It’s a classic holiday conundrum: What do you get for the person who has everything? The answer, of course, is usually meat. Fortunately, we’re living in a golden era of access to great steak that can be delivered right to your door. This isn’t some old shoe leather beef you used to get through a mail-order catalog. Companies supplying the restaurants you love are now also making those cuts available to people at home. And they’re providing access to beef that even premium butcher shops don’t carry, like A5 wagyu direct from Japan. We tried some of the best beef being sold online today you find the best gift for the steak lover in your life.
Holy Grail Steak Co. A5-Grade Wagyu Tour of Japan
As we’ve written about before, true Kobe beef is much more elusive than you’d think. A lot of what is marketed in America as Kobe isn’t the real deal. But at Holy Grail Steak Co., it is. They’re the lone online purveyor Stateside to sell certified Kobe and they’re pretty serious about it. At Holy Grail, they treat their cuts like fine wine, by letting you know the region the cattle was raised in and how that terroir affects the flavor. Give the true Japanese steak lover the gift of a guided tour through those regions with five 14 oz. ribeyes with each hailing from different parts of Japan.
Naomi Pomeroy’s Taste and Technique gift pack. Photo: courtesy Snake River Farms
Snake River Farms Taste & Technique by Naomi Pomeroy
While a lot of the modern steak companies feature A5 wagyu, and even a few have aged beef available, Snake River Farms in Idaho has an especially exciting choice: a plate short rib. When purchasing the kit curated by Naomi Pomeroy—the chef behind Beast in Portland—you’ll get American wagyu flat iron steak, kurobota pork, Pomeroy’s book Taste & Technique, and two massive short ribs. Those plate short ribs are perfect when barbecued or roasted low and slow, offering an indulgent beef taste and texture.
Flannery Beef California Reserve Dry Age “Jorge” Ribsteak
Some of America’s greatest restaurants, from Meadowood to Manresa to Grant Achatz’s Next buy their beef from Flannery. You can now taste what makes them keep coming back to this family-owned purveyor. The Jorge ribsteak is a generous 36-oz. bone-in ribeye featuring a generous cap with outstanding flavor. Because it’s aged 30 days, the steak has a rich beef flavor. And what’s especially great about Flannery is that its delivered fresh, never frozen, so the meat is never subjected to the damage that freezing can cause.
New York Prime Beef Photo: courtesy New York Prime Beef
New York Prime Beef Hamptons Collection
Aged beef isn’t something you can get at any old grocery store. In fact, to get high-quality dry-aged beef, you’re likely going to have to head to your favorite steakhouse, because aging at home isn’t necessarily the safest thing to do. However, New York Prime Beef lets you get steakhouse quality at home. The company dry-ages big sides of beef in its own facility, then ships directly to customers when they order. The Hamptons Collection is perfect for the beef lover who also loves to entertain. It features six 32-oz. porterhouses and six 16-oz. center-cut NY strip.
Crowd Cow A5 Wagyu Rib Roast
Founded on the idea that a group of friends could all go in together to buy a cow, Crowd Cow allows strangers to crowdsource cattle directly from some amazing farms. The company will feature cattle from a given farm, listing the cuts still available from that cow—from the tongue to the tail and everything in between. That means you could buy any possible cut from Korean-style kalbi short ribs to brisket to bone-in rib-eye. They also specialize in selections that are pretty much impossible to find at your local butcher shop, like a full A5 wagyu rib roast, an 11-lb. showstopper for any holiday table. And with the insane level of marbling, it’s probably a heart-stopper too.
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