Why Costco's USDA Prime Beef Is A Big Deal

Costco is one of those rare unicorns in the retail world: Not only does it offer fantastic savings to its club members, a terrific house brand in Kirkland Signature, and a killer food court (may the $1.50 hot dog combo never go away), the company also has a reputation for treating — and paying — its employees well. It's one of the many reasons shoppers love frequenting the big box chain — well, that and their selection of USDA prime beef.

While it's not a huge deal that Costco carries USDA prime, as many grocery stores do. After all, because of its business model, it can sell it for less than its supermarket competition, less than even Walmart per pound of meat. Costco also has meat cutters on-site, who trim the non-beefy parts (the fatty and gristly bits) off the steaks before weighing them, leaving customers with more meat per pound.

There is also the common practice of carbon monoxide spiking, which maintains the meat's appearance. It doesn't break any laws to spike meat with this gas (at least in this country), but it can be misleading and cause customers to buy meat that looks fresher than it really is. Costco, however, does not practice carbon monoxide spiking in its meat, including its USDA prime.

There are a few downsides to buying your USDA prime beef from Costco, though, and it starts with the price. While you certainly might pay less per pound for prime cuts, you also might go into a little sticker shock when you see the total. Costco is a warehouse store, after all, and you're buying things in bulk, including their meat. So be prepared to spend a bit more, all at once, than you would in a typical supermarket, where you can buy only one or two steaks at a time.

There is also the fact that you do have to buy in bulk. A lot of households simply don't have the freezer real estate to buy so much meat all at once and preserve it before it goes bad. If you do have room for all that beef, it pays to properly prepare it for freezing, so you don't end up with freezer-burned meat — that's just wasteful. It's also a good idea to use it within four to 12 months for best quality — that is, the closest to its quality when you initially froze it.