USDA Grade Choice Steaks

Our perishable beef products are shipped vacuum sealed and frozen over dry ice inside an insulated cooler. We utilize FedEx 1-2 day shipping to ensure our goods arrive in a timely manner.  Orders consisting of only nonperishables are shipped via USPS priority mail.

If the meat is frozen, partially frozen, or it arrives thawed and cool to the touch, it remains safe to eat. If the meat is thawed and you are unsure if it is safe or cool to the touch, please give us a call at (254) 605-6444 to discuss further. We will always make sure that you receive product that is safe to eat and enjoyable.

If your product is thawed but still cool to the touch, the product is safe to eat within 7 days or may be refrozen. If your product is not cool to the touch, please give us a call at (254) 605-6444.

Our delivery date feature will open a calendar and allow you to pick your delivery date. Our standard shipping days are Monday through Friday. Due to shipping circumstances beyond our control, packages may occasionally arrive one day prior or one day after the selected delivery date. Please call for more detailed information about any specific timelines you would like us to work with.

Orders can be expedited with a surcharge for certain scenarios; please call (254) 605-6444 for more information.

Certain dates highlighted in red on our delivery date selection feature will incur a fee due to the expedited shipping service required to successfully deliver an order on that selected date. For example, if you want to have an order delivered on a Tuesday, it will have to ship with One Day expedited service on Monday in order to arrive the following day. If you wish to avoid this fee but need your order by a certain date, we suggest ordering a week ahead to receive your product before the date required.

Yes. For information about corporate gifts or custom gift packages, please see Corporate Gifts or call (254) 605-6444.

In Texas, grocery items like beef are exempt from collecting sales tax. However, 44 Farms Steaks collects applicable sales tax on taxable items like apparel, coolers, notebooks, etc.

It is ideal to thaw beef in the refrigerator where it remains at a safe temperature (40°F or below). Most steaks will thaw in one day while larger items such as brisket or prime rib may take an additional day or more. After thawing, beef can be refrigerated safely for 3 to 5 additional days before cooking. During this time, if you decide not to use the beef, you can safely refreeze it without cooking. Avoid thawing on the counter or in other locations. While quick thawing can be achieved under cold running water, it is ideal to slowly thaw beef in the refrigerator. Do not use warm or hot water to accelerate thaw time.

For best quality, plan to cook our beef within 4 to 12 months. Beef will remain safe when stored constantly at 0°F or below; however, quality degrades with lengthy freezer storage. For ideal quality, the freezer should be set at 0°F or below and beef should remain packaged tightly to keep air from getting in. If beef is frozen without being sealed tightly, freezer burn may occur. The product remains safe to eat, but the areas with freezer burn will be dried out and tasteless and should be trimmed away.

Along with being delicious, beef contains important nutrients that your body needs. The recommended serving size is 4 ounces for raw beef (about the size of a deck of cards), which translates to about 3 ounces of cooked beef. Beef delivers 10 essential nutrients; on average, a 3-ounce serving of cooked beef provides 175 calories and protein (51% DV), B12 (41% DV), zinc (39% DV), selenium (38% DV), niacin (25% DV), B6 (24% DV), phosphorous (20% DV), riboflavin (14% DV), iron (14% DV) and choline (13% DV). DV refers to Daily Value, the amount of nutrient needed for a healthy adult on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Marbling is the white flecks of fat embedded within the beef muscle; it describes the fat content inside the muscle. The greater the amount of marbling in beef, the higher the quality grade, because marbling makes beef more tender, flavorful and juicy. The term “quality grade” is used to describe the level or amount of marbling, along with other factors such as fat thickness, age of the cattle and coloration of the beef. The higher the amount of marbling, the higher the quality grade, the better the eating experience, defined through attributes like juiciness, tenderness, flavor and texture. The three main quality grades that USDA can assign to beef are Prime, Choice and Select. Prime beef is the highest grade and contains an abundant amount of marbling. Choice beef follows closely – it is a very high-quality beef with a moderate amount of marbling. Rounding out the top three main quality grades is Select beef, which is uniform in quality and much leaner, with only a slight amount of marbling. 44 Farms only provides Black Angus Beef that is labeled either Prime or Choice. Each individual package of 44 Farms beef contains either the USDA grade shield for Prime or the USDA grade shield for Choice.

Our franks are made entirely of 44 Farms Angus beef, from the same cattle that we source our well-marbled steaks from. Our franks do not have a casing, nitrates or nitrites.

The smoked prime rib is a fully cooked product, weighing between 4-5 lbs. Each person can generally eat about 1/2 lb each; therefore, the prime rib serves around 8-10 people.

All our steaks are wet aged for a minimum of 28 days.

When comparing wet aging vs. dry aging, contrast how the meat is dehydrated. For dry aging, whole sides of beef or primal cuts are hung in open air at a temperature just above freezing and left to age for several weeks. Enzymes work on the muscle fiber during this process while the meat is slowly dehydrating. This concentrates the meat and changes the texture and flavor. The wet-aging process involves vacuum sealing cuts of beef and shipping directly to the market. The aging takes place between slaughter and sale while the meat is in transit and the enzymes have time to tenderize the meat. The biggest plus is that there is no weight loss in the meat due to dehydration. It is a relatively recent technique that developed along with advances in vacuum seal technology and refrigeration.

Please check our recipes page for easy-to-make meals utilizing 44 Farms beef. With dozens of recipes to choose from, we have an easy option for every palate.

With Bob McClaren’s heavy business background, it is no surprise that Black Angus cattle caught his eye since they are bred for optimum quality and marketability. He studied the Angus breed for many years and their superiority was clear to Bob from the beginning. Black Angus cattle are known as the business breed. They are resistant to harsh weather, undemanding, adaptable, behave well by nature, mature extremely early and have a high carcass yield with nicely marbled meat. This carcass yield and marbling has proven true in our steaks business. “There’s a level of quality that’s unlike any other breed.” – Bob

Essentially, “Registered Black Angus” cattle operators are breeders of “Pure Bred Black Angus” as monitored by the American Angus Association. 44 Farms is the largest Registered Angus operation in the state of Texas. We market our Registered Black Angus bulls around the entire U.S., and embryos across the world, in order to help commercial cattle operators improve their cattle herd to efficiently produce more marbling and a better eating experience.

NE3 stands for Never Ever, meaning growth hormones, antibiotics and animal byproducts are NEVER EVER administered or fed.

All 44 Farms’ cattle are harvested at Caviness Beef Packers in Hereford, Texas. At Caviness, the carcass is broken down into primal and sub-primal cuts. From Caviness the sub-primal cuts are sent to a USDA-approved case ready plant where they are individually portioned, packaged and labeled.

At 44 Farms all cattle are pasture raised and grain finished. There are NEVER EVER hormones, growth promotants or animal byproducts administered to them in this feed.

Yes. We are USDA Certified Program Schedule G-112. We have a third party audit us at every stage to ensure we meet these guidelines.