Steaks at Aldi's?

[JSaus]

I virtually never go to Aldi's but went today to try to find something my regular store was out of. Looked around and saw some cryo-packed grass feed NY strip steaks in a 2-pack at 9.99/pound. They were a good 1" thick and looked nice through the plastic so I bit. $15+ for two nice looking steaks. How bad can it be?

Has anyone tried these and what do you think?

 

[Steve Hoch]

I shop at Aldi pretty regularly but never bought steak there assuming it would be no good until recently. My wife wanted steak so I took a look at it and picked out a couple packs of it, don't remember the cut. It was actually pretty good! I've bought it a couple more times since with the same results. Part of my original bias was that I prefer a bone in steak and I've never seen those at Aldi.

 

[JSaus]

There were no bone in steaks and not a lot of selection. They had ribeye and sirloin too. Expiration date was end of month so no hurry to cook. Will post my opinion.

 

[timothy]

My BIL swears by Aldi's steaks but he also likes his well done, so

 

[JSaus]

My BIL swears by Aldi's steaks but he also likes his well done, so

I will just disregard his opinion then.

 

[Phil S]

Their NY strips and Cubed Steak have always been good. They're my go to if I can't make it to Costco.

 

[Joe Anshien]

I have been buying the grass fed steaks at Aldi and Lidl for a few years now. They tend to be tough as there is not much intramuscular fat. If you find a way to get them tender please let me know. I have tried tenderizer and salt brining, but found minimal success with the sirloin, the rib eye was a little better.

 

[Steve C in La Crosse]

I have been buying the grass fed steaks at Aldi and Lidl for a few years now. They tend to be tough as there is not much intramuscular fat. If you find a way to get them tender please let me know. I have tried tenderizer and salt brining, but found minimal success with the sirloin, the rib eye was a little better.

Try a Jaccard. I bought one cheap on the web.

 

[LMichaels]

Well I will thank all of you for my son in law. He's a bigwig at Aldi corporate in Batavia. I have tried the steaks and once was enough. IIRC they're not even USA grown. I think Argentina or somewhere "down there"

 

[Joe Anshien]

Well I will thank all of you for my son in law. He's a bigwig at Aldi corporate in Batavia. I have tried the steaks and once was enough. IIRC they're not even USA grown. I think Argentina or somewhere "down there"

I just went to the freezer to check. The steaks sold here are US, some of the larger cuts are from "Argentina or somewhere "down there" - My wife used the chuck to make stew and it was really good. I remember reading that Argentinian beef has a reputation of some of the best in the world, just as Australian lamb is.

 

[LMichaels]

I just went to the freezer to check. The steaks sold here are US, some of the larger cuts are from "Argentina or somewhere "down there" - My wife used the chuck to make stew and it was really good. I remember reading that Argentinian beef has a reputation of some of the best in the world, just as Australian lamb is.

Wasn't reporting it as a "bad" thing. Just as a point of note is all. I personally have not had good enough luck with Aldi meats (other than their lamb) and honestly in both cases don't see enough savings at Aldi to put up with the lower (IMO) quality of the beef.

 

[Bob H.]

I virtually never go to Aldi's but went today to try to find something my regular store was out of. Looked around and saw some cryo-packed grass feed NY strip steaks in a 2-pack at 9.99/pound. They were a good 1" thick and looked nice through the plastic so I bit. $15+ for two nice looking steaks. How bad can it be?

Has anyone tried these and what do you think?

I tried one . Won't buy more there.

 

[JayHeyl]

I just went to the freezer to check. The steaks sold here are US, some of the larger cuts are from "Argentina or somewhere "down there" - My wife used the chuck to make stew and it was really good. I remember reading that Argentinian beef has a reputation of some of the best in the world, just as Australian lamb is.

My understanding, from a former co-worker who was married to an Argentinian and had visited there many times, is that Argentinian beef is entirely grass fed. Most U.S.-raised beef is corn fed. Even those that start life eating grass will be fed corn for several months before slaughter. The feed has an impact on the taste of the meat. Americans are used to the corn-fed flavor, which is why even grass-fed beef is given corn toward the end.

Some people prefer grass-fed to corn-fed, and vice versa, but it's probably based more on what you're used to than which really tastes better. It's like kids with mac & cheese. They're used to Kraft and that's what they expect. Give them a fancy version most adults would love and they'll turn their noses up at it because it's not what they expect. Eventually they'll come to appreciate the fancy version as better, but it will take a while. I've learned the hard way that kids don't like "fancy".

 

[Joe Anshien]

My understanding, from a former co-worker who was married to an Argentinian and had visited there many times, is that Argentinian beef is entirely grass fed. Most U.S.-raised beef is corn fed. Even those that start life eating grass will be fed corn for several months before slaughter. The feed has an impact on the taste of the meat. Americans are used to the corn-fed flavor, which is why even grass-fed beef is given corn toward the end.

Some people prefer grass-fed to corn-fed, and vice versa, but it's probably based more on what you're used to than which really tastes better. It's like kids with mac & cheese. They're used to Kraft and that's what they expect. Give them a fancy version most adults would love and they'll turn their noses up at it because it's not what they expect. Eventually they'll come to appreciate the fancy version as better, but it will take a while. I've learned the hard way that kids don't like "fancy".

Two interesting movies on this: King Corn and Food Inc. Cows were not meant to eat corn, they are built to eat grass. If they let corn fed cows live longer, they would just die from the diet anyway. Farms are paid $14 per acre from uncle Sam to grow corn. That is why we now have so many innovative ways to use corn.

 

[JayHeyl]

Interesting documentary. I'd never really thought about how many different foodstuffs have corn somewhere in their production chain.

 

[JSaus]

Well, I fixed the steaks tonight and was very pleasantly surprised. When I opened the package, there did not appear to be a lot of marbling. Looks more like a select rather than choice cut so I used a little meat tenderizer on them as I figured they would be chewy. Grilled mine up med-rare and it was really good. Juicy, tender and flavorful. I would definitely recommend them and will buy again at that price. They were at least the equal of what I have been paying about $5 more a pound for. Give it a try.

 

[Joe Anshien]

Well, I fixed the steaks tonight and was very pleasantly surprised. When I opened the package, there did not appear to be a lot of marbling. Looks more like a select rather than choice cut so I used a little meat tenderizer on them as I figured they would be chewy. Grilled mine up med-rare and it was really good. Juicy, tender and flavorful. I would definitely recommend them and will buy again at that price. They were at least the equal of what I have been paying about $5 more a pound for. Give it a try.

Glad they came out good. Which tenderizer did you use, when did you apply, and how much. It have read that salt negates it so it always confuses me.

 

[JSaus]

Glad they came out good. Which tenderizer did you use, when did you apply, and how much. It have read that salt negates it so it always confuses me.

It was just plain old unflavored tenderizer-McCormicks I believe. I put it on just like salting them about a half hour before I grilled them and punched it in with a fork. I used salt and pepper along with Famous Dave's seasoning. I love the Texas Roadhouse seasoning and that is the closest I have found.

 

[JayHeyl]

According to the McCormick's site, their unflavored tenderizer contains: SALT, DEXTROSE, BROMELAIN (TENDERIZER), AND CALCIUM SILICATE (ADDED TO MAKE FREE FLOWING). So spreading some pineapple paste on should do about the same thing. Probably cleaner to use the McCormick's if you have it. Definitely not something you want to leave on too long or it will turn your meat into mush.

Glad to hear the steaks were good. Something to keep in mind considering the price of beef even at Costco. I was looking at some of the big rib roasts this week. I think it's the first time I've seen one priced over $300.

 

[JSaus]

tenderizer Definitely not something you want to leave on too long or it will turn your meat into mush.

Did that once, and you only make that mistake once. I had about 1/8" of mush all around the meat. 15-30 minutes is about all you want to put it on ahead and not use too much.