Another crappy steak from Domminick's

Everytime I make steaks from Domminick's I'm very disappointed. Aside from the skirt steak I've gotten there, none of the beef seems to have any flavor. This includes the NY Strip, the Ribeye, and the T-Bone. I believe all of these cuts were choice at least and I always look for good marbling.

Is there somewhere else I should get my beef? I live in Wicker Park.

I feel pretty good about my preparation method. In the winter I sear the steak on all sides in a cast iron skillet then finish it in 450 oven. The steak looks nice but has little flavor.

Thanks,

JohnnyConatus

I have always had good results from Whole Foods. A bit pricey but definitely worth it.

I just had a filet from there last night...cost about 10bucks, but it was good. I prepared it the same way you do. But I agree in general, I have not had a good steak from Dominicks.

I have had good cuts of meat from Bari, the Italian store on Grand.

1120 W Grand Ave
(between Aberdeen St & May St)
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 666-0730

Treasure Island, Gepperth's, Paulina, Whole Foods, or Fox and Obel.

And Costco.

JohnnyConatus wrote:
I feel pretty good about my preparation method. In the winter I sear the steak on all sides in a cast iron skillet then finish it in 450 oven. The steak looks nice but has little flavor.

Thanks,

JohnnyConatus

Do you season the meat at all? I often have steaks from Dominick's (usually grab when there is a great sale) and have never noted them being much more or less flavorful than similar meat purveyors. A healthy dose of kosher salt and some fresh cracked pepper always seems to work for me.

If given a choice, I'd generally buy all my meats from CostCo.

Jamie

I generally only buy from Dominick's (Rancher's Reserve line) when there's a sale and if the meat looks good. I've had their bone-in ribeyes and one in particular was actually outstanding. I've bought their boneless chuck roast and it's been fine as well (although braising meat in a pot for several hours with red wine will make shoe leather tender and tasty). But my rule of thumb there is not to pay retail because then you'll be disappointed and to liberally pass it up if it doesn't look good. I've gone there for one cut and left with another because the first cut looked limp and gray in the case.

For Valentine's, we cooked filet mignon and lobster tails from Costco. It was one of the best dinners we've made at home especially given the ease and simplicity. The filet from Costco rivals some of the filets that I have had at area restaurants.

Jamieson22 wrote:Do you season the meat at all? I often have steaks from Dominick's (usually grab when there is a great sale) and have never noted them being much more or less flavorful than similar meat purveyors. A healthy dose of kosher salt and some fresh cracked pepper always seems to work for me.

If given a choice, I'd generally buy all my meats from CostCo.

Jamie

A fair question, but yes, I did season with Kosher and fresh cracked pepper. I also lightly coated with high quality EVOO to promote browning.

The only reason I buy steak at Dominick's is if I really need a steak at that moment. I don't like paying 7-9 dollars for Ranchers Reserve strip or ribeye.

Instead, I will go to Whittingham and Sons at 4134 W 127th St in Alsip.
Their meat is always choice grade and about 25% of the time it will be of better quality (angus or prime)...Just ask!

You will have to buy the entire cut of beef and then have it cut to your liking. Prices range around $5/lb. for short loin to $8/lb. for tenderloin. They will also dry age your beef for about a dollar more per pound.

They are open 6 days a week now from around 10am to 2pm each day. Call them at 708) 371-1650 to find out exact times they are open.

You won't be disappointed!

For what it's worth, on those occasions when shopping at Dominick's is simply too convenient to consider going elsewhere for a better steak, they do appear to realize their beef is flavorless, and they offer a range of rubs and marinades for meat, free of charge. They'll squirt it on before wrapping, and by the time you get it home, it's not too bad. (There is a Dominick's next door to my office, and sometimes, it's just too late to think about going somewhere else.)

Do any of the Dominicks grocery stores sell "choice" cuts? Never seen a grade higher than "select" at a Dominick's. Anyway - there is a vast difference in meat selection by area from what I've seen in the Dominicks empire. My closest has some pretty good stuff for select grade. I enjoy meatier cuts, and I gotta say, My dominicks has me hooked on their Rancher's reserve top sirloin when it goes for under $3/lb. I bought one
20 ouncer last year just to give it a shot. Grilled it up, and went back the next day, and bought 25 lbs of it for the freezer. For the price, these things were magnificent. Nice thick cuts, each steak a little over a pound. Easy to cook to a med rare because of the thickness, and virtually no sinew. I'm normally not a big advocate of Dominicks meats - I actually usually avoid at all costs, but when my closest has them on sale, the RR ribeye, and top sirloins are excellent for the price - if you factor in the grade. But alas, my dominick's will be closing soon as part of the "scale down" or whatever they are calling it. Don't know if they plan to open one of the upscale stores they are planning in it's place. In summary, ask around about the Dominicks meat cases in different areas. Some are great, and some are horrid. Used to live in Log Sq, and swore off Dom meat case after finding green fuzz on MORE than one occasion from Belmont / Kimball Dominick's. The Dom on Clyborn never seemed to have anything that looked great either, although the store itrself was big and "fancy." My current Dom is in North Riverside - west burbs, and the store itself is nothing fancy, but I get some nice thick good cuts that I am extremely happy with. BBQ last year, uncle and father both commented on how they could not believe the steaks were from dominick's and both said they had never seen cuts of meat like that at their dom. Little long winded, sorry, but the steaks I get at mine are damn good for the price, and I will actually be sad to see my Dominick's close for that reason.

The dominicks in Bannockburn at least sells certified angus meat out of the butchers case, which is supposed to be "top choice." It usually looks and is pretty good. As I have mentioned before, I buy a lot of the ranchers reserve when it is on sale, but you have to be very selective. Often I have had to look through 30-50 packages of bone-in ribeye to find 4 good ones.
Occasionally they sell some of the certified angus as RR if they have excess inventory. I think that they have decent flavor. Almost all meat now is cryovaced, and that is technically wet aging. The RR is "wet-aged" for at least 2 weeks I think.

-Will

With supermarket steak, I have had the best result by sticking with certified angus. At Jewel I've have had decent to good consistency of flavor and texture with their Angus NY strips. I season with cracked black pepper, McCormicks Season Salt and sear in cast iron.

I stopped buying meat at Dominick’s about 3 years ago. The Safeway takeover really took them downhill. The one near my home on Ridge in Rogers Park used to be a very nice store with good meat and fish options. Now it features out of date meat and goat heads. They've obviously done a fine job reading the marketplace, as this location is one scheduled to close at the end of March. I feel sorry for the employees, but their management has failed them miserably.

Paulina/Gepperths, Costco, Fox & Obel, WF - in that order. Anyone who is really serious about steaks should make a few trips to Paulina a year imo.

Although I must say, I've had a decent bone-in ribeye from Dominick's before, but they're completely unreliable. They do have good roasts and sometimes they have some good Chiapetti's lamb, but generally I avoid their steaks.

Here's a comprehensive list from GWiv on an old thread that includes these and others, including addresses. I found it because I recalled that I still haven't visited Bornhofen's, which is the closest thing to my neighborhood butcher. They get a lot of love in the linked thread.

I am also a fan of Whittingham's in Alsip. My next door neighbor used to go there regularly and afer a while we started going ourselves. The meat is excellent. I have found, however, that their ground meat loses flavor when I freeze it (I hate to freeze meat, but it's just too much to cook at once). The skirt steaks are wonderful. We have also been satisfied with their steak ends -- the pieces are smaller and occasionally oddly shaped, but the flavor is just as good.

Suzy

The only Dominick's I would buy meat from was the one on North Ave. in River Forest. You see Dominick Dimatteo used to live in River Forest so they always got the best stuff. Or so I was told (and he has been dead for like 20 years). My theory is buying groceries in affluent areas is almost always better because rich folks have more options and thus are quicker to abandon a place if the food is bad.