Prime ribeye @ Costco - $8.99/lb

[azhotdish]

I saw these frozen, shrink-wrapped Prime ribeyes (probably 1 inch + thick) at Costco in PHX for $8.99/lb. They were packaged with two steaks per pack, so they were all around $20-25. Has anyone tried these? Thanks!

[Beefboy]

Hey you all,
I'm brand new to this blog so I don't know about any of you guys but I have been let down time and time again with lack of flavor of Costco's pork and beef. It always looks great from Ribeye and NY strips to Shoulder and Picnic. I have been more satisfied with cuts from places like Stop and Shop or Shoprite. Anybody know what I'm talking about?

[treb]

Not really, S&S, unless a cut is on sale, is total robbery. As an example, I bought steak tips at S&S, they were like buying scraps, thin scrawny left over looking, my next purchase was a Costco, $.50 pp more but, about triple the size in thickness and better looking. As for the lack of flavor, I don't get it most beef is processed in about 5 houses across the country, so a choice or prime cut is pretty much what it is, sans butchering. Sure it's not the way you're cooking it?

[malibumike]

As far as pork goes it is much leaner today, and therefore tougher and with less flavor, than it was 30 years ago when with a properly cooked pork lion chop you could almost cut it with a fork.

[Beefboy]

Thanks Malibumike,
I usually just buy pork shoulder to make sausage or salami but I occasionally smoke and/or grill as well. Thanks for the insight.

[Beefboy]

Thanks for responding Treb.
Interestingly enough, I have discovered that Costco meat is exclusevley packed and processed at a plant in Northern CA.

http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jul/...
However, Who knows where the bovine come from.

I'm not cooking any differently with either brand. I like to grill beef rubbed with a good amount Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper and sometimes olive oil. As for the pork, I like making my own sausage and salami so I usually get Costco for those puposes if it's on sale.

[Turnersinfrisco]

bulavinaka, did you age the steak according to the askthemeatman article? Did you age an entire rib-eye, and not the individual steaks?

[bulavinaka]

I did the individual steaks...

[hurls]

I didn't get from that article that Costco gets all its meat from that one plant, but rather that all that plant's meat goes to costco. And the article is over ten years old...

So I wouldn't put much credence in that being current

[Beefboy]

Well, you probably right about all that Hurls. However, I still stand behind my opinion about Costco's lack of taste compared to some of the other stores.
I have gotten the best meats at Wegman's Gourmet Markets or a local Kosher slaughterhouse here in Jersey. Their cattle come from Amish country in Burke's county PA and I believe are mainly corn fed. They are pretty darn good.

Beefboy

[Beefboy]

Hey,

Has anyone had any of the old time grassfed beef? I ordered some f and didn't like it very much at all. The ribeye was tolerable and the top round roast tasted too "livery". I guess it's more healthy but I won't get it again.

[Vexorg]

When I was over at the local (Kirkland) Costco this evening, I managed to catch some fresh prime ribeye steaks for $9.99 a pound. They cost a bit more than the regular USDA choice ones (those ones were $8.99 a pound,) and they were packaged on the blue trays instead of the usual white ones. Some were also labelled with "choice" stickers, but the actual price label said prime, and the difference in marbling was pretty obvious. I also saw that they had prime New York Strips as well, for $11.99 a pound (compared to $10.99 a pound for the choice.)

I attached a photo for comparison. Although some of the details are a bit hard to see, the difference in marbling should be visible.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with that much prime steak...

[bulavinaka]

Try dry-aging "that much prime steak..." In other words, maybe go ahead and grill up on or two now and use that as your benchmark for comparison on the extras that you can dry-age in your fridge...

We found the prime cuts in both the refrigerated section as well as in the freezer section of our local Costco. I picked up NY Strips from both cases, took a steak from each package and grilled them up with no aging two weekends ago. Both steaks were tender, juicy, succulent and sweet - really couldn't tell any difference between the refrigerated and frozen. However, the frozen steaks in the vacuum packs seemed to be trimmed better, and were more uniform in shape and size. I dry-aged the remaining steaks for a week and prepared them the same way - they tasted even more succulent, a little more tender, and more buttery in comparison to last week's steaks. My one gripe is that some of the steaks had a bit of grissel.

[Vexorg]

Is it possible to properly dry-age individual steaks successfuly in the refrigerator? The info I'm finding on dry aging seems to be intended for whole carcasses or strips as opposed to individual steaks, and seems to indicate that it requires very specific temperature and humidity to pull off (with the possibility of ruining all of the steak if it isn't handled properly.. Wet aging sounds like a more plausible option in this case (I have access to a vaccuum sealer if needed) so I suppose I could try that too.

[byrd]

this article is always worth reposting (scroll down):

http://www.askthemeatman.com/is_it_po...

[bulavinaka]

I asked myself the same question as the accepted method is to age a whole cut/section in a large commercial walk-in refrigerated hanging rooms where (hopefully) temperature and humidity is more stable. The safety issue in my mind has a lot to do with how long the properly handled and prepared steak is aged along with the temperature/humidity issue. I followed the usual methods and precautions of cleaning and immaculately drying the steaks with clean towels, then placed the steaks on a cookie rack placed over a baking sheet. This was placed in the back corner of the lowest section (the most stable area of our fridge) of the refrigerator for six days. This period allowed the steaks to dry out even further, concentrating the flavor and allowing some enzymatic process, yet not allowing the steaks to get to the stage of "controlled rotting." The steaks' exteriors appeared much drier but firm to the touch and the color was a deeper red with the fat showing signs of translucence. And from my recollection, all of the steaks appeared smaller. I didn't see or smell any signs of rotting, and no drippings were on the baking sheet. I covered the steaks with a towel and rested them on the counter for about an hour, seasoned with a good olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, then grilled them over charcoal about four to five minutes a side, then placed them in a 250 degree oven for about another 15 to 20 minutes. After letting them rest for another 15 minutes, we enjoyed the steaks with a couple of bottles of wine.

I don't know how much the steaks will benefit from wet-aging as this is supposed to further tenderize the meat but does nothing for the flavor. The Prime grade steaks I've seen at Costco have been well-marbled and our steaks straight out of the packaging were acceptably tender after preparing them the same way as I stated above.

[mdepsmom]

I picked some up the other day and they are thawing in the fridge as we speak. We're going to throw them on the grill tomorrow night so I will report back. The only steaks we buy anymore are bone-in ribeyes so I am curious to see how these primes can compare -- we usually get choice for $3.99/lb at Safeway or Fry's and they are always pretty darn tasty.

[cstr]

I see at lot of 'Select' grade at Safeway in that price range but not 'Choice'.

[mdepsmom]

I am sure you are right. I admit to not paying very close attention to the grades of meat I buy. That being said, DH and I weren't thrilled w/ costco's prime bone-in ribeyes. In all honesty, it wasn't any better than what we get at safeway for less than half the price.

[bulavinaka]

Of the three prime cuts we saw, the ribeyes were the worst - just not happening in the marbling or trimming departments. Ribeye is my favorite cut and I usually turn away from NY Strips and Filets (too lean for my tastes), but in this case, the NYs were by far the better choice for me. Well-marbled and just the right size, I kept putting the NYs and ribeyes side-by-side and the NYs kept ending up in my cart.

[treb]

Good point, not matter where you buy it pays to look for the goodness before handing over the $$$.

[bulavinaka]

It's normally a reflex action for me when it comes to steaks - bypass the other cuts and go straight for the ribeyes, but in this case, if I'm paying for Costco Prime steaks, I want what looks best and most flavorful. The NYs were near perfect (except for the grissel that I mentioned below). I noticed hardly any difference between the Choice and Prime grade ribeyes.

[treb]

I talked to one of the people who work in the meat cutting area at Costco, they said to look for the marbling as they periodically cut 'prime' and package it with a 'choice' label.

[NVJims]

YES!!! I had one this evening. Let it thaw and come to room temperature in the unopened pac. Opened the package, patted dry with paper towel, seasoned lightly with salt & pepper and held on a rack in a 250 degree oven for about 20 minutes until the center temperature was 95-100. Transfered it to a hot gas grill for about 2 minutes per side for grill marks and the smoky taste. Let set for 5 minutes and then thoroughly enjoyed with a good Pinot Noir.

Excellent flavor and very tender.

[ipsedixit]

I've never tried the frozen ones, but if you're lucky sometimes the meat dept. at Costco will put out prime ribeye (instead of the usual "choice"). For about 2 hours on Saturday afternoon before memorial day Costco had prime ribeye for the same price they usually charge for choice.

[byrd]

It's a sin to freeze "prime" graded beef.
JMHO

[gordeaux]

Um, I'll pay for that sin beef at 8.99 / lb for prime! Feel free to ship it all to me. I'll be happy to absolve all of those sins at that price.

[beteez]

I have had some of the boneless strips which were $11.99 pound & they were great I have some of the ribeyes in the freezer, but have nt tried them yet. Prime for what choice is locally when not on sale at Harris Teeter or Publix.