Do your steaks ever arrive wrapped like this? At our house, beef comes in heavy-duty packages straight from the freezer — not the thin supermarket trays. These cuts are meant to be stored long-term and bring restaurant-quality steaks to our table.
We don’t rely on the small freezer above the fridge. Instead, we have two chest freezers that hold dozens of meals. Between bulk beef and a fair share of ice cream, those chests stay well stocked.
Both freezers are organized with care. One glance shows rows of labeled packages and neatly stacked boxes. Knowing where each cut is makes meal planning and portion control simple.
Our beef comes from my brother in Illinois. His cattle are finished on corn, which produces the marbling I prefer. I enjoy the rich flavor and tenderness that marbled, corn-fed beef offers. If I wanted lean, gamey meat, I’d go after venison — grass-fed beef lovers will prefer those leaner, pasture-raised flavors.
I also want animals treated responsibly. When livestock get sick, I expect them to receive proper veterinary care, including antibiotics when needed. Our beef is processed at a local locker plant: they dress and package the cuts, and they stamp both our name and the cut type on each package. What you see here is a porterhouse — essentially a T-bone that includes the larger strip steak on one side and the tenderloin (filet) on the smaller side.
Steak nights happen at our house on random Mondays, Tuesdays or even Wednesdays. When the steak is excellent, you don’t need heavy sauces — simple seasoning enhances the natural beef flavor. I reach for McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning most often, and sometimes I’ll marinate in teriyaki or a steak sauce. Still, my go-to is a well-seasoned steak cooked to medium-rare with a bit of blue cheese on the side.
Not everyone in the family shares my enthusiasm for frequent steak dinners.
My kids will sometimes grumble about seeing steak on the menu again. I’ve spoken with friends who grew up with the same abundance of high-quality proteins packaged at home, and we all assumed every household ate steak regularly. Those childhood habits shaped our tastes: many of us are now picky about steak and prefer to save steakhouse visits for special occasions, opting for seafood or other dishes when dining out.
One day I hope my children will look back and appreciate the simple luxury of having well-prepared, properly stored meat at home — the convenience of a stocked freezer, the flavor of a porterhouse, and the comfort of family meals shared around the table.
