What exactly are Omaha Steaks?

I've seen the ads forever in the magazines. Received the mailers. Never really paid attention, but glancing at today's almost funny mailer ("and we'll throw in the steak knife set and cutting board for free!!), I began to wonder about them. Went to the Website and could not find a single word about the actual meat---where it's from, if they own the cows and land, or just procure it, diet, aging (if any)... I don't even think the words "choice" or "prime" appear in the site copy.
So what exactly is it?? Good? Pretty good? Prison food? Anyone know?
Just curious.

Hi- I've never bought their steak. Their steak is way too expensive, and plus I don't eat a lot of red meat, because I have a really strong family history of colon cancer, and red meat has been implicated in that. If you want to eat steaks, go ahead though.

They sell Omaha Steaks on either HSN or QVC for lots of money. I believe it is HSN, and you might want to look at some of the reviews for it there. Thanks, Nancy

over-priced junk stay away, far away...
find a local butcher and support a
small business

Hi- I just googled them, and somebody posted a similar question on chowhound, and 95% of the people who posted, said the same thing, that they were garbage, and that they were way too expensive. Hope this helps, Nancy

I was once offered a box of Omaha steaks if I went to a car dealer to test drive a Maserati Quattroporte. I enjoyed the car much more than the steaks and the car was almost cheaper on a per pound basis!

Rick T. wrote:I was once offered a box of Omaha steaks if I went to a car dealer to test drive a Maserati Quattroporte. I enjoyed the car much more than the steaks and the car was almost cheaper on a per pound basis!

Man, how do I get on that list... I'd gladly suffer through omaha steaks if it meant driving a quattroporte.

gleam wrote:

Rick T. wrote:I was once offered a box of Omaha steaks if I went to a car dealer to test drive a Maserati Quattroporte. I enjoyed the car much more than the steaks and the car was almost cheaper on a per pound basis!

Man, how do I get on that list... I'd gladly suffer through omaha steaks if it meant driving a quattroporte.

We bought a luxury car for the first (and last!) time for my 50th birthday and our 20th anniversary. We started getting invited to all sorts of things. I got paid $300 once to go and do a consumer focus group of the Porsche Panamera while in the final development stage.

My wife, who is not really a car enthusiast, was getting the fever after a short drive. A Ferrari developed engine in a big, fast sedan full of bespoke Italian leather. What's not to like (except massive maintenance and repair bills)?

mrbarolo wrote:I've seen the ads forever in the magazines. Received the mailers. Never really paid attention, but glancing at today's almost funny mailer ("and we'll throw in the steak knife set and cutting board for free!!), I began to wonder about them. Went to the Website and could not find a single word about the actual meat---where it's from, if they own the cows and land, or just procure it, diet, aging (if any)... I don't even think the words "choice" or "prime" appear in the site copy.
So what exactly is it?? Good? Pretty good? Prison food? Anyone know?
Just curious.

They're the steaks your parents or grandparents received in lieu of a Christmas bonus or as a Christmas gift in the 60's and 70's. They were heavy direct mail marketers and marketed to corporations so people of that generation always equated them with fine gift giving and quality. It still triggers a positive response with that generation. One of my co-workers gets them regularly for her father. She keeps trying to get him to eat something better but he insists that he wants Omaha Steaks. So they're really for the people who buy Swiss Colony gift boxes or Harry & David gifts.

For everyone else, the economies of overnight shipping average-quality steaks at premium prices makes little sense.

Rick T. wrote:We bought a luxury car for the first (and last!) time for my 50th birthday and our 20th anniversary. We started getting invited to all sorts of things. I got paid $300 once to go and do a consumer focus group of the Porsche Panamera while in the final development stage.

Did you tell them how ugly the Panamera was, or do I have you to blame personally for that design fiasco?

I tried Omaha steaks once.

20+ years ago the wife encouraged me to get steaks from them as a birthday gift for myself, so ordered a "special" of filet mignons. It was a box of four and we ate them with friends who joined us for dinner.

I thought the steaks were meh, though our guests seemed to like them. Of course I received lots of mailings after that. The offerings were nearly always mixes of products -- different kinds of steaks + burgers + whatever else they could come up with. The idea was to make it difficult to figure a cost per pound and compare prices with other places. When I could estimate a cost/pound my reaction was "what the ...?!"

When it comes to value, I can't think of anything that delivers less. If you want something special (think Allen Bros. or a top local butcher) it will cost, but you're getting quality for your money. There's not a lot of difference between steaks from OS and the local supermarket, except OS will trim them better (appearance is a big part of the marketing game).

I think I wasn't clear enough. I didn't need to be warned away. I had no intention of, or interest in, actually buying them. The marketing made it pretty clear they are a bunch of nonsense. And I live in Chicago. I know where to get good meat.
I was simply curious if anyone had any hard info on the operation as far as what the meat involved actually is in terms of type, grade, etc. I was kind of amazed at the lack of any information about the meat itself in their copy. I mean nothing at all, not even vague, ambiguous weasel words.
But my interest was purely theoretical.
I think a bit of investigative journalism might prove very entertaining.

mrbarolo wrote:I was simply curious if anyone had any hard info on the operation as far as what the meat involved actually is in terms of type, grade, etc. I was kind of amazed at the lack of any information about the meat itself in their copy. I mean nothing at all, not even vague, ambiguous weasel words.

I was given an Omaha Steaks gift card by someone (I think it was a re-gift), and ordered the minimum I could over the card amount -- a sampler box.
It's truly unremarkable, and there is no grading, only USDA Inspected. By the lack of marbling, I'd guess it would land on Select.

I think almost any meat I've had from Jewel was better than the Omaha Steaks I've tasted.

However....in response to spinynorman's comment above, I have to support Harry and David. Their pears are really delicious. We get them every Christmas and they are always yummy.

As to the origin of omaha steaks..i certainly hope it's better than, say, Soylent Green....

gleam wrote:

Rick T. wrote:We bought a luxury car for the first (and last!) time for my 50th birthday and our 20th anniversary. We started getting invited to all sorts of things. I got paid $300 once to go and do a consumer focus group of the Porsche Panamera while in the final development stage.

Did you tell them how ugly the Panamera was, or do I have you to blame personally for that design fiasco?

Don't blame me! Didn't like it and certainly didn't buy one!

I received an Omaha Steak mailer listing an incredible amount of meat and seafood for an extremely low price (something like $48.88). The ad caught my eye, but not in a good way. By throwing in knives and a cutting board, the company's ad really worked to their disadvantage.

If I were ever so inclined to make a purchase, their "rock-bottom" price coupled with the freebies made me wonder why they would offer such a "deal". It reminded me of a comedian I heard long ago lamenting the once-yearly sale price of certain fast-food burgers. The comedian didn't want to eat a .29 cent burger, couldn't trust it.

The company's cheap price and all the extras made me feel suspicious of the quality of the product.

Omaha had a retail store (repeat:had) at Harlem and Lake in Oak Park. I walked by one day and a store worker was handing out coupons. I bought a few strips off the coupon offer. They were good, no question. But, were they worth the premium price over the Jewel three blocks away? No way. I don't think that urban areas are their true marketing areas.

janeyb wrote:I received an Omaha Steak mailer listing an incredible amount of meat and seafood for an extremely low price (something like $48.88). The ad caught my eye, but not in a good way. By throwing in knives and a cutting board, the company's ad really worked to their disadvantage.
.

We bought that package as we had a $50 gift certificate to use.

The knives went to someone for a wedding present. It is what you give to someone for a second marriage when they never sent you a thank-you note after paying for their honeymoon.

The meat was worse than the stuff we were required to buy from the prison farm when I worked for the a state hospital. Little marbling and meat cut so thin to even cook it properly. The portions were a dietitian's dream - 3-4 oz max.

Stay far away.

I think Omaha Steaks must work best if you don't live in the Midwest. Here in the Chicagoland area, great beef is easily accessed, but there are parts of the country where a decent steak just can't be had. Compared to the tough, range-fed beef that dominates some markets, these steaks seem remarkably tender. There is no flavor, but it is tender (and people I know who like these steaks only ever comment on how tender they are -- I imagine they are people who eat their meat well done or season them heavily). It has been in business since 1917, so clearly they have their market -- I just don't see how it can include us here in this area.

But really, absolutely no point in ordering a steak from them if you live in this area, as so much good meat is available. Definitely coals to Newcastle -- and not particularly good coals at that.

I do not know of ANY part of the United States - including remote locations in Alaska where you cannot find a steak better than an Omaha Steak. The food distribution in this country is just phenomenal in getting part across the country.

My sole regret is that I did not take pictures of the product. It was just that bad.

Also, those steaks were so thin that if you turned your head, they were overcooked.

jlawrence01 wrote:I do not know of ANY part of the United States - including remote locations in Alaska where you cannot find a steak better than an Omaha Steak. The food distribution in this country is just phenomenal in getting part across the country.

My sole regret is that I did not take pictures of the product. It was just that bad.

Also, those steaks were so thin that if you turned your head, they were overcooked.

I'm not sure what kind of steaks you got, but I was given a gift of Omaha Steaks once, and they were without flavor, but they were plenty thick, and just as tender as advertised. Just flavorless -- and overpriced.

And while distribution is great around the country, when these guys started in 1917, it wasn't so much the case. Sometimes you do well just being the first to do something. That said, they're offering an awful lot of discounts these days, so maybe people are discovering that better steaks can be had.

Omaha steaks are the Bose stereos of the food world; lots of hype, upscale imagery, decent product, not anywhere near worth what they cost.

eatwisconsin wrote:Omaha steaks are the Bose stereos of the food world; lots of hype, upscale imagery, decent product, not anywhere near worth what they cost.

It's times like this I wish LTH had a "like" button.