Ordering steaks online...have you done this?

[gailcox]

I want to order some steaks for my wonderful dad for Father's Day. Do any of you have any experience with either Allen Brothers or Stock Yards? I look at both websites and I just get hungry! Any suggestions?

thanks---gail

[pjstack]

I mail-ordered some Omaha Steaks once and they were just dandy!

They showed up at my door via FedEx (I think) packaged in a styrofoam box and a block of dry ice, individually shrink wrapped and solid as a brick. I thawed them as needed in the refrigerator as directed and they were just yummy.

Not the brands you mentioned, but I will guess that your Dad will enjoy them.

[gailcox]

Thanks! I will get them ordered today....better get a quick delivery! gail

[Grt2bOutdoors]

Here's another vote for Omaha Steaks. They were quite good.

[jebmke]

The one time we tried Omaha we were disappointed. We have a local specialty market that will cut exactly what we need. We don't eat a lot of meat -- 8-10 ounces for two is the norm. So buying bulk and large steaks doesn't make sense for us.

[sscritic]

My 95 year old father orders Omaha Steaks for himself. They sit in his freezer until he pulls one out; when I visit, he pulls out two. The ones he buys are not large, either 5 or 6 ounces. If jebmke and his wife split one, that's only 2.5 or 3 oz each, but my father and I each eat our own 5 or 6 oz.

[SnapShots]

Another vote for Omaha steaks. You can get mini to large steaks plus twice stuff potatoes, Yum! I don't think I've ever been disappointed with anything I've bought from there. I purchase for myself and gifts.

[Frugal Al]

They showed up at my door via FedEx (I think) packaged in a styrofoam box and a block of dry ice, individually shrink wrapped and solid as a brick. I thawed them as needed in the refrigerator as directed and they were just yummy.

Freezing a high quality steak defeats the purpose of buying a high quality steak--the texture changes. I think I'll pass.

[NAD83]

I agree that frozen steaks just aren't as good. We get Omaha Steaks every year only because we get a gift card from a business associate. The steaks are OK, but most of their other stuff is pretty blah. Burgers are not good. They're very overhyped due to great marketing. The product speaks for itself, and not very high IMO. But maybe there are better out there. I live there too.

[rdmayo21]

I'm seeing a lot of recommendations for Omaha Steaks. To me, they seem overpriced for what you are getting, not to mention the lowest shipping cost is $15.99.

Here's a place I highly recommend: http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok

For about the same price as Omaha, you get beef that is completely grass fed, and it has a flat rate shipping cost of $7.50. There is a minimum weight and cost requirement (7 lb and $75, respectively), but they have such a great selection, I don't usually find it a problem.

[Khanmots]

For about the same price as Omaha, you get beef that is completely grass fed

Just so others realize that grass-fed beef tastes different than corn-fed... and it may make a difference to the one you're gifting it to. For instance my mom dislikes grass-fed; I'd be in trouble if I were to order her those

[sscritic]

Here's a place I highly recommend: http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok

For about the same price as Omaha, you get beef that is completely grass fed, and it has a flat rate shipping cost of $7.50. There is a minimum weight and cost requirement (7 lb and $75, respectively), but they have such a great selection, I don't usually find it a problem.

I went to their website and clicked on best sellers. The top four were Pet Burgers, Lean Beef Patties, Kerrygold Salted Butter, and Kerrygold Unsalted Butter. Only one of their top seventeen items was a steak; Liverwurst and Ground Bison were both bigger sellers than any steak.

I surmise that people don't really like their steaks; it must be that grass fed taste.

[rdmayo21]

I went to their website and clicked on best sellers. The top four were Pet Burgers, Lean Beef Patties, Kerrygold Salted Butter, and Kerrygold Unsalted Butter. Only one of their top seventeen items was a steak; Liverwurst and Ground Bison were both bigger sellers than any steak.

I surmise that people don't really like their steaks; it must be that grass fed taste.

There could be a couple of explanations for this:

1. They might be ranking best sellers by # of units sold, which would explain why the cheaper products are ranked higher.

2. A lot of times, it's cheaper to buy grass fed beef from your local farmer. The products you mention are somewhat unusual and hard to find locally, which might explain why people order those from that website.

Also, when I used to buy the majority of my meat from there, I would usually buy more ground meat than steaks. Why? Because the steaks are more of an indulgence than a staple.

[CMartel2]

A nice alternative is to find a local farmer who will sell you a quarter of a cow or what have you. I get bison from a local farmer. Just drive out once a year and pick up enough meat for the year.

No shipping, and it's kind of a nice experience. You certainly know where your food is coming from and see next year's steak dinner roaming around the fields.

[rdmayo21]

A nice alternative is to find a local farmer who will sell you a quarter of a cow or what have you. I get bison from a local farmer. Just drive out once a year and pick up enough meat for the year.

No shipping, and it's kind of a nice experience. You certainly know where your food is coming from and see next year's steak dinner roaming around the fields.

I do the same thing If one can make room for a deep freezer, that is by far the best option.

[SJG]

Lobel's of NY ships fresh, never frozen. Excellent, restaurant quality, and ridiculously expensive. Allen Brothers will ship never frozen if you call and ask them to. Allen Brothers also runs a lot of promotions for extra free stuff if you order $99 or $129 (ex. 8 free burgers). You can sign up for their promo emails on their web site.

Steve

[mackstann]

I've gotten Omaha Steaks only because of gift cards, and while they were fine, I wouldn't spend my own money on them. The amount of packaging is absurd, and then they threw in this "free" "bonus" knife set which was the cheapest piece of garbage knives I've ever seen (and I'm not a knife snob by any means). I threw them in the trash and felt depressed by their cheap, sleazy wastefulness. They weren't even good enough to give to Goodwill -- pretty much any knives you'd find at Goodwill would be better.

The steaks, as I said, were fine, but I'd rather just get some locally.

[scrabbler1]

I first ordered Omaha Steaks back in 1994. My mom was still alive back then so we combined our orders and it was all shipped to her house. (She was on disability and lived only one more year.) When I was able to, I'd drive to my parents' house (about a 20-25 minute drive) and pick up my frozen items which were usually the 5-oz burgers and sometimes some steaks or steak tips.

For the rest of the 1990s, I'd order from them maybe once a year but around 2001 they opened retail stores in our area so I could save the shipping fee and not have to drive as far to get them. I began buying the breaded chicken fingers which were pretty good and was able to take advantage of some special promotional offers.

But a few years ago, the closest retail store closed and the next closest one was not far from my dad's house, so I had the longer drive again. Eventually, I stopped buying the chicken fingers and the steak tips because they were too expensive. The burgers I still buy, as I like them a lot. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, they just raised the price on them by 20%. It takes me about a year to eat all 16 of them in the box so it isn't that big of a deal.

[BogleBrit]

We bought a couple of times from Omaha Steaks. The steaks and burgers were fine but we didn't really get why anyone would spend the money to buy from them. They were no better than other options we can get locally for a lot less money. The hot dogs were really bad...and the free steak knives were indeed garbage. The worst thing though was that it took about 5 years after our last purchase before the huge amounts of junk mail and sales calls from them stopped.

[Muchtolearn]

I deleted my post. It was a long winded discussion of getting your father (and the world) on a plant-based diet instead but not fair to all of you meat lovers.

[SnapShots]

A nice alternative is to find a local farmer who will sell you a quarter of a cow or what have you. I get bison from a local farmer. Just drive out once a year and pick up enough meat for the year.

No shipping, and it's kind of a nice experience. You certainly know where your food is coming from and see next year's steak dinner roaming around the fields.

I do the same thing If one can make room for a deep freezer, that is by far the best option.

This poor lady is wanting to send something to Dad for Father's Day. Not order half a cow. However, the last cow I got was terrific. Not always true. Depends what the cow is fed, how it's butchered and how long it hangs.

Happy Father's Day to all you daddy's.

[MP173]

Received Omaha box set once for a gift. It was ok, but I wouldnt spend the money on it myself.

We purchase our beef at the grocery store, probably not the best, but it works. A nephew raises hogs for the 4H county fair and we buy 1/2 of it and have it made into pork chops, Italian Sausage (bulk), Brats, bacon, ham steak, and shoulders (for smoking good pulled pork).

The same might work for purchasing beef, but it would be a HUGE purchase, better have a big freezer.

ed

[Easy Rhino]

isn't the price per pound for omaha steaks like... a whole lot? Even with coupons or whatever, it doesn't seem worth it.

I've rediscovered the joy of a nearby middle eastern market. The fresh produce is absurdly cheap (it does go bad faster than supermarket stuff), but it turns out the beef is pretty inexpensive too. And it's halal, which I guess is some sort of bonus

[gailcox]

thanks for all the suggestions! We have ordered Omaha Steaks before and I wasn't happy with the quality. I was looking at Allen Brothers and Stock Yards. All I was wanting to order were his favorite--filet mignon. When my husband used to work for Morton's of Chicago, they got their beef from one of those two. I googled "best online steaks", or something like that and "Lobels" came up. So, I read some things about them and called them and talked to one of the owners. They don't ship frozen meat and the reviews were really good. I ordered some Prime Filet Mignon's for him from Lobels. Yes, it was expensive! But, my dad really loves filet mignon and would NEVER buy something like this for himself. So, I treated him for Father's Day, because he is just an awesome dad and I love him so much! He'll be 84 this August. I'll let you know how he likes them!

[MWCA]

I deleted my post. It was a long winded discussion of getting your father (and the world) on a plant-based diet instead but not fair to all of you meat lovers.

I enjoy a nice salad with my meat. Eat both that's how we were designed.


I've ordered steaks online no better than my local butcher long as they use choice or prime. Ease of use for an elderly person and being a gift would be generous.

[HornedToad]

I'm seeing a lot of recommendations for Omaha Steaks. To me, they seem overpriced for what you are getting, not to mention the lowest shipping cost is $15.99.

Here's a place I highly recommend: http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok

For about the same price as Omaha, you get beef that is completely grass fed, and it has a flat rate shipping cost of $7.50. There is a minimum weight and cost requirement (7 lb and $75, respectively), but they have such a great selection, I don't usually find it a problem.

You never need to buy Omaha steaks at retail. It's always 35-60% off typically. I like them and like the individual sizes.

For the person complaining about bulk steaks I think you must have been mistaken or have not seen the various petite filets of 4oz, 5oz, 6oz steaks and chicken.

[Khanmots]

I deleted my post. It was a long winded discussion of getting your father (and the world) on a plant-based diet instead but not fair to all of you meat lovers.

When they manage to make green veggies that don't taste "green" let me know!

Anyways, point is that genetics differ, and while you and others may well enjoy greens, there are those of us that find them truly unpalatable.

I do love me some fruit though... but too much of that is no longer a good thing.

[vesalius]

I'm seeing a lot of recommendations for Omaha Steaks. To me, they seem overpriced for what you are getting, not to mention the lowest shipping cost is $15.99.

Here's a place I highly recommend: http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok

For about the same price as Omaha, you get beef that is completely grass fed, and it has a flat rate shipping cost of $7.50. There is a minimum weight and cost requirement (7 lb and $75, respectively), but they have such a great selection, I don't usually find it a problem.

Thanks for that link, been looking for a place online to order grass-fed beef. It does taste a little different than grain-fed. I prefer the taste of grass-fed.

[Atilla]

Omaha Steaks...got some filets from the MIL once. Blech. Seriously not very good at all. And as far as grass fed vs. corn fed - if you're gonna spend money on good beef get corn fed only.

[momar]

My late grandfather used to send me Omaha steaks when I was in graduate school. He was a butcher as a young man, before owning a grocery store.

I guess that doesn't have anything to do with the thread, but it just made me think about him. He passed about a week after I came home to visit after getting my PhD. Funny, that; my grandmother passed a couple weeks after I got married. Almost like they were just hanging on.

[gailcox]

My dad got his steaks today and he about cried he was so happy! I wish I could enjoy them with him, but I will see him next month! I'm very happy I ordered them and can't wait to hear how he liked them cooked! gail

[Frugal Al]

Nice job, Gail. You are a wonderful daughter. On the website Lobel's meat looks good and it's shipped fresh with gel packs, not dry ice. I didn't even think the pricing was too terrible for prime until I realized that it doesn't include shipping. It definitely sounds like his surprise was worth it, though.

[snyder66]

Are there no farmers marets near you? I would try to find some local, fresh grass-fed beef.

[Offshore]

Received Omaha Steaks as a gift. Delicious! I would never pony up the cost of such a gift. We have a Ruths Chris in my city and, in my view, the experience of dining out is worth the extra cost.