Best Mail-Order Steaks

Mail-order steak companies

Lobel's steaks are top-rated by The Wall Street Journal and Cook's Illustrated among others, although reviews differ as to which cut is best. For instance, Cook's Illustrated, calls Lobel's Natural Prime Dry-Aged tenderloin (*est. $220 for one 3.5 pound whole tenderloin) "rich" and "meaty" and the boneless strip steaks (*est. $53 per pound) "juicy," if a little chewy. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal's Charles Passy describes the strip steak as "perfect -- in looks, taste, and texture" and says that its "buttery flavor was beyond compare." The Lobel's porterhouse steak (*est. $60 per pound), which he calls "juicy," "well-marbled" and "aged to perfection," earns similar raves from testers at Cook's Illustrated, who call it "buttery and smooth -- like steak sushi." What's more, reviews say that online ordering is hassle-free, and steaks arrive on the date requested. Key to Lobel's success, experts say, is its policy of shipping fresh, never-frozen beef that's been dry-aged for four to six weeks. This gives beef a complex flavor that some reviewers describe as nutty, wine-like or even cheese-like.

The only downsides to ordering from Lobel's are the price of the steak itself and the cost of shipping. Steak from Lobel's is substantially more expensive than supermarket meat, including prime cuts from Costco. Adding to the expense is mandatory FedEx priority overnight shipping (*est. $27).

After Lobel's, the steak supplier reviewers recommend most is Allen Brothers (*est. $55 per pound for boneless strip steaks). Allen Brothers sells dry-aged steaks, as well as wet-aged steaks and a category it calls "never frozen." Reviews indicate that the quality of Allen Brothers steaks can be inconsistent, however. Cook's Illustrated calls an Allen Brothers porterhouse "beefy, tender, and juicy," but The Wall Street Journal's Passy pans it as "chewy" and only of "middling" quality. Slate's testers were similarly divided: some found it "woody" and "smoky," while others found the texture liver-like. Allen Brothers does guarantee the quality of its meat, which is significantly cheaper than Lobel's.

The steak purveyors in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers are top-rated most often by reviewers, but a few others suppliers earn high marks in one or two reviews. One of these is Peter Luger's (*est. $35 per pound for boneless strip steaks), the New York City steakhouse. Peter Luger's porterhouse (*est. $35 per pound) is food writer Ed Levine's top pick, and it earns high marks in a 2003 tasting at Cook's Illustrated. A more recent Cook's Illustrated review, however, prompted us to exclude Luger's from ConsumerSearch Fast Answers. In a May 2008 tasting, a Luger's porterhouse finished dead last, behind a supermarket steak. Tasters called it "watery," "bland," "dry" and "stringy," although a few said they detected the "funk" of long-aged beef. Like Lobel's, Peter Luger's only ships via FedEx Overnight.