How Costco Shoppers Are Saving Big On Steaks By Becoming Their Own Butcher

Costco customers are usually known for their enthusiasm for the warehouse brand's affordable prices and bulk offerings. Over the past few months, customers of the membership-only warehouse retailer have been using a simple tip for serious savings on steak at Costco and sharing videos online of themselves buying enormous cuts of steak, which they then bring home and slice up themselves. Just look for a whole New York strip loin, also labeled as beef loin top loin whole, and they are sold in 13 to 15 pound sections, give-or-take. 

You don't have to be a professional butcher to cut up a large portion of steak, but they key is to use a very sharp knife to slice through such a large cut of beef. Using a dull knife will not only be more difficult and likely leave your beef with ragged edges, but it's also more dangerous to use a dull knife. You can trim some of the fat cap off of the beef before slicing, but if you prefer a fattier steak, leave the fat cap as is and trim the fat off later if needed. 

Another important aspect to keep in mind is the possible presence of bones in larger cuts of meat. Be sure you're purchasing the boneless versions of meat, rather than bone-in, as cutting through beef bones without a professional bone saw is nearly impossible.

Aim to cut the steaks at least one and a quarter-inch thick, as thinner steaks tend to overcook before you can get a nice sear on the outside. You can also use a ruler vertically, depending on the width of the ruler, to measure how thick each slice should be as you slice into the meat. You can even score the top of the meat with your measurements so you can slice through freely without having to worry about measuring each steak. 

Don't anticipate perfectly sized or picture-perfect steaks, as you likely don't have the same precision as a professional butcher, but the payoff from buying gigantic portions of meat and trimming them into individual steaks is worth it for the financial savings, as you're not paying for the labor cost of dividing up the beef into individual portions. After you've portioned out the steaks, the best move is to vacuum seal each steak individually. From there you can freeze the cuts that you won't cook in the next few days, as long as you clearly label the steaks before freezing. 

Other bulk items at Costco you can purchase, portion out, and then freeze are the massive packages of ground beef (you could even shape them into burger patties and freeze those in packs of two to four at a time) and Costco's high-quality, imported salted butters, usually sold in packs of three or four, which you can freeze individually and pull one out any time you need for baking or topping your perfectly-seared steaks. Seek out these other Costco staples that freeze well so you can confidently buy in bulk, and you'll feel like your kitchen belongs in a restaurant.