Is access to prime worth a CostCo membership?

[Matthew Garcia]

kind off topic but how do you get the attention of the people in the meat department at costco. at mine they have these massive windows and no clear way to get their attention.

[Ron Pratt]

Actually we don’t have a Costco but our Sams is a similar set up. A couple times when I can’t get their attention I simply walk behind the meat counter – where you are not supposed to go – and knock on the glass. They come running then!

[Barry]

Maybe playing catch with a prime grade subprimal?

[Steven Almas]

Our Costco has the same setup, with the large sliding windows. There’s almost always a comple guys working back there and I’ve waved them down before. They either come out from behind the coolers or they will just slide open one of the windows. We also have a fish monger station in our Costco that always has someone working it. I asked that guy before to get someone in the butcher area for me.

[Matthew Garcia]

Confirmed…

Costco in Westlake Village does carry primals of New York and Rib Eye USDA prime. The butcher gave me the look of “it’s pretty pricey”….

idiot…

anyways if anyone is out in the ventura county area that is an option. Price was decent at this time, about $14.99/lb. Cut was going for $18.99.

[Anonymous]

I HAVE a Costco membership. When Prime was $9 / lb. it was a pretty good deal. Now that it is > $11 I find the Nebraska Angus at Restaurant Depot to be a much better deal. I have not found the Prime at Costco as consistent as the Angus at R.D. (where i never pay > 7.50 / lb. for either strip or rib eye.

[Matthew Garcia]

DAYYYYYUM… prime at $9/lb?! God, I thought I did pretty good for $13/lb for prime at Costco the other day. They were selling cut steaks at $18.99.lb.

[Barry]

For that price– right on!
After dry aging the choice, then salting for an hour or so, it is as good as wet aged prime! Got to keep working on this!

[Ron Pratt]

aiki wrote:

quote :

For that price– right on!
After dry aging the choice, then salting for an hour or so, it is as good as wet aged prime! Got to keep working on this!

you care to elaborate on this statement? Wet aged being better than dry aged (?)makes this guy wonder! BTW Cook’s Illustrated had an evaluation of salting down individually cut steaks, but not subprimals…is that what you meant? – That was just wet brining for a few hours which let the beef release its moisture and then an hour or so later suck it back into the fibers.

[Barry]

Sorry for the confusion. Before finding your website, I was looking for a way to tenderize some very lean grass fed beef. We came upon salting the individual steak and it worked. We then went to a high end meat market and got some prime grade ribeyes. We salted them too and they were delicious. After learning how to dry age, we cut 2 choice grade steaks off the dry aged (35 days) subprimal and put them on the grill. We felt that the dry aged choice grade steaks were better tasting and just as tender as the wet aged prime grade steaks ( which we had also salted).
We only salt the individual steaks.
For those who ask about salting, we mix Kosher or sea salt with a small portion of onion and garlic powder. Cover both sides of the steak with the mix and let it stand for one hour per inch of thickness. After that, wash the salt off and grill.

Now to age a prime grade subprimal……

Hope that clears things up.

[Anonymous]

At the dept of the recession, high-end steak houses were really hurting, and the market got flooded with Prime. You take the good with the bad I guess. Glad to see the economy is improving even if it hikes beef prices. On another note, I read recently in the news that Walmart was to begin selling Choice in their meat departments. Volume like that can affect whole markets, raising the cost of Choice. I tend to stay with Angus (which declines USDA grading) and is always between Choice and Prime if it WERE to be graded.

I much preferred that TASTE of Restaurant Depot Angus over Costco Prime, even though the marbling was not there.

[Anonymous]

Steak Recipe: Turning Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak

This is a pretty famous article on salting steaks before cooking.

[Barry]

That is where we found the article. It really works well. Thanks for posting it.

[Anonymous]

I buy industrial size canisters of McCormick’s Montreal Seasoning for this purpose. There is enough salt in that to gag you, but dry-brining and scraping it off before grilling yields great results.

[Barry]

That sounds good. Will have to try it.

[Author]

Posts