Snake River Farms
Snake River Farms Reviews - Best Online Steaks
Snake River Farms (SRF) talks a lot about the quality of their beef, which makes us wonder why they don't offer their customers a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
About Snake River Farms and Double R Ranch
Snake River Farms is owned by Agri Beef, a parent company that also owns Double R Ranch Beef, St. Helens Beef, and Rancho EL Oro Beef. Double R Ranch Beef is available at the Snake River Farms Website. Agri Beef oversees every steep of the beef lifecyle process including ranching, feeding, and processing. In addition to US markets, the company exports to over thirty other countries.
- Snake Five Farms - American Wagyu Beef and American Kurobuta Pork 100% Purebred Berkshire Hogs
- Double R Ranch - USDA Prime and USDA Choice Grain-Fed Beef
- St. Helens Beef - USDA Choice Angus Grain-Fed Beef
- Rancho El Oro - USDA Select Grain-Fed Beef
- No 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
The company raises and uses local ranchers in the Northwest where it believes that is the best environment to produce the best tasting steaks.
We highly recommend you sign up for the company newsletter and elect to receive promotional offers, which occasionally can be as high as 50% off. Hint to SRF: Put the Bone-In Filet Mignon back on 50% Sale!
SRF American Wagyu Gold Grade Top Sirloin Served with Mac and Cheese and Creamed Spinach
Our Snake River Farm Review
American Wagyu Gold Grade Top Sirloin 10 oz - $23
It almost seems like just because someone calls their steak "Wagyu," we are supposed to immediately think it will be the best steak we ever had and it will melt in our mouth. Mainly, because that what you see everyone on TV says when they try it. The worst, most expensive steaks I ever had, were American Wagyu, and while this one is not the worst, it is not worthy of its hefty price for just 10 ounces. Don't be one of those people who loves it when you don't because it's Wagyu and you feel like you have to.
It grilled nice, and it looked fantastic on the cutting board, but there are a lot of USDA Prime and USDA Choice Top Sirloins that are not just better than this one, but much better. And I'll take that a step further, much bigger, and much less money. We had guests over when we served this and while their original responses were polite. I had them try a D'Artagnan Top Sirloin at $7 each. No contest. I always get eyes to pop out of their head with the D'Artagnan Top Sirloins. I cooked some more the SRF American Wagyu's the next day for a steak and eggs breakfast, and no one finished their steak.
Grilled Ribeye Filet with Scalloped Potatoes and Broccoli and Cheese Sauce.
American Wagyu Ribeye Filet 6 oz - $25
There is something not right in the steak universe here. There is no such thing as a Ribeye Filet. Sure, you could cut a small circle beef from any steak and create one, like an NY Strip Filet, or a Brisket Filet, but why would you? $25 for a 6 oz. part of a Ribeye sounds like the result of a bad marketing meeting. I'll take the Ribeye or the Filet. Why didn't you call it Ribeye Filet Mignon? I wonder where the rest of the Ribeye went.
Once again, our packaging cracked during shipping. The flavor on this steak was much better than the Top Sirloin, but it was not worth $25 in our opinions. Look how small the portion size is on the plate. When we serve a six-ounce steak, we plan to serve two. In restaurants, you'll see them as "Twin Filet's." We would assume you might be interested in trying Wagyu steaks for the first time or thinking of giving them as a gift. It's a question I get all the time, and I always refer first-timers to Allen Brothers. Don't buy it if the sticker is too much for you, get something else, but whatever you get there will be a real steak, (not a made-up one), the packaging won't crack, there will be a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, and it will be delicious.
Double R Ranch Filet Mignon Served with Whipped Mashed Potatoes and Baked Brussels Sprouts
Our Double R Ranch Review
USDA Choice Filet Mignon 8 oz - $24
We taste test a lot of filet mignon, and we do it based on two ratings: The first is what we thought of it on a scale of one to ten with no regards to what we paid for it. The second review is based on value where we do take into consideration the quality for the price we received. In both instances, this filet mignon scored below average. The packaging on this steak cracked during shipping too.
It's not that there is anything wrong with it, because there isn't. In fact, if you ordered it out at a restaurant, you would probably think you have a pretty good steak, and for 8 oz., you can see it provides a decent portion size. It's just that we can think of other Filet Mignon's we've tested, and reordered over an extended period of time, that would taste equal to this one or better. They would be this size or larger, and they could be this price for less. Some might even be much larger and much less. For gifting or part of a package, or if you get it on sale, okay it may work there. But for everyday dining, or entertaining, we think you can find better quality and better value.
Grilled Flank Steak with Rice, Carrot, and Bean Medley and Green Beans Almondine
USDA Choice Flank Steak 14 oz - $16
Best Steak of Our Order!
The website says this steaks weighs "about one pound," ours weighed in at 14 ounces, or 12.5% less than advertised. We felt cheated. That's like us saying Snake River Farms is almost an honest place to order your steak online.
This almost one pound Flank Steak was basically a throw-in with our order, and it turned out to be the best Flank Steak we've had in a long while. The most important thing about serving Flank Steak is that you have to cut it properly, against the grain, to ensure you enjoy tender bites. If you cut it with the grain, you can expect the meat to be chewy. By far, the most tender Flank Steak we've ever had. We should have tested it by cutting it wrong! We enjoyed ours served like any other steak, but this cut would make wonderful tacos, thinly sliced for steak sandwiches or salad toppers, and diced or cubed for chili and curry. This steak packs a fistful of great beef flavor, in fact, we were surprised how much flavor we experienced after sampling Wagyu, and USDA Prime cuts from this company. It was the best steak of the day. Sadly, it's not the kind of steak one would seek to purchase online, and SRF would not be our first choice to buy other beef cuts. We think it's worth the purchase just for this steak, especially if it is a cut you enjoy eating on a regular basis.
Grilled Ribeye with Scalloped Potatoes and Ham and Creamed Spinach
USDA Prime Ribeye 12 oz - $25
We prefer a larger Ribeye than 12 oz but this one scored pretty high with us. It had very good flavor which came from its excellent marbling. The main reason we like paying more for larger Ribeye cuts is because these steaks will have a lot of fat most people won't eat. Not us, of course, but it is not uncommon to see guests and family members, who should know better, leave 40% of the steak on the plate because they are trimming around the fat.
What did get eaten was very good. The steak had a traditional Ribeye flavor and made our Ribeye Top Three for value and quality. The weight matched what the website said too. We thought the price was fair for a USDA Prime steak.
Pan-Seared NY Strip Steak with Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Kale Vinegarette
USDA Choice New York Strip 15 oz - $23
Here is another steak we liked. At 15 ounces, it is larger than average and at $23 it comes with a fair price. We like to buy New York Strip Steaks as large as possible because we trim the inedible fat that comes with every one you buy.
We Pan-seared ours so it had a very crusty outside and let it finish in the oven until it cooked to an internal temperature of 110 degrees. Once it rested, it was ready to eat at a perfect medium rare. If you click on the picture for the enlarged view you'll see a closeup of the inside and the crunchy outside crust. The steak is a USDA Choice but it had very good flavor, just short of comparing it to USDA Prime. It's portion size made this a meal to remember.
Our Conclusion
We were a little disappointed with the Snake River Farms American Wagyu steaks we tried. More often than not, we find the same lack of flavor in most of the American Wagyu even though the marbling clearly looks better than USDA Prime. We like the story of their pork line and may come back to try some of that. We thought the Wagyu Ribeye Filet was a made up steak that was way too small and grossly overpriced.
All the USDA Prime and USDA Choice steaks we tried came from Double R Ranch. We thought they were about average in quality and price. The Flank Steak and Ribeye were Top Three beef cuts for flavor but lagged behind in our value ranking.
We didn't like that our Flank Steak was 12.5% lighter than advertised on the website, and four of our steaks arrived with cracked packaging. We also don't like it when a company talks about their fantastic quality but doesn't back it up with a 100% Guarantee.
This website has a reputation for being expensive, and it is. The best way to buy products from SRF is to sign up for their Internet email specials and jump all over the deals.
Kevin Bouchard
BestOnlineReviews.com
Submitted Customer Experiences
I received Sirloin steaks given to me as a gift. Your Review: Excellent texture and taste. Beyond my expectations!! These are delicious and tender as sirloins can be!
-Bob
Seattle, WA
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Additional References
- USDA Certified Beef Programs - A list of companies certified with the USDA for the type and quality beef they sell.
- Snake River Farms