Bulk and Fresh Meats

For those of us that like to cook, bbq, or smoke great meat year round, buying in bulk helps to ensure you are always stocked up. Especially in these challenging times where top quality meats are not always easy to find. We have put together the greatest selection of beef butchers around. One of the truly best companies that has great top quality meats available in both small quantities and large quantities is Nebraska Star Beef. They have top rated American Wagyu beef, USDA Prime beef steaks, and gourmet ground beef in special collections that will satisfy your palate and give you the peace of mind in always having great quality beef on hand when you choose to buy in bulk. Easy ordering, fast delivery right to your home, straight to your freezer and ready for your hunger.

Nebraska Star Beef All Natural Wagyu Beef Bulk Meat Package

How To Choose the Best Beef

There are many different cuts of meat, and where the cut comes from on the cow will definitely affect the taste, flavor, and tenderness of the meat. The marbling of the fat will also affect the flavor and deliciousness of the meat as well. When you are shopping for meat, you will also notice that you may see multiple breeds of cow that meat from stores will come from.

Black Angus Beef Meat

The most popular name you will see out there is the Black Angus Beef. Most of the beef in the USA comes from Black Angus Beef. As you walk through the meat aisle you may see a sign or a sticker on the packaging that says “Certified Angus Beef”. Being certified gives you an extra level of quality assurance that tells you that the beef must come from at least 51% Black Angus Cattle, as well as meet ten different criteria that includes the age of the cattle when it is harvested, the quality of the cows muscling, the thickness of the fat on the meat, and the degree of marbling.

Wagyu Beef Meat

Wagyu beef is beef from Japanese cattle. Kobe beef is made from a particular type of Wagyu cattle that are raised to very strict standards in the region of Hyogo. The huge difference in Wagyu beef that sets it apart from other beef is that marbling of the beef. The fat is nicely and evenly distributed within the meat itself. The fat in Wagyu beef also melts at a lower temperature than other breeds, which adds a delicious buttery flavor to the meat.

Kobe Beef Meat

Kobe beef, which is a type of Wagyu beef, has even more marbling and more tender than standard Wagyu beef. To be labeled as Kobe beef, cattle must meet even stricter standards of how the animals are raised, and the quality and marbling of their meat. Thanks to these tightly controlled standards, Kobe beef is very expensive to produce, so it is also expensive to buy. In a meat market, Kobe Beef can cost about $100 a pound or more, and a 12 ounce steakhouse rib eye can set you back close to $400. Not a small chunk of change. If you are in the market to buy Kobe steak, make sure you take a look at the labels. There is also a style of Kobe Beef where farmers are importing Wagyu cattle from Japan and breeding them with American Black Angus Cattle. The label for this hybrid type of meat would be referred to as “Kobe Style.” It is also delicious, and much more affordable.

Grassland Beef and Meats

USDA Grade Meats

Once you have settled on getting a good quality Angus beef, the next decision you need to make is what grade of meat to buy. USDA Grade Meat comes in “Prime,” “Choice,” or “Select,” which refers to the USDA grading scale for meat. The USDA grades beef based on the age of the animal, along with the amount of fat, also known as marbling, in the beef. There are eight grades in the USDA scale, but most of us will only encounter three as we are shopping for meat in retail. These are referred to as USDA Prime Beef, USDA Choice Beef, and USDA Select Beef.

USDA Prime Beef

Highest Quality on the USDA Grading Scale Comes from young cattle, typically aged 9 to 30 months old Marbling is slightly abundant to abundant Most juicy and flavorful beef because of the level of fat Consists of about 3% of the beef in the USA

USDA Choice Beef

High quality beef, but has less marbling than Prime beef A little less tender, juicy, and flavorful as a result of having less fat Consists of about 50% of the beef in the USA

USDA Select Beef

Can still be slightly tender, but with less marbling than the higher grades Has less flavor and is less juicy as a result of having less fat Though all beef is inspected by the USDA to inspect for food safety, grading the beef is voluntary, and adds additional costs from the USDA to grade the beef, so not all beef is graded. If you are looking for a great quality, tender, and flavorful steak, I would recommend going with the USDA Prime Beef if it fits in your budget, especially for dry grilling the steak on a bbq. Adding a little bit of seasoning and spices and it will be a great steak. If you want to go with the USDA Select Beef, I would recommend marinating it first as this will add additional flavor and tenderness to the meat, to make it a great steak as well.

Grain Fed Beef vs Grass Fed Beef and Meats

There are a lot of benefits in choosing grass fed beef over grain fed beef. Most of us are used to grain fed beef that we buy from the store. So much so that when we try a purely grass fed beef it could taste like wild game a little bit, depending on how it’s cooked. Most grain fed beef is raised on grass for the first three quarters of their life, until they switch over to the grain to fatten them up, add marbling to the meat, and add that taste to the meat that we are used to eating. Grass fed cattle, because they have to work for their food, they move their muscles more, which produces a meat that is a little leaner and a little tougher. Both types of beef can have antibiotics added to the cow during it’s life to prevent illness, unless the package specifically sates that it is antibiotic free. The MeatStick Wireless Meat Thermometer

Beef Meat and Steak Cuts

Bone-in Strip Steak

Strip steaks are called strip steaks because they are “stripped” from the short loin, which is the cattle’s lower back. Bone-in strip steaks have the spine bones still attached. The strip steak is a very tender and juicy cut of steak. The strip steak is also known as the New York Strip Steak, Kansas City Strip Steak, Shell Steak, Hotel-cut Strip Steak, or the Ambassador Steak.

Boneless Strip Steak

A boneless strip steak is a strip steak with spine bones removed. Boneless strip steaks cook more evenly than the bone-in strip steak, but when you remove the bone you lose some of the flavor.

T-Bone Steak

A T-Bone Steak is cut from the short loin across the cattle’s spine. It includes a section of the strip steak and the tenderloin steak, separated by a T-Shaped bone, so you get the best of both worlds. It is a large flavorful and tender cut of meat.

Porterhouse Steak

A porterhouse steak is a T-bone steak that has a larger portion of the tenderloin steak. Exactly like a T- Bone steak, it is both flavorful and tender. A full size porterhouse steak is a fairly large portion, and some people can eat the whole steak, while others like to share one with their partner.

Filet Mignon or Tenderloin Steak

A filet mignon steak is the most tender piece of meat on a cow. It is one of the more highly sought after cuts of meat, and it is also a bit more expensive. The meat comes from the muscle fibers that run along the inside of the spine. It is a very lean piece of meat, very tender, but because it doesn’t have much fat it also doesn’t have as much flavor. The tenderness does make up for the lack of flavor, but a lot of people do add buttery Cabernet sauce on the meat to add a little flavor.

Bone-in Rib Eye Steak or Boneless Rib Eye Steak

Rib eye steaks consist of the loin muscle and the cap muscle. The Rib Eye Steak is one of the most marbled and flavorful cuts of meat, which is why it’s one of the favorite cuts of steak for meat lovers. The extra fat adds a lot of flavor to the meat, and gives it a great texture when seared.

Tomahawk Steak

The tomahawk steak is a bone-in rib eye steak with the whole bone still attached almost giving it an appearance of having a handle on the steak. The tomahawk steak has a really nice marbling which adds extra flavor to the meat.

Sirloin Steak

The Sirloin steak comes from the back of the animal near the rump of the cattle. This cut of meat is less flavorful and less tender. Not the best quality of meat, but it is more affordable, and depending on how you cook it, it can be a good steak.

Flat Iron Steak

The flat iron steak comes from under the shoulder blade of the cow. It is a tender cut of steak and does have a similar flavor as a strip steak. A drawback to this steak is that it does have a large piece of sinew that goes through the center of the cut, which does make it harder to eat. Many people get around this by cutting the steak into two filets and remove the sinew.

Chuck Eye Steak

A chuck eye steak does have all the same tenderness and flavor of a good rib eye steak, but it is much cheaper than a rib eye, so this is one of my go to steaks due to the better price without the drop in quality. The Chuck Eye steak comes from the shoulder of the cow.

Flank Steak

Flank steaks are cut parallel, instead of being cut perpendicular to the muscle fiber. The flank steak comes from the cows belly area, and it has long muscle fibers that make the meat a bit chewier and less tender. This steak is more for slicing up for fajitas and not the best choice for grilling.

Skirt Steak

The skirt steak also comes from the cows belly area, and is also cut parallel with the grain of the muscle. The flavor is fairly good, but the cost is very economical.

Omaha Steaks and Meats

It’s time to stock up again. Keep your family prepared and healthy with plenty of gourmet steak and high quality meats and seafood. Click Below for these combos, and much more options available.

US Wellness Meats from Grassland Beef

Their cattle are raised, 100% grass fed, and grass finished. They do not feed them antibiotics or give them any hormones or GMO feed. US Wellness animals are treated humanely from birth to processing. Our farms use rotational grazing practices that don't require any herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers. We offer the finest, nutrient rich grass-fed beef available!

Meat N’ Bone Meats

BEEF - PORK - CHICKEN - LAMB - GAME - SEAFOOD Join the Meat Revolution, Eat Better Meat. A great selection of heritage bred, all natural, ethically raised meats.

Chicago Steak Company Meats

Save 20% on Restaurant Quality at this link using Code FREEZER RIBEYE - PORTERHOUSE - FILET MIGNON - TOMAHAWK RIBEYE At Chicago Steak Company, we invite you to taste tradition. Since 1865 with the founding of the Union Stock Yards, Chicago has been at the heart of high- quality American meats. Chicago Steak Company proudly carries on that tradition. We specialize in hand- cut, Mid-West raised, USDA Prime beef - in short, the very best steaks your money can buy. We raise, trim, and age our steaks using centuries-old techniques, then vacuum-seal each individually, locking in flavor and freshness.

Holy Grail Steak Meats

BEEF - WAGYU BEEF - KOBE BEEF - PORK - KUROBUTA PORK

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About The Author Mike Mendenhall is the the founder of Mendenhall Outdoors. This website is an extension of the Mendenhall family’s lifestyle and passion for the great outdoors. Everything that they learn, and experience, along the way that they find may be valuable to our website visitors is on the site for you to enjoy. We highlight products and services that you might find interesting. We frequently receive free products from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. If you click a link on this page, then go on to make a purchase, we might receive a commission – at no extra cost to you, and does not impact the purchase price of any products that you may purchase. Delicious meat, shipped straight to your door.