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OK, So... a little over a month ago, I came across a what I considered great deal for a good amount of meat from Omaha Steaks - a mail-order steak company.

"The American Celebration Bundle
4 5 oz. Filet Mignons,
4 5 oz, Top Sirloins,
4 Pork Chop Medallions,
2 Stuffed Soles,
8 Gourmet Franks,
12 Burgers, and
10 Potatoes au Gratin"

Also came with a cheap-ass cutting board and rudimentary cutlery set (made by Koch, and pretty damn cheap-feeling).

$75 shipped.

I had never ordered steaks over the mail, and am generally not a big fan of freezing meat to begin with.. but always looking for ways to save a buck, I realized that this was a whole bunch of meat for not very much money... so I decided to give it a try.

I mentioned it once or twice here, and people asked me to report on my opinions after I had given it a go, and that's what brings me to starting this thread.

Filet Mignons: decent, but not fantastic... but I wouldn't expect them to be so for the price. Certainly not worth the price they normally charge for them, imho... as my local butcher can supply me a fresh cut that's about 50% larger for less... but, at the price I paid for them, worth it I figure. Bit tougher than a filet should be, maybe - but, as they had been frozen, that was expected. Still, not nearly as tough as it coulda been... and they were moist, considering... must be the flash-freezing process.

Top Sirloins: same story as the filets, really... but a tougher cut of meat to start with. Still easily cut, but a little on the dry side.

Pork Chops: not bad. I don't eat a lot of pork as it stands... but I fried these up with a nice Madeira demiglace, and it wasn't easy to tell that they had been frozen.

Stuffed Soles: tasted like frozen fish. Was ok, I guess... they were stuffed with crabmeat and other seafood. Certainly not something I woulda served for guests (not really sure any of this - with maybe the exception of the franks - is, though), but not too bad for just me and the woman along with some fresh asparagus and rice.

Gourmet Franks: exceptional. I think the best meat of the bunch. Just grilled them up. They were thick and some of the tastiest franks I've ever had. I don't eat dogs often, but I could see buying these outright from the website.

Burgers: Not impressed. tasted like frozen burger patties. Probably great for frozen burger patties, but I've always made mine from fresh meat, and the only experience I have with frozen burger patties is at the occasional cook-out where that's what was had. Nonetheless, they're meat, so I'm sure I'll finish all 12 sooner or later.

Potatoes au Gratin: Meh... they tasted like frozen mashed potatoes with some cheese flavoring whipped in throughout and a bake-crusted shell. Probably my least favorite of the experiences that the package offered.

All in all: for $75 (the cost of two decent aged steaks) shipped, this was a lot of food... but at the omahasteaks.com retail $212 all that meat woulda cost me without the $75 deal, really not worth it, imho. Again - my local butcher'd give me roughly 50% more of the same quality meat - fresh - at less of a cost. But if you can partake of this deal - it's a quantity over quality thing - with quality not loosing out _so_ much, I think... and it's shipped to your door. I'm sure that means something to some people.

My gal and I haven't decided whether or not we might do it again - we might, because the deal's still out there. Anyone that wants a pointer as to how to get the same deal shipped to them, to give it a try for themselves - hit me up.

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-D.
ICQ: 202-96-31