Best Online Steaks and Reviews by Chef Kevin Bouchard

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Click on any image to read our most recent reviews. Our steak reviews are based on the products we secretly purchase from each supplier. We take our own photos and write very detailed reviews so you can make the best buying decisions for your taste, needs, and budget. We hope to share with you our customer experience in the same manner you might. Advertisers do not have any influence on our reviews.
Your intuitions are right. Beef just doesn't taste the same as it used you, and you're probably going back five to ten years. Ask the old-timers who can go back thirty or more years and they'll tell you what you already know.

What could be worse than seeing 50% off sales of Filet Mignon for $5.99 a pound at your local market, only to discover it's USDA Select. You look at your fellow shoppers fighting among themselves for the largest cuts, but they are all small and have no marbling. 

An overwhelming sense of humanity comes over you, and you want to help save mankind from being misled into thinking they are getting a great deal. USDA Select might be 50% less than USDA Choice Filet Mignon, but it's not really on sale at all. In fact, $5.99 a pound might be a lot to pay for a steak as poor and flavorless as this one will be.
But the crowd does not respond to you as you would expect. In fact, they buy more of the Soylent Green beef as if it were the last they might ever have. It seems most of the population is okay with lesser quality, as long as it's cheap. 

And here lies our problem. The masses do not understand the difference between cheap and inexpensive. They are not going to pay more for USDA Prime or dry-aged beef. They only want cheap, free, or as close to free as the store can get. Sadly, your local markets have no choice but to accommodate their wishes or they will go out of business, or get stuck with a lot of product past its expiration date.
Chef Kevin Bouchard

Chef Kevin Bouchard - My Steak Bucket List

It's not that great-tasting beef doesn't exist anymore, because it does. There is a near private society of gourmands who work towards preserving the high-quality traditions of the past. The "Ancients" are not only cattlemen but consist of their customers too. It's a perfect cycle of farm to grill as neither can exist without the other.

And that is why you have found your way to this website. The blood of the Ancients runs through your veins too, and you can't spend another penny on the cheap meat rations intended for the masses. But like any skill, you have to start slow and work you way up until you achieve a comfort zone that is perfect for your needs and your budget.

Finding these fantastic beef experiences has become my steak bucket list. Now I am ready to share with you my experiences and help you avoid the expensive learning curve I suffered through.

Our Online Steak Review Based is Based on Value

It would be easy to point you in the direction of some $150 steaks and tell you how great they are. And you know what? They would be. But I can't eat $150 steaks on a regular basis, and I have to say I am quite happy to at least done it once in my life. I entertain a lot, and my entertaining has no season. From a bunch of my fantasy football buddies coming over watch some games to intimate dining experiences with family and friends, I will always put at least one beef on the menu.

I do spend more than what I would pay at the market, but I ferret out amazing deals of high-quality beef at reasonable prices for what I am buying. You can't go wrong with a $150 steak, but what if you can get it 30% with free shipping, and half a dozen USDA Prime 6 oz. Filet Mignons thrown in? That is kind of value I just can't pass up on.

When you buy a vehicle, the type of vehicle you choose is based on how you are going to use it. If you drive 60 miles a day to work, you might want a car with great gas mileage. Sports cars are known to assist men in the mid-life crisis years, and trucks are the choice when pulling or carrying heavy loads are required. How you buy your steaks online has a lot to do with how you are going to use them. Here are five categories I generally buy and cook for: 
  • Eat Big and Go Home with a Doggie Bag - When the fantasy football guys come over, the theme of the day is gluttony. And I'm talking steaks so big they can't possibly be finished, especially with my never-ending menu of appetizers and sides. I like Bone-in Ribeyes, NY Strips, or Porterhouses, all more than 40 oz. each. The King Cuts at Omaha Steaks is my favorite online steak site for these cuts if I don't buy whole sections and butcher them myself, which is less expensive, but not as good. 
  • Gourmet Entertaining - I would buy for a day like this much differently than I would when our friends come over. The theme of that day on these occasions is all about a gourmet experience that goes beyond just beef. I tend to stick the traditional favorites but prepare them in a way where I can control portion sizes. For example, an expertly prepared filet mignon roast can be sliced thin and presented on a platter. If I am doing steaks, I'll generally stick with Filet Mignon 6-8 oz., or a NY Strip 10-12 oz. 
  • The Budget Gourmet - Of course, when the in-laws are coming over, I buy differently again. Here I like to load up on high-quality cuts that are not at the top of the food pyramid, no pun intended. They are still going to get a great meal, but my stomach won't turn when I see someone cut away 75% of a Ribeye Steak because they think it has too much fat. My wife no longer allows immediate dismissal of family guests for such actions, so I have had to adjust the menu accordingly. The trick here is all in the expertise of preparation, making good, but less expensive cuts taste like high-end gourmet cuts. I'll show you how I do this too!
  • Daily Delights - If you haven't guessed, I do all the cooking in the house, and when I cook dinner, I cook enough for some fantastic leftover lunches. No one in my family goes to work or school with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich unless they want one. I could experiment with some new cuts or test some new cooking techniques. I will also venture away from the world of beef and make some amazing meals with pork, chicken, or seafood. I still put pork in the category of it being much better sourced online than purchased locally. Chicken and seafood I rarely buy online, except for dry sea scallops, especially if they are U10 or better.
  • Research and Development - The is a great satisfaction for preparing delicious meals for others but I rarely ever cook something for others for the first time. Plus, if I am going to buy a $300 Japanese Wagyu Ribeye, I am not going to share it with guests. It is for my own personal enjoyment. It doesn't always have to be super high end, I just ordered some Las Vegas Strips, which is a new and slightly different cut than the NY Strip. Let's see what's that's all about. I've also been having a love affair with double-cut, center-cut, bone-in pork chops. I french them for presentation and can honestly say that make a gourmet presentation as good as any steak.

How Can I Help You with Your Online Steak Bucket List?

Finding the perfect online steaks for your needs and budget is not as easy as it might seem. While there are some great suppliers out there, there are also some that cut corners, use fancy names, and appear to make their products look like something they are not. 

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

The first thing I look for when buying online steaks is a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Not everyone has it, including some of the biggest names in the industry. In the rare instances, I have had to use a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee these companies not only recognized and agreed with my claim, they made the situation right and gained a loyal customer for life.

Steak Matchmaker

I would imagine most of you will be able to read my online steak reviews and make the buying decisions you need for your upcoming event or dining experience. Please use my Steak Matchmaker form on my contact page if you have a unique situation you feel I can help you with. Just allow 24 to 48 hours for me to write you back.

And you may want to join my email list to be alerted of new steak companies or cuts I have tried.

Good luck!

Kevin Bouchard
BestOnlineSteaks.com

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