How To Choose The Perfect Steak
A perfect steak is one of lifes greatest treats and pleasures, but only if the best sourced meat is perfectly cooked. Times have moved on from the days when choosing a steak meant plumping for a Sirloin, or perhaps Rump if on a bit more of a budget. Now there are a multitude of cuts which were always available, but have now reached the limelight with good reason. So which should you go for?
A Cut Above Meats Inc Fish & Organics
- Bulk Price Savings:
- Customer Service:poor
A Cut Above Meats is a bulk meat order company from London, Ontario. They offer some trial boxes on but emphasize bulk ordering is the best. Bulk pricing starts at $1,976.00 , and their test order totalled $3,052. Our biggest concern with A Cut Above Meats is that they charge HST on their food at a rate of 14.94%. This is illegal, higher than the harmonized tax rate and in conflict with the Ontario Ministry of Finance set rules on taxing food goods.What’s Taxable Government link here.
Seen above is a screen shot from A Cut Above Meats customer service email with communication charging HST in a quote from Tuesday February 16, 2021.
Pros: Suppliers, sources and certification are listed on web site.
Cons: Complicated and not user-friendly order process. Lack of price transparency. You are mandated to fill in a checklist before you will receive a price quote after a lot of back and forth. A Cut Above Meats charges HST on food.
RED FLAG:
A Cut Above Meats charges and HST rate of 14.94% on their food. This is illegal and in conflict with the Ontario Ministry of Finance set rules on taxing food goods.Government Link: What’s Taxable
WARNING:
Warning: A Cut Above Meats offers financing as some other companies do. We recommend to consult your bank or financialadvisor before making the decision to finance your food.
Best For Surf And Turf: Chicago Steak Company
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Exact source/farm information isn’t provided
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Shipping costs can be expensive
You can find everything from premium Angus beef to wet or dry-aged beef to American Wagyu on this company’s website. The variety of cuts is also impressive, from filet mignon to cowboy steaks. Steak assortments are also available, which are great for gifting or treating yourself to something special.
When it comes to seafood, the Fresh Fish Market section offers a variety of fish options. You can click over to the Maine Lobster House to order live Maine lobsters to make dinner extra special, whether its a quiet meal for two or the whole family.
Also Check: Ruth’s Chris Steak House Fort Wayne
Best For Busy Lives: Butcher Box
Maybe you love to eat steak and other meat regularly? Maybe you lead a busy life and dont have time to shop? Perhaps you live somewhere without easy access to a butcher shop? Or maybe, its some combination or even all three?
My point is, there are many good reasons to have someone else do the work for you when it comes to shopping for meat.
Butcher Box is a subscription-based mail-order meat company thats ready to simplify your steak shopping. You start by choosing your plan: you can fully customize an order or select mixed protein, beef & chicken, beef & pork, or all-beef which would be the go-to for steak lovers.
Then, you choose the size of box you want to be delivered, either 811 pounds or 1622 pounds. Finally, you let them know how often to send your order: every 4, 6, or 8 weeks. Thats it!
Now you just wait for delicious steaks to start coming your way. Oh, and shipping is free to all 48 contiguous states.
So, what can you get? The example given for a curated smaller box includes:
- 2 pounds of ground beef
- 2 New York strip steaks
- 1 pound premium steak tips
- 2 pounds chuck roast
- 4 top sirloin steaks
As you can see, youll not only get steaks, but youll also get some other quality beef to cook with. Plus, you can always add on extra steaks or choose to customize your order completely.
Butcher Box offers a level of quality and convenience that might be just what youre after for a set-it-and-forget-it approach to buying steaks. No more empty freezers!
Best For Something Wild: Fossil Farms
With a tagline of Wild. Natural. Sustainable. you know youll find some interesting meats on this site. From alligator to yak, youll find options here that you may not find elsewhere, including wild Scottish game, python, and kangaroo.
Of course, there are also more familiar meats, so you can pick up a rib roast or chicken breast and thighs. These won’t be your average dinners, though. Fossil Farms offers meat that’s antibiotic-free, hormone-free, and sustainable.
For many types of meats, from bison to chicken to alligator, you’ll be able to order sausage in addition to whole cuts of meat.
Don’t Miss: Omaha Steaks $20 Coupon Code
The Best Places To Order Meat Online In 2022
- Best for Surf and Turf: Chicago Steak Company
- Best Meat Subscription: ButcherBox
- Best for Beef and Pork: Snake River Farms
- Best for Delicacies: D’Artagnan
- Best for Overnight Delivery:
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Bulk and gift options available
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Doesn’t ship outside contiguous United States
If you’re looking to stock up on everything from ground beef and chicken to sirloin steak, pork chops, sausage, shrimp, and salmon, Rastelli’s has you covered. All of the products can be stored in your freezer for up to a year, and you can order in bulk or save money on a subscription.
Items like the Chicken Drumsticks Box, Steak Craft Burgers Box, and Ground Beef Box come with 12 servings so there’s plenty for the whole family. There are also gift box options that are perfect for holiday or corporate gifting.
Started as a one-room butcher shop in New Jersey, Rastelli’s remains a family-run business. All of the meat is responsibly sourced and completely free of antibiotics, steroids, and hormones.
The Flavor Of The Steaks
When looking for a place to buy mail order steak, how they handle their products could change their final flavor when cooked. Consider researching for online steak retailers using flash freezing methods for their meats.
Flash freezing is one of the best industry practices to contain the product within a short period. The temperature will affect quality and safety, resulting in better-tasting steaks.
How do you know if the steak is flash-frozen?
When delivered, you will see tiny ice crystals on the cuts. Cooking these means less moisture will leave the meat, making the steak have better flavor. If it has been sitting out before freezing, the water will instead pool or evaporate.
Read Also: Best Steak In Los Angeles
Farm Club Meat & Fish Delivery
- Bulk Price Savings:
- excellent, on site, and farm videos
- Ordering Process:
- Customer Service: good
Overall FarmClub is the best meat and fish delivery company reviewed for London, Ontario, and surrounding area. Best prices, clear and transparent website and sourcing information is available on their website. FarmClub delivers across Ontario and Quebec. Our test order came to a total of $2,264.30 the best offer available.
Seen above is a screen shot from the Farm Club website. Inventory and ordering is simple, with transparent weight per package and price.
Pros: Prices are listed clearly per lb. Easy to navigate website. âClubPackâ options available can reduce your costs even more.
Cons: No phone number listed on website. Only e-mail.
- Customer Service: good
Papa Earth advertises a meat subscription service but also offers a more cost-effective bulk option. They only offer local meat and wild caught fish. Their bulk services list the prices per lb., their box service does not. Papa Earth offers delivery across Ontario. Our test order totalled $2,332.59 with their bulk pricing at its best rate.
Seen above is a screen shot from the Papa Earth bulk store. They have a fully customizable build your own box format. Very unique. Inventory and ordering is simple, with transparent weight per package and price.
Pros: Easy to navigate website. Farming and certification are listed. Prices are transparent.
Cons: Minimum order to quality for bulk is $1250
- Customer Service:â good
Choose From Our Wide Range Of Grass
Its easy to create the classic steakhouse meal at home. All you need is a grill or a cast iron skillet, and great steak. Our wide choice of grass-fed steak from our online butchery includes rump, sirloin, fillet and ribeye, as well as Porterhouse, T-Bone and Cote de Boeuf. We also offer larger sharing sirloin and sharing rump steaks, ideal for steak lovers, or as a centrepiece for a family meal.
Also Check: Stuff To Marinate Steaks In
Best Steak Gift Boxes: Kansas City Steaks
Anyone with a barbecue knows that the best gift of all is more meat! If you have a friend, relative, co-worker, or employee who deserves a special treat, I highly recommend reviewing the gift box options from Kansas City Steaks.
Theres a dizzying array of gift boxes, some with all steak and others with combinations of food items, and they ship in sophisticated black boxes emblazoned with the Kansas City Steak Company logo. You can also choose combos that include desserts and sides and other main course options.
I love the thoughtful inclusions in some of the boxes. Like the Butter-Topped Gift-Boxed Steaks Special Combo: your lucky recipient gets 2 6oz Filet Mignon, 2 8 oz Kansas City Strips, 2 8 oz Ribeyes, and 3 oz of roasted garlic butter for a decadent finish.
And its more than just a pretty package Kansas City Steak Company sells premium aged steaks, including prime rib, porterhouse, and Kansas City Strip Steaks, aka NY Strip. Plus, you can find hard-to-get cuts like picanha, bone-in filet mignon, and ribeye cap steak.
So, if you are gift hunting for that special meat-lover on your list, hit up the Kansas City Steak Company and make sure you get an invitation to dinner:
The #1 Online Steak Provider Is
After thoroughly reviewing well over a dozen steak providers, weve narrowed down ButcherBox as the best. They are great not just for steaks but also for other types of meat from ground bison to seafood.
Because they regularly deliver each month, you dont have to worry about constantly going to the grocery store. This, combined with their free delivery, also means you can save on restaurant costs using high-caliber hormone and steroid free meat.
You can select from different box options and can even customize your box based on your preferences. For high-caliber steaks regularly delivered to your door, check out Butcher Box.
#1 Meat Delivery Service
- Grass-fed and grass-finished beef delivered directly to your door
- Without antibiotics or added hormones
- Customizable boxes available
- Select from up to 21 different cuts
- Get the BEST PRICE until the end of
Also Check: Butcher Box Vs Omaha Steaks
Top 10 Meat Delivery Services
If you are looking for the best meat shipping service, you should definitely consider ButcherBox. They deliver 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef, free-range organic chicken, and heritage breed pork directly to your door.
They source their products from partners with high standards for quality.
You can get a range of different cuts, from ground beef, American wagyu, to filet mignon, at a good value.
ButcherBox allows you to choose from 4 curated boxes or create your best custom box full of high-quality products for your meat subscription orders.
- Order can be canceled anytime
- Orders are packed in an eco-friendly box
- You can select a delivery frequency
- Focused on caring about animals and improving livelihoods for farmers
Crowd Cow is the marketplace for quality craft beef and pork from farms and ranches around the world.
They work only with farms that they know personally.
Crowd Cow considers it very important to know where and how animals were raised and proudly discover new, independent farms to work with.
They have various options like ground beef, wagyu beef, and dry-aged ribeye steak. You can search for Crowd Cow meat delivery products by the farm or by cut.
- Supporting local and independent producers
- Recyclable and compostable boxes
- You can send an order as a gift with a personalized gift note
Snake River Farms is a family-owned and operated business, selling and shipping high-quality products like beef, pork, and poultry.
Mail Order Steaks: Should You Thaw Season Then Re
When you order steaks online and theyre shipped to your house, the steaks usually arrive frozen.
If thats the case, I wouldnt bother thawing them just to season and then freeze them again.
Instead, cut the frozen steaks out of their bags, season them as desired .
Then seal the steaks in vacuum sealed bags. If theyre very wet from thawing, thats ok, I dont find it necessary to paper towel them before sous viding, but you can if you prefer.
I like to write the date on the freezer bags, too.
If youre looking for an interesting technique to try that takes about 1 minute or less to set up try my recipe for sous vide boneless ribeye steak with mayo sear it is juicy, full of flavor, and cooked with edge-to-edge perfection.
When you mayo sear the steaks you dont have to first. Steak that is quickly seared this way is delicious.
Want to make a complete meal with the power of immersion circulators? Serve with sous vide fingerling potatoes and sous vide Brussel sprouts for a complete meal.
Sous vide cooking isnt only for dinner. Check out the best egg sous vide recipes for brunch and breakfast.
Recommended Reading: Is Omaha Steaks Worth It
Order Steak For Your Needs How To Choose The Right Cut
There are many factors that can influence your choice, including cost, the intended dish and recipe, and how lean the meat is too.
But the good news is this: there really is a cut for everyone online.
Some of the cheaper cuts can easily taste as good as the more expensive ones, if treated with care.
Fat content is vitally important to the taste of a steak, as is good marbling. The tender fat which melts during cooking contributes much to the end flavour and makes for a memorable eating experience.
Best For Combos And Gifts: Omaha Steaks
Despite the name, Omaha Steaks isnt just steaks. You can find poultry, pork, lamb, bison, and even seafood. While you can certainly buy your cuts of meat individually, Omaha Steaks is best known for their packages that include a variety of different cuts, and offer a discount for these combos over buying everything separately.
Omaha Steaks also offers collections of full meals, including the meat and sides, as well as skillet or slow cooker meals. Gift boxes, including subscriptions, are available for every occasion. Cant decide? Gift cards are also available.
Don’t Miss: Steak Houses Near My Location
Best Premium: Snake River Farms
Although the name Snake River Farms wouldnt roll out until a couple of decades later, this companys roots extend way back to 1968. Based in Boise, Idaho , SRF carved out a unique market share for itself.
By breeding Japanese wagyu with American Angus cattle, you could argue that Snake River Farms created a new breed. And wow, do they take their breeding seriously! Today, their exceptional herd roams their 80,000-acre ranch in Washington, grazing on meadow grass in the foothills of the Cascade mountains.
If you didnt know already, wagyu beef is highly prized for its incredible flavor, intense marbling, and buttery texture. Unfortunately, true Japanese wagyu is challenging to get outside of Japan this may be the next best thing.
Shopping with Snake River Farms is a piece of cake: you can order à la carte, choosing just the cuts you want, select a curated assortment of meats , or become a subscriber and receive a small or large box of meat delivered either monthly or every three months.
Part of what sets SRF apart from other purveyors of American wagyu is the insane quality of their meat. Much of their catalog is black-grade wagyu, which exceeds USDA Prime for marbling. Still not good enough? Then try gold-grade, the highest level of excellence for American wagyu.
Best With Instructions: Marx Foods
What sets the Marx Foods site apart from its peers is the level of guidance youll get with your purchase. Between the test kitchen, the recipes, and the culinary techniques on their website, its a pretty sure bet youll find help cooking the food you buy, whether youre looking for a recipe for wild boar or youre wondering how to properly trim your meat.
Besides a ridiculously wide range of meat products, including camel for the most adventurous, youll also find fruits, vegetables, cheese, and even edible flowers. If youre looking for something really special, you can even find fresh truffles to finish off your perfect steak.
Recommended Reading: Farberware 8 Piece Steak Knife Set
Best For Delicacies: D’artagnan
DArtagnan prides itself on hormone-free and antibiotic-free meats from animals that live a stress-free life with plenty of space to move around. They have a wide range of beef, pork, lamb, and poultry , as well as more uncommon fare like rabbit, venison, and wild boar. Charcuterie items include rillettes, cured meats, bacon, sausages, and mousses, as well as charcuterie gift boxes.
For those who want something a bit more special, they also sell duck foie gras, fresh truffles, caviar, and ramps and fiddlehead ferns. A wide range of gift boxes are great for gift-giving or treating yourself, and the pantry section is worth a look for the demi-glace, duck fat, and fancy olive oils.
