Steak Online

Tips for buying steak online

Knowing Beef Nutrition is the key to buying great steaks.

Beef cuts vary in quality and cost. Picking the best requires some education. Sirloin is the least expensive and lean. A sirloin strip or New York are perfect for grilling. T-Bones and porterhouse steaks cost more, while filets or tenderloins are the most expensive.

Marbling in online steaks

Beef cut marbling refers to white fat veins or the distributions of fat in steaks. You’ll want fat to be evenly distributed across the grain of the steak. Marbling adds flavor. Make sure the online steak buying Web you choose mentions marbling.

Dry-aged versus wet-aged

Dry-aged steak Meat cut from a side of beef that hangs in a cooler for 20-30 days. Dry-aged beef is the ultimate in tenderness and flavor. Dry-aged beef is really something special. Most beef suppliers don’t offer it because it requires a major investment of time. During dry-aging, two processes take place. One is the breakdown of fibrous tissues, which results in tenderness. Second is evaporation of moisture which adds flavor because as moisture decreases and the beef shrinks, flavor intensifies. Because of this time and shrinkage, dry-aged beef is more expensive.

Wet Aged Beef Meat is packaged in vacuum-sealed bags and placed in coolers for “wet aging” before cutting and packaging. This process breaks down the meat fibers and become more tender then beef packaged and sold in supermarkets. Wet-aged beef isn’t exposed to air so it doesn’t lose as much moisture through evaporation. While delicious, the beef doesn’t develop as intense a flavor that dry-aging produces.

Online tips

Make sure to provide your vendor with an address where someone will be present to accept the steak from the shipper, and be sure to ask which shipping vendor they use. If you work in an office, have the steak delivered there, so the steaks won’t be left unattended on your porch where neighborhood Fido’s can get to it or sitting in a shipping truck. Also make sure you know the type of steaks you’ll be receiving: frozen, fresh and quality. Handling requirements will differ for each.

Where to buy online

A quick internet search for Steaks will provide several online retailers.

Some of the better-known vendors are:

• Allen Brothers
• Fairbury Steaks
• Cetak Meat Market
• Kansas City Steaks
• Bell Creek Beef
• Bief Beef
• Blue Stem Beef
• Farm Direct Beef Company
• Garvin’s Prairie Pride
• Nebraska’s Famous Steaks
• Omaha Steaks
• Smith Steak Company
• Stoysich House Of Sausage
• Trautmann’s Quality Meats