Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Thursday, November 30. 2017

Best steaks in the USA


Snake River Farms.  Yes, expensive, but likely better than you have ever had. I can almost guarantee it.


Given their cost, for God's sake don't overcook them. Our rule for good steak? Always in cast iron, never on the barbie.


A nice Christmas gift for a meat-loving family. 


Photo is their Wagyu Ribeye 

Posted by The Barrister in Food and Drink at 17:49 | Comments (16) | Trackbacks (0)

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Too rich for my blood, Costco has beef from Japan for even higher prices.
#1 Oldblood on 2017-11-30 20:50 (Reply)
I've basically shelved my grill since I started loving everything cooked from my cast iron.
#2 Hoss on 2017-11-30 21:32 (Reply)
These are at a ridiculous price - more than USDA Prime. $89 per steak (ribeye) does not guarantee great flavor - more than Peter Luger dry aged Prime steaks. Just silly. I have cooked and/or tasted aged steaks well beyond 100 days, true Kobe (yes, not Wagyu, in Japan), etc etc and spent a lifetime on best preps . This is just virtue-signalling "I can afford a brand name" stuff. Don't waste your money - USDA Prime at Costco/local butcher will be virtually indistinguishable from this.

Other proteins differ - perfect Colorado lamb (e.g. Neimans) is better than yo can generally buy, heritage pork is too.
#3 John L. on 2017-11-30 21:43 (Reply)
this is a classic case of buyer beware. In the US, there is no standard of identity for Kobe beef, and Wagyu is considered a breed, not a trademark. You can market a Wagyu/Angus crossbreed as either legally.
#3.1 another guy named Dan on 2017-11-30 22:13 (Reply)
Too bad! We always buy SRF Hot Dogs! Yes, I know it's $10/pound--but, the flavor is so good and the dogs are larger than Oscar Meyer by about 1/2.
#4 Apple Pie on 2017-11-30 22:14 (Reply)
We raise some grass fed angus at our place in Illinois. Would you like us to bring a 1/4 or two out with us for the Maggie's spring NYC hike?
#5 Jon & Clair on 2017-11-30 22:43 (Reply)
Hmmm. A whole quarter? Sheesh
#5.1 Bird Dog on 2017-12-01 07:24 (Reply)
Yes. 1/4 is a lot. Approx 65# of burger and 80# of steaks and roasts for $1k. Pasture raised, grass fed, hormone and chemical free, happy cows(steers actually). Maybe we should just bring a cooler of steaks to refortify our protein after the hike :)
#5.1.1 Jon & Clair on 2017-12-01 08:08 (Reply)
How long do you guys like to age your beef? >TIA
#5.1.1.1 RL on 2017-12-01 09:26 (Reply)
I would never attempt a quality steak without my sous vide cooker.

Certainly, cast iron to finish it off with a sear. But for that perfect edge-to-edge pink, with no time uncertainty, and for the retained juiciness that sous vide produces, you cannot beat it.
#6 bobby b on 2017-12-01 06:28 (Reply)
I'm not a big steak fans these days but will eat one when momma wants one. We can get beautiful prime cuts from a nearby butcher or get them from Costco or Winn Dixie. Of course, the steaks from the butcher are probably twice the price of the other sources. The issue is that the quality varies too much to say one is better than the other. The best ones we've had in years came from Winn Dixie and the worst came from the butcher. No way in the world I'd pay anything close to that price for a steak. What's your recourse if it's tough? I'm sure they would refund your money but in the meantime, your meal is ruined.
#7 FRP on 2017-12-01 07:08 (Reply)
Fresh Market has USDA Prime beef -- often at best prices. The whole meat counter features top quality goods. Highly recommend if you have one nearby.

Stores always have REAL butchers who will advise on and custom prep your purchase.
#8 Louis Miller on 2017-12-01 09:50 (Reply)
That's a good looking ribeye. I'd eat it, even if someone sinned upon it by grilling.

Meagan McArdle pointed out a while back that the best steakhouse is your own kitchen. Choose good product, learn to cook it properly, and you'll eat well at a fraction of the cost. I took that to heart. I have a couple of good butchers I visit. Sometimes I'll get an entire rib roast from Costco, and cut it and vacuum seal it myself. Once I walked past the meat counter of an upscale store, and stopped, and walked back to find my eyes weren't wrong: beautiful, well-aged prime rib for $8.99. I bought two ten-pounders, and both were as good as any I've ever had.

It does pay to get to know the butcher. When they know you appreciate their skill and knowledge, they start telling you "hang on, let me go in back." Then they come out with the beautiful pieces they reserve for friends and family.
#9 Gordon on 2017-12-01 10:40 (Reply)
For less than their prices, I could have a fine steak and trimmings served in finest restaurant — without any discernible difference for 999/1000 tasters.
#10 Richard on 2017-12-01 12:34 (Reply)
The head of our butcher department at the "bread and wallets" place is a union guy (real piece of $%^&). If I do a special order ahead of time for cowboy steaks from the rancher that they sell from--those steaks in that order are always nasty. I think it's because he knows who they are for and we do not have a mutual adoration relationship! My grandma used to tell me to be nice to the butcher--but, I couldn't --not with this guy! ;-)

BUT, if I go in announced and buy the quantity I need the day before the event and he is not there--no problem--those steaks are beautiful. Local Montana beef--range fed and grain fed the last 30 days. Grass fed--the fat has no flavor--my opinion.
#11 Apple Pie on 2017-12-01 15:56 (Reply)
What Richard said in #10. You can get a better steak with all the trimmings served to you for less than the cost of buying just the steak at a supermarket. I confirmed this yesterday by ordering a 22 oz. Porterhouse with potato, rolls, and shrimp salad for $29. It was the most tender steak I've eaten in decades. I ate about 1/3 of it and brought the rest home so I got two meals out of it.
#12 snopercod on 2017-12-01 17:33 (Reply)

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