Honest Beef Company
Honest Beef Company Reviews - Best Online Steaks
"We loved the steaks and the personalized service, but we feel online steak consumers would like to see USDA grading, individual pricing, and a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee."
-Kevin Bouchard
About Honest Beef Company
I think of Honest Beef Company being like a "microbrewery of steak." This is family owned, and operated upstart who are Nebraska ranchers raising only purebred Angus cattle who are free to roam the grasslands of Nebraska living entirely on a grass diet. Unlike most beef websites, Honest Beef doesn't have individual pricing, nor can consumers buy individual steaks. Instead, consumers are asked to buy "shares," which are packages that include multiple quantities of steaks and roasts with one price for the share. Shares vary in size and cost ranging between $130 and $300. In short, you are buying your "share" of the company's most recent beef harvest.
In addition to shares, consumers made choose to purchase "Add-ons," which are individual steaks or roasts, probably leftover from small harvesting runs and do not fit into a share. There is no product weight for add-ons, which might make it difficult for consumers to decide on how many they need. As you probably can imagine, the menu changes frequently based on the rate of harvesting cattle and the existing inventory. You will see notifications in the product descriptions when a share is close to selling out.
- Direct purchases. Your steak comes directly from the ranch without middlemen
- Free shipping on all orders over $150.
- All beef is dry-aged 14-21 days
- Customizable beef packages and beef cuts.
- The pictures on the website are high-quality clip art, not actual products
- While the beef is USDA inspected, there is no quality grade for prime, choice or select.
- There is no 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
We loved the idea of communicating directly with a representative from the company and having them create a unique share based on our wishes. Visitors already know we love larger sized steaks so our order should not be much of a surprise:
- 2 x 24 oz Ribeyes
- 2 x 20 oz NY Strip Steaks
- 2 x 12 oz Bone-in Filet Mignons
- 2 x 12 oz. Top Sirloins
We had to preorder this share, which took about three weeks. The package price was $305 for 136 ounces, which translates to $2.24 an ounce and $35.84 a pound. Obviously, a Top Sirloin Steak will have a lower cost per pound than a Ribeye, but consumers don't get exact pricing from the vendor. For our comparison, we will multiply the product weight times the price per ounce. Honest Beef's $35.84 price per pound is just lower than Omaha Steaks price of $36.66 for a King Cut Ribeye. Omaha Steaks is considered to have the most economical pricing for beef companies.
It takes a lot of consumer trust to buy steaks from a company that doesn't offer individual products with individual pricing. Buying shares adds another layer of consumer inconvenience because there is a potential the consumer has to buy steaks they don't want as part of a share. On top of that, the consumer does not have the assurance the beef they are buying has been graded by the USDA. Are you buying Prime, Choice, or Select? You don't know, and there is no company 100% satisfaction guarantee if you are not happy with the quality of your purchase.
Deciding to buy, or buy again, will all come down to the quality and taste of the beef purchased, and we hope to help you make that decision with our Honest Beef Company review.
NY Strip Steak with Green Bean Almondine and Seasoned Cauliflower
Our Honest Beef Company Review
USDA Ungraded NY Strip 20 oz - $45
We ordered a custom share, so our NY Strip is double the size of the NY Strips that are available on the Honest Beef website. That also means double the price, so you can assume this steak will cost about $22. That is a fair market price for this steak. We thought the marbling was on the high end of USDA Choice had it been graded.
We thought this steak was better than average and potentially a top ten rated steak, in the NY Strip Steak category, when our annual ratings come out early next year. We also found the value to be on par with most of the higher end NY Strips available for purchase online.
Pan-seared Top Sirloin with Herb Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and Corn, String Bean, and Red Pepper Medley
USDA Ungraded Top Sirloin Filet 12 oz - $27
We have had and reviewed Top Sirloin steaks from 6 oz. to 72 oz. (not a typo) so 12 oz. is about the average size. Given how we have to estimate price because there is no pricing on the website, this steak is on the high side of what you would pay for a similar quality steak. They currently sell 8 ounce Top Sirloins in their shares.
While it looks great, we found it to be about average in taste compared to other Top Sirloins we have purchased. It is also something we noticed with grass-fed, grass-finished steaks, and from the Sirloin Primal
especially. They will have less fat in them compared to corn-fed, or grass-fed and corn finished beef. It is no secret flavor comes from fat.
While we wouldn't avoid buying another share from Honest Beef because it had Top Sirloin steaks in it, we would also say we wouldn't go out of our way to reorder it.
Bone-In Filet Mignon Served with Sauteed Yams and Roasted Local Corn
USDA Ungraded Filet Mignon Bone-In 12 oz - $27
The Bone-In Filet Mignon is one of our favorite steaks, and it rarely appears on steak websites. If you do find one, expect to pay around $75 for it, which is a little hard to swallow (no pun intended) even for us. Since we were having our share custom made for us, we decided to have a couple prepared for us. Good move too! This was, by far, the best steak we had from Honest Beef.
There is just "something" about getting steaks on the bone that add flavor to the meat. I like to tell my daughters fat-free flavor too because they have trouble embracing the fact that flavor comes from fat. For those of you entertaining at home, a 12 oz. Bone-in Filet is better than a 16 oz. Boneless Filet, not to mention the majestic presentation it makes on the plate.
We served our sliced like you would do with a Porterhouse Steak and found the clean flavor of beef consistent through every bite. It was quite a treat. We would go out of our way to reorder this steak again, as well as the next one.
Ribeye Served with Four Cheese Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Corn.
USDA Ungraded Ribeye 24 oz - $54
We would have a hard time choosing between this fantastic Ribeye and the Filet Mignon, Bone-In above. Of all the steaks we reviewed from Honest Beef, this one had the most marbling bordering on USDA Prime. We also want to acknowledge the butchers who gave us a perfect Ribeye trim without extra fat we wouldn't eat, or want to pay for.
This Ribeye is an enormous man-steak that delivers delicious and clean beef flavor, bite after bite. The perfect crust and semi-melted fat inside the Ribeye provides an ideal texture balances that accompany the flavor so well. Your tastes buds will tell your brain they need another bite to figure out the perfection of this steak. Luckily, you had Honest Beef custom cut you 24 ounces, although the standard 20 ounces will probably do just fine. We would go back to Honest Beef for this generous cut of Ribeye and would feel comfortable ordering "off the rack" for the 20 ounces one too.
Our Conclusion
Upstart beef purveyors have to find their niche in the competitive online steaks market. Honest Beef puts a lot of emphasis on being able to prove to their customers where their beef comes from. We don't feel that is the best strategic marketing value proposition for this company, in fact, it is more likely to create questions and concerns with consumers than build a brand.
We think the value proposition should be the strengths of the company which is personalized service, certified Angus beef, and direct to consumer delivery from the ranch.
Asking consumers to buy shares (packages) of USDA ungraded beef without individual pricing and with a 100% satisfaction guarantee may get the company off the ground, but will severely limit the company's ability to grow and compete. How many products and services will consumers buy without pricing? It is not the way business is done, nor a foundation for growth.
The funny thing is their prices are not bad. They are reasonable and competitively priced. The prices also come with a level of personal attention not available from other vendors. We fond all the steaks we tried to be above average, and two that were exceptional.
But our recommendation does not replace USDA grading, which the company should reconsider. Yes, Omaha Steaks doesn't share USDA grades either, but that is also one of the most annoying traits related to their brand. A bad footprint to follow, in our opinion. Experienced online steak buyers want to know what they are buying.
Overall, we found Honest Beef to have great steaks at a good value. They have nothing to hide, or be afraid of sharing with their customers and potential customers who visit their website.
Kevin Bouchard
BestOnlineReviews.com
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Additional References
- What is Marbling? - Best Online Steaks Blog
- USDA Certified Beef Programs - A list of companies certified with the USDA for the type and quality beef they sell.
- Honest Beef Company Website