Rib Eye Costco Vs KC Steak Company

Rib Eye Taste Test

KC Steak Dry Aged Rib Eyes

Costco USDA Prime Rib Eye Steaks

First Impressions

The Costco Steaks are on the Left and the KC Steak Company Steaks are on the Right.  The Costco Steaks appear to be a lighter color,  The KC Steaks are Dry aged up to 28 days hence the darker color,  The KC Steaks are USDA Prime, they are about 10 oz each and are thicker then the KC Steaks which are 8 oz each and no grade assigned. The Costco steaks are fresh the KC are flash frozen and vacuum sealed.  The Cost steaks were about $18 a lb and the KC Steaks were about $12 a lb on sale and using a $25 off Promo Coupon with free shipping.

Costco Steaks on Grillgrates

Cooking Method

I use the reverse sear method for this cook the Rib-Eyes were removed  from Fridge about 1 hour prior to cooking then Seasoned  well top and bottom  with salt and Pepper. 

They then sat at  room temperature for 45 minutes or so.

Pre heated the Grill to 350 Place the Rib Eyes  on the grill  

When the Internal temperature reaches 130 remove from grill and rest tented in foil

Turn up the grill to Max Temperature and sear 2 minutes then flip and sear for 2 more minutes

I use GrillGrates to get a better Sear

The Taste

The Costco steaks won the taste test hands down.  They were way more tender.  A lot more juicy and they tasted better.  If the costco steaks are an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 then the KC Steaks are at most a 4.  I dont see myself buying these KC Steaks again not when Costco was way better.

Cutco Knives Why buy I them used?

Cutco Knives

Brand New Cutco Knife 1723 from Amazon

I purchased the above Cutco Carver 1723 knife on Amazon for my wife as a birthday present.  She absolutely loves it.  I paid $119 for it brand new and my wife claims it is worth every single cent of it.

I have seen many discussions in the Traeger groups on which are the best knives to buy and frankly I don't have enough experience to claim that one brand is better then the next,  I do know that Cutco makes a top of the line product and many chefs, butchers and Pit masters use their knives.

Why do I now buy my Cutco knives used.  Cutco will sharpen or replace your knives forever free of charge,  All you need to do is follow this link to send the Knives to Cutco with a small check to cover return postage,  They will sharpen the knives and polish the handles free of charge.  If they can't sharpen them they will replace them.  If you have a vintage knife and don't want it replaced let them know.

If you have multiple knives send them in all at once to save on return postage. The return postage fee for up to 10 knives is only $9.   The return postage fee for 11 to 25 is $11 and over 25 its only $13 with a maximum of 40 knives.

If you are lucky enough to have a Cutco knife store near where you live they can sharpen them on sight for free or they will send them to the factory for free. If you don't mind picking them up in store about 10 days later you will have factory sharpened knives.  The lady in the store explained that factory sharpened is better then in store sharpened.  I can't wait to get my factory sharpened knives back and start using them. My wife is pretty excited also.  Click here for retail stores

Buying Strategy 1

I don't mind sharing my buying strategy since I am fairly certain I have purchased all the cutco knives my wife and I want in only about 1 weeks time. When I purchase my Knives on E bay I like to use the Buy it Now option.  Some Buy it now options also have a make offer option.  If it has a Make offer I will offer 50 to 70 percent of buy it now price. My goal is to get the knives at below $20 but no more then $25 if at all possible.

I do an E bay search on Cutco Knife.  I will filter on Buy it now and sometimes knife type.  I then set up sort Price Low to high.  I may also set up a filter for $15 to $100 to filter out things like $7.99 polishing cloths.

As an alternative strategy I do a search on cutco and order by ending soonest.  I place a bid with about 1 minute left if I see a Knife I like.  I just won an auction using this strategy and after I get the Knife sharpened I will use it as an incentive on a promotion I plan to run.  Because I have a Cutco store in my area they will send them to the factory for free for service, it takes 10 days  I got this set for only $13 plus 6.50 for shipping.  Cutco 22 Butcher and 26 Fork.

The alternative strategy just keeps on giving.  I have won 3 more knives using this strategy.  I set a timer to tell me when to bid.

A cutco 1798 DD mini trimmer.  It is brand new.  It is a mini version of the 1721 knife.  It is not availabe for sale but used as samples and is a rare knife.  I purchased this knife for $22.09 plus $3.00 shipping.

A cutco 38 spatula spreader.  This Cutco product was only $5.00 plus $3.02 shipping.  It is a first generation product made between 1949. and 1951.  It looks similar to the modern day 1768.

A cutco 1034 bread slicing knife.  This knife was purchased for $9.99 plus 7.00 shipping.  It is a 3rd generation knife and compares to 1724. 

Purchase History

I have purchased the following cutco knives on Ebay using the above strategy 1.  The most expensive knife I purchased was only $23 I purchased a 2 piece carver set for $34.99 with shipping ($17.50 each) and a 9 piece steak knife set for 107.08 (11.90 each)

I recently came across this article about the 4 generations of Cutco Knives and knives numbered in the 30's and 47 are 1st generation dating from 1949 to 1951.   The second generation in the 20's ran from 1952 to 1959.  The third generation the 1000 series were produced from 1960 to 1971 and the 4th generation ran from 1971 to present.

For full article click here

Petite Carver 1721

The Petite Carver 1721 for $19 with free shipping.  Seller indicates knife is in good condition with scratches on handle. This knife is stamped 1721 JI indicating a 4th generation Knife produced in 1998 according to above mentioned reference, This knife was purchased using the make offer option,  The seller was asking 27.99. 

The 9 inch Vintage Carver 23 for $23 with free shipping.  I have already received this knife and its in really nice conditioned with a nicely polished handle. This is a 2nd generation knife produced from 1952 to 1959  This knife was purchased using make offer option the seller was asking 29.99. Compare to 1723.

A set of 8 Vintage 1950's Steak knives #47 with wooden storage block for $99.99 plus $7.09 shipping.  The seller description stated he had to post this item as used because he purchased it at a garage sale but they look in excellent condition like they have never been used and the only sign of wear was the box looked weathered.

A Vintage Carving set Butcher Knife 32 and Turning fork #37 for $29.99 + 5.00 shipping. The seller indicated the set was in excellent condition and factory sharpened and polished.  This is a 1st generation set produced from 1949 to 1951.  I assume the cardboard sheaths are part of the set since they are pictured.

Pictured are 6 Cutco 1720 paring knives.  I purchased one of them for $20 with $2.62 shipping.  The seller was asking $35.  I used the make offer feature.  These are a 4th generation knife produced from 1971 to present.  I won't know the production date of mine till it arrives.

A Cutco French Chef  knife item number 35 a first generation Knife produced from 1949 to 1951.  This item was purchased for 39.95 with free shipping using the buy it now option.  This knife completes our set.






Although we feel our Cutco knife set is now complete, we do have a few other we wouldn't mind having and I'll keep a lookout for them using both strategies and purchase them if I get the price I am willing to pay.

USDA Prime Ribeye

Beef Ribeye Eye of Rib Boneless USDA Prime

Beef Ribeye Eye of Rib Boneless USDA Prime

About 75 to 85% of the time when the wife and I go out to eat we go for breakfast, it works best for our schedules. I was in Costco Today and I saw some Beef Rib-eye Eye of Rib Boneless USDA Prime beef.  I don't very often buy Prime beef but I may start to buy it more often its cheaper then dinner for 2 and way better on the Traeger.

Ingredients

About 2 lbs of Boneless Rib-eye (USDA Prime Optional)

Salt and pepper or your favorite rub

Grill Setup

Start Traeger on smoke for 10 minutes with lid open'

Preheat lid closed to temperature 350

Reverse Sear Method

The Cook

I use the reverse sear method for this cook

Removed the Rib-Eyes from Fridge about 1 hour prior to cooking
Seasoned  well top and bottom  with salt and Pepper (or your favorite rub) 
Set at  room temperature for 45 minutes or so.

Place the Rib Eyes  on the grill  

When the Internal temperature reaches 130 remove from grill and rest tented in foil

Turn up the grill to Max Temperature and sear 2 minutes then flip and sear for 2 more minutes

I use GrillGrates to get a better Sear

Rib Eye and Sweet Potatoes

The Taste Test

The meat was tender and Juicy.  It tasted amazing. My wife made her signature sweet potatoes to go with the Ribeyes,

Please Note:

Any recipe I make is just a guideline.  I am not a big fan of gooey sauces so almost everything  I cook would be a dry rub.  You of course should experiment and see what works best for you.  I don't often recommend a rub because it is a matter of personnel taste.  This recipe would also work well on most other pellet grills or charcoal and gas grill using indirect heat for the low temperature recipes.

KC Steak Recipes Direct from Web

KC Steaks Recipes direct from web

Recently I have been purchasing beef from KC Steak company.  I like the convenience of mail order but not if I have to sacrifice quality or pay significantly more money.  So far I have really enjoyed the strip loin roast.  The T-Bones were really good once I found the proper cook method.  The 5 oz top sirloins I don't think I'll buy again but I still have more to try so my mind can be changed.  I also dont think I'll pay for price for any of them.  It turns out they do go on sale from time to time and when combined with promo codes they real are a great value.  Read more about Promo codes here 

I recently received  KC Steak Seasoned Strip Loin Roast.  It came well packaged in a Styrofoam cooler with dry ice and arrived frozen.  I didn't actually use the KC Steak I actually adopted one I found online by Malcom Reed of Killer Hogs BBQ Team.  You can read my Blog Post here on how I adapted Malcom's  recipe Here is my Blog post.

Here is my cooking methods and reviews of the T-Bones I purchased from KC Steak Company,
T-Bone Cook 1 Post click here
T-Bone Cook 2 Post Click here

Here is My cooking Method for the Top Sirloin steaks.
Top Sirloin Sandwhich Steaks.

Other KC Steaks I will cook.  These are the cooking methods suggested on their web site.
KC Steak Bone in Filet
KC Strip Steaks
SteakBurgers
Boneless Rib Eye I plan on cooking this steak the same way I cooked the one from costco so I can compare them

Kansas City Steak Company T-Bone

I recently purchased some T-Bones from The Kansas City Steak Company.   I received 4 20 once T-Bones.  I only cooked 1 to start.  Keep reading to see all the details of the cook and learn why my 2nd cook was much better

Ingredients

1 22 OZ T bone Steak

Salt, Pepper or your favorite rub

Grill Setup

Start Traeger on smoke for 10 minutes with lid open'

Preheat lid closed to temperature 350 to 400

The Cook

They recommend leaving in the vacuum seal  packaging.  The directions say thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours prior to cooking.  I seasoned with my normal dry rub so I could see how the taste measured up to my local butchers T-Bone.  I cooked them about 5 or 6 minutes per side until an Internal temperature of 140 at 350. I did use Grill Grates and was able to obtain nice sear marks.

The Taste

The steak did taste good,  It was a little grizzles in parts.  The steaks at my local butcher tastes much better and for a significantly lower cost.  I do have some more T-Bones Left and plan on cooking them a little differently next time.  I will use the porterhouse recipe on Traeger web site which includes smoking for 30 to 45 minutes and then doing a reverse sear.  

Customer Service

They do seem to have really great customer service.  When I cancelled my auto ship they asked me why and i stated I could get a better quality and better tasting steak from my local butcher for less so they sent me 2 more T-Bones.  I sure do hope they taste better.  Here is the Post on my 2nd T bone Cook