How to Choose a Steak Gift

Start with a question that has nothing to do with steak: how does this person cook? Someone who grills twice a week wants different things from someone who owns one pan and uses it well.

“Um, but, uh, uh, yeah, there's, uh, there's, there's a cut of meat that, that meets just about any need. Uh, there's, uh, something in the store that fits, you know, for just about anybody you could try to buy from.”

Gray Shipley

Send a mix, not four of the same thing

“Yeah, well, and it's a mix of things they've heard of, things they haven't heard of. Uh, you know, cuts they're comfortable and familiar with and cuts that give them, uh, you know, something to go learn about, uh, one weekend when they're, when they're watching a game or having some friends over.”

Gray Shipley

Four identical ribeyes is a generous gift that gets eaten without much thought. Two cuts they know and one they do not is a gift that turns into a project, and the project is the part they remember.

Match the cut to the cook

• Confident cook, likes a challenge. Include something lean and fast, like a flat iron, alongside a forgiving cut.
• Cooks occasionally, wants it to go well. Thicker steaks. There is more room for error in a thick cut.
• Cooks for a crowd. Weight matters more than prestige. Send more, not fancier.

How much to send

Work in dinners rather than pounds. Two people eating a steak each is roughly a pound and a half once you allow for a cut with a bone or a fat cap. Four dinners for two is about six pounds, which is also about the size of a box that will not overwhelm a freezer.

For a household that cooks most nights, double it. For someone who eats out four evenings a week, do not.

Thickness matters more than grade

A thick steak is more forgiving than a thin one, because the middle takes longer to catch up with the outside. A thin steak goes from rare to medium while you are turning your back to find the tongs. If you are sending to someone whose skill you are unsure about, thickness is the kindest thing you can choose for them.

The one to send when it should feel like an occasion

The Steakhouse Box

Steaks, chosen so the person opening it knows immediately that someone spent thought rather than money.

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For the person who will taste the difference

Thomas the Butcher's Curated Collection, 5-6 lb, Signature Dry Aged

Dry-aged and picked by the butcher. Send it to someone who cooks on purpose rather than by habit.

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The single cut that says the most

Signature Huston Ribeye

Our signature dry-aged ribeye. If you are sending one thing and want it understood, send this.

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One message before it lands

“Um, we recommend you let them know, uh, so that they have a freezer before it gets there.”

Gray Shipley

Tell them. It arrives frozen, and whether that is a delight or an inconvenience depends entirely on whether they were expecting it. Once it is there, thawing it properly is the only other thing that matters.

For the boxes themselves, start here. To understand what separates the cuts, tenderness by cut is explained here.