks Chicken Cordon Bleu Cooking Instructions
How To Store And Care For Them
Just like a chef’s knife or Santoku knife, steak knives should be stored with great care to preserve their lifespan. Store them in a knife block, a wooden box , or with a knife sheath to prevent damage to the blades.
Similarly, wash steak knives just as you would regular knives. “If you intend to hand wash your steak knives, you can opt for wooden handles or other natural materials. If you prefer the convenience of putting your steak knives in the dishwasher, you will want to look for stainless steel handles,” says the team at F.N. Sharp. Chef Kathleen Crook of in Sante Fe, New Mexico, says that hand-washing your steak knivesas opposed to putting them in the dishwasherwill keep them sharper longer. “The high heat and chemicals in the dishwasher breaks down the blade and sharpness,” says Crook.
To sharpen steak knives, use a honing steel after each use and a whetstone one to two times a month . A basic handheld sharpener will work too.
How To Reheat Steak
Theres nothing worse than taking a leftover steak, trying to reheat it, and totally over cooking it so that its barely edible. The best way to reheat a steak so that it is just as good as it was the first time is to use the oven.
Put your leftover steak on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Set your oven to 250 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 110 degrees F.
Your steaks are ready for a makeover and this steak marinade is ready for the job! Youll never make a steak a different way again!
Read Also: How Long Will Omaha Steaks Stay Frozen During Shipping
