This week, Value for money compares four varieties of striploin steak
Marks & Spencer Striploin
€11.88 for 400g €29.70 per kg
THESE STEAKS have to be divested of their shrink-wrapped packaging 10 minutes before cooking – which is all well and good, but who reads the instructions 10 minutes before cooking? Certainly not us. The meat is organic and Irish and very big, at least when raw, although it did shrink quite a bit when it was introduced to the pan. We weren’t overly impressed by the thin veins of chewy fat – which were difficult to spot until they were being chewed – or the price. It costs almost the same as the Good Herdsmen steak, but surely economies of scale should mean M&S would be able to sell it for less?
VERDICT: A bit chewy
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Dunnes Stores Striploin
€5.49 for 300g €18.30 per kg
“A MEAL for two,” Dunnes promises us on the packaging, and if that’s true, it’s a meal for two not very hungry people, as these steaks are unquestionably on the small side. They look quite fatty and not particularly appetising, but taste a lot better than we expected. While it lacks some of the depth of the more upmarket options and is somewhat softer of texture, it is absolutely fine and is quite good value for money.
VERDICT: Small but good value
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Good Herdsman
€5.99 for 200g €29.95 per kg
THIS IS a decent-sized steak – both before and after it is cooked. It is also gorgeous – succulent and full of flavour, and like the M&S option, organic. It combines the leanness of a fillet with the flavour of a striploin. While it is the most expensive steak reviewed, it is by no means outlandishly priced. The packaging was ridiculously difficult to open without employing a sharp implement and it was the only brand not to give us cooking instructions.
VERDICT: Thick and juicy
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Aldi's Specially Selected Striploin
€11.99 for 450g €26.64 per kg
ANYONE WHO still believes that Aldi is a one-dimensional retailer which specialises in cheap food of dubious quality should probably try this steak from its Specially Selected range. This Tipperary steak was at least 10 per cent bigger than the next largest steak on trial and is almost certainly the best – although it lost some points because it’s not organic. It has been matured on the bone for 14 days and really is excellent; fresh and tender and bursting with meaty flavours.
VERDICT: Excellent
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