# What's Your Experience With Omaha Steaks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463 "2010-09-29T13:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/1 "2010-09-29T13:39:12Z")
I got a package of them last year, as a Christmas gift. Quite frankly, I am not impressed-they were nothing special. I would rate them as below my local supermarket (Hannford), in terms of taste. Anybody find them exceptionally good? Just wondering. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/2 "2010-09-29T13:50:37Z")
The vacuum packages were nice, and kept in the freezer longer without freezer burn than most stuff. I found the quality to be nothing spectacular - I mean it was good meat, but then most of the stores I go to have similar quality. It makes a nice gift for my dad, and that’s, right now, my only use for it. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/3 "2010-09-29T14:06:26Z")
Mediocre at best. Every now and again I’ll get a coupon in the mail and be tempted to stop by the local store but somehow it just never seems worth the effort to make an additional stop on my shopping rotation. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/4 "2010-09-29T14:16:39Z")
The quality was no better than average and they’re bloody overpriced IMHO. I live in the heart of corn fed beef country and I buy grass fed half steers from a local supplier and get it processed to my specifications. No reason to buy Omaha Steaks again. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/5 "2010-09-29T14:58:51Z")
The meat’s nothing special. But [this cooking chart](http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/OnlineShopping?Dsp=32&FID=recipe_cookchart) is made out of magic. Of course, being the grillmaster I am, I check my steaks by feel. But I find this a very handy and generally accurate guide to recommend to people who don’t grill often. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/6 "2010-09-29T14:59:52Z")
I have bought from them when we get the big coupon or deal. The burgers are pretty good and I like the portion size of the meats. I wouldn’t pay their regular price for anything and we aren’t big beef eaters eaters in our house. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/7 "2010-09-29T15:51:25Z")
I live in Omaha, and drive by Omaha Steaks on my way to work. My partner’s wife works there, and I can get the stuff with her employee discount. That being said, I buy most of my meat at a small butcher shop a couple of blocks away from Omaha Steaks. In my personal opinion, even the steaks I buy at HyVee are better. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/8 "2010-09-29T16:00:46Z")
I actually prefer their hot dogs to their steaks. The franks are goood… ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/9 "2010-09-29T16:16:20Z")
Several years ago we bought a package deal from them, some steaks, burgers, chicken etc. We had really high hopes but found they were just OK. Nothing special. The cooler they came in was very useful however. We reused that for years. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/10 "2010-09-29T16:40:21Z")
We still constantly use the little free cutting board we got with our last order - and, like Quimby, the cooler - but frankly, it’s their non-meat stuff that’s best (chocolate lava cakes, potato au gratin balls, etc.) and I dislike how they cut their meat - too thinly sliced for my taste. ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/11 "2010-09-29T16:56:13Z")
Casting another vote for ‘nothing special’. My dad got some as a gift, and saved them for my next visit. We both had high expectations, I mean of course a steak must be something really special if you’re going to go through the trouble of mail-ordering it rather than going to the store, right? With much anticipation we grilled them up, and then were completely underwhelmed when we ate them. Overrated IMO, not bad but nothing amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/12 "2010-09-29T17:10:21Z")
It’s a marketing operation much more than it is a butcher. Think of all the money that goes into those mailers, ads, etc., instead of the meat quality. Their literature is very vague about this, but probably the most important thing to realize is that their steak is only Choice. They’d like you to think it’s Prime (which is what you get at most high end steakhouses), but if you call and press them, they’ll admit it’s Choice. So . . . why not go to a butcher and buy some Prime? It’ll be unfrozen too – IME Omaha ships their steaks frozen which also doesn’t help. Better yet – Costco has been stocking Prime, and at least during the worst depths of the recession, it was preposterously cheap – sirloins for $4.99/lb., ribeyes for $9.99/lb. I think those dirt cheap prices may have gone up somewhat, but it’s still going to be cheaper and far better than Omaha. If you want to try online – [www.nimanranch.com](http://www.nimanranch.com) are much more serious and quality-oriented than Omaha. Not cheap, but super good – you see their meat called out by name on high end restaurant menus, which, suffice to say, will not ever be the case with Omaha. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/13 "2010-09-29T18:05:52Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > It’s a marketing operation much more than it is a butcher. Think of all the money that goes into those mailers, ads, etc., instead of the meat quality. > > Their literature is very vague about this, but probably the most important thing to realize is that their steak is only Choice. They’d like you to think it’s Prime (which is what you get at most high end steakhouses), but if you call and press them, they’ll admit it’s Choice. > > So . . . why not go to a butcher and buy some Prime? It’ll be unfrozen too – IME Omaha ships their steaks frozen which also doesn’t help. > > Better yet – Costco has been stocking Prime, and at least during the worst depths of the recession, it was preposterously cheap – sirloins for $4.99/lb., ribeyes for $9.99/lb. I think those dirt cheap prices may have gone up somewhat, but it’s still going to be cheaper and far better than Omaha. > > If you want to try online – [www.nimanranch.com](http://www.nimanranch.com) are much more serious and quality-oriented than Omaha. Not cheap, but super good – you see their meat called out by name on high end restaurant menus, which, suffice to say, will not ever be the case with Omaha. Those prices for prime are crazy low. [Allen Brothers](http://www.allenbrothers.com/) charges in the range of $40/lb. for prime ribeye. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/14 "2010-09-29T18:19:22Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The cooler they came in was very useful however. We reused that for years. Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/15 "2010-09-29T18:32:20Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Those prices for prime are crazy low. > [Allen Brothers](http://www.allenbrothers.com/) charges in the range of $40/lb. for prime ribeye. Yeah, it was fairly abberational. I now see their website is listing prime sirloin at about $12/lb. [http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11227408&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|3605|33130|33131&N=4013601&Mo=20&pos=0&No=3&Nr=P\_CatalogName:BC&cat=33131&Ns=P\_Price|1||P\_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC16791-Cat33130&topnav=](http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11227408&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC%7C3605%7C33130%7C33131&N=4013601&Mo=20&pos=0&No=3&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=33131&Ns=P_Price%7C1%7C%7CP_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC16791-Cat33130&topnav=) ETA and ribeye for about $19. [http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11538933&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|3605|33130&N=4013601&Mo=20&No=6&Nr=P\_CatalogName:BC&cat=33131&Ns=P\_Price|1||P\_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=](http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11538933&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC%7C3605%7C33130&N=4013601&Mo=20&No=6&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=33131&Ns=P_Price%7C1%7C%7CP_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=) I’ll check out the in-store prices next time I drop by. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/16 "2010-09-29T18:51:49Z")
I used to give them a lot as gifts. They were appreciated, but then somebody had me over to share them with me. I don’t give them as gifts any more. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/17 "2010-09-29T20:08:50Z")
Misread as: **What’s Your Experience With _Obama_ Steaks?** I mean, shit, at least let the man finish his first term… ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/18 "2010-09-30T03:29:29Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > > [@zoid](#): > > > > Those prices for prime are crazy low. > > [Allen Brothers](http://www.allenbrothers.com/) charges in the range of $40/lb. for prime ribeye. > > Yeah, it was fairly abberational. I now see their website is listing prime sirloin at about $12/lb. > > [http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11227408&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|3605|33130|33131&N=4013601&Mo=20&pos=0&No=3&Nr=P\_CatalogName:BC&cat=33131&Ns=P\_Price|1||P\_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC16791-Cat33130&topnav=](http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11227408&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC%7C3605%7C33130%7C33131&N=4013601&Mo=20&pos=0&No=3&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=33131&Ns=P_Price%7C1%7C%7CP_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC16791-Cat33130&topnav=) > > ETA and ribeye for about $19. > > [http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11538933&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|3605|33130&N=4013601&Mo=20&No=6&Nr=P\_CatalogName:BC&cat=33131&Ns=P\_Price|1||P\_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=](http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11538933&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC%7C3605%7C33130&N=4013601&Mo=20&No=6&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=33131&Ns=P_Price%7C1%7C%7CP_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=) > > I’ll check out the in-store prices next time I drop by. Damn - I can’t wait till the Costco by me opens up ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/19 "2010-09-30T05:29:44Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I I would rate them as below my local supermarket (Hannford), in terms of taste. You live in the northeast too, I take it? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463/20 "2010-09-30T05:41:06Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I used to give them a lot as gifts. They were appreciated, but then somebody had me over to share them with me. > > I don’t give them as gifts any more. Yea, they are comparable or worse than my local House of Meats. Not so special, I can even get equal quality at some of the local hometown Groceries. If you are going to hook someone up with mail order, holiday, goodies, I would lean towards [Hickory Farms](http://www.hickoryfarms.com/default.asp?campaignType=GooglePPC&campaignName=GooglePPC&002=2145536&004=1838354244&005=57823000&006=5687676444&007=Search&008=&gclid=CKWc0723rqQCFd9n5QodxUWGzg) or [Swiss Colony](http://www.swisscolony.com/home.jsp?source=c001&code=Brand&medium=inhaus&AID=581384596&CAID=d95ecaad-ea76-4bfe-9568-b74dfee087b7) or [Heini’s](http://www.heinis.com/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-experience-with-omaha-steaks/555463.md?page=2)