Father’s Day is just around the corner, and if you’re looking for a special treat for the meat-loving dad in your life, look no further than your front door. Consumer Reports taste-tested steaks from several mail-order companies to find out which ones are a cut above the rest.
It’s a tough job, but someone had to do it. A blind panel of eight tasters from Consumer Reports sampled popular filet mignon and rib-eye cuts from Omaha Steaks, the Kansas City Steak Company, and Snake River Farms.
The companies didn’t know that Consumer Reports was testing their steaks. They were purchased the same way any consumer would.
The panel looked at everything from the packaging to the steaks’ appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture.
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Snake River Farms was voted Editor’s Choice. The filet mignon was everyone’s favorite, and the cowboy steak was a stunner that would make any meat-lover happy. But Snake River Farms filets didn’t come cheap—at $8.50 an ounce—and the 40-ounce rib-eye cost $158, or $3.95 an ounce.
Voted Best for a Crowd, the Kansas City Steak Company’s filet was $5.83 an ounce, and the 18-ounce rib-eye was about $70, or $3.96 an ounce. Most tasters liked the rib-eye the best even if it wasn’t the prettiest.
Omaha Steaks was voted Best Value. Neither the filet or the rib-eye was a favorite in the taste test. But testers appreciated how beautifully butchered and well-marbled the steaks were. Omaha was the least expensive of the three. Its filet was $4.76 an ounce and the rib-eye cost $3.54 an ounce. Consumer Reports said many tasters compared Omaha’s steaks to a really good supermarket steak … a perfectly fine option and an especially good value.
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Consumer Reports says the steaks from all three companies come frozen and packed with dry ice—so there’s no pressure to eat them as soon as they’re delivered.
