It's the battle for carnivorous supremacy! Between two wholesale giants, which will reign supreme, Costco or Sam's Club? We judged the selection, we checked the prices, and we rated the meats — here's how they stacked up.
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00:00It's the battle for carnivorous supremacy between two wholesale giants which will reign
00:05supreme, Costco or Sam's Club. We judged the selection, we checked the prices, and we rated
00:10the meats. Here's how they stacked up.
00:12Sam's Club offers enormous 10-pound chubs of 90% lean ground beef, as well as a seemingly
00:18endless supply in smaller three-packs of 88% lean ground beef. You can also find pre-formed
00:23patties of prime rib and slider and full-size rounds. Highlights of the sliced beef selections
00:28include packages of Angus, cowboy, and ribeye steaks — just about every roast imaginable
00:34— and pre-seasoned corned beef and cubed meat ready for stewing. There's even a prime
00:38section with grass-fed tenderloin steaks and organic ground beef for true meat connoisseurs
00:43to enjoy.
00:44For discount shoppers, there's also a clearance section where the use or freeze-by date on
00:48the meat is pretty immediate. We wouldn't recommend it in all situations, but if you
00:51plan to prepare it right away, it might do the job.
00:54Costco also offers a meaty collection of beef items for customers to slice into. Readily
00:59available 88% lean Kirkland ground beef can be had for around $4.50 per pound. Steaks
01:05and roasts go a bit further than Sam's Club's collection. Costco offers flank steak and
01:10tri-tip, as well as a prime beef section with highly marbled New York strip and grass-fed
01:14strip loin. The longer that you stroll through the Costco meat section, the vaster the beef
01:18options will seem, which definitely tilts the scales.
01:21Ultimately, Costco offers a heartier array of beefy cuts and creations than Sam's Club.
01:27The options for chicken at Sam's Club run the gamut from whole legs, thighs, and breasts
01:31to skinless, boneless breasts and entire hens ready for the roaster or fryer. Costco mirrors
01:36Sam's in this area, with equal packages of fryers and grillers displayed, as well as
01:41full-size hens. But Costco goes a step further with organic chicken drumsticks, chicken tenderloins,
01:46and chicken breasts available from Kirkland.
01:48You son of a-
01:52There are also party wings to make prep work simple for game day. Ultimately, though, neither
01:56warehouse goes above and beyond what you can find in a decent grocery store. Turkey is
02:00in short supply at both warehouses, though Costco does offer ground turkey from both
02:05Butterball and Fulton Farms, while Sam's Club sticks with Jenny O. only. You won't find
02:10whole turkeys or turkey breast at either store until the holiday season rolls around, when
02:14they both carry frozen turkeys, while Costco also offers pre-cooked turkeys. When the feathers
02:19stop flying and the dust settles, both Costco and Sam's Club perform admirably in the fight
02:24for poultry supremacy.
02:26Shopping for pork at Costco means taking your pick of pretty much every cut imaginable.
02:30That includes pork loin back, boneless top loin chops, boneless sliced pork belly, and
02:35pork shoulder country-style ribs. You might also find boneless pork loin and unsliced
02:40pork belly in stock, which means that aside from the more exotic parts, almost every pork
02:44cut possible is represented at the Costco meat department, and in forms that inspire
02:48grand dreams of grilling something beyond the usual beef dishes.
02:52"...the stuff that dreams are made of."
02:56Sam's Club has a little trouble keeping up here, though it does an okay job with ribs,
03:00pork belly, butt, loin, and chops, all packaged up and ready to be tossed in the oven or on
03:05the smoker. With pork being the third most popular meat in the United States, Sam's seems
03:09to hedge its bets a bit. Rather than overstock cuts, it can't necessarily sell through. For
03:14pork fans looking to maximize a barbecue or make a hearty Sunday dinner for their families,
03:19Costco comes out on top.
03:21Lamb has always struck us as a specialty meat, though shoppers at both Costco and Sam's Club
03:25nevertheless have a decent array of cuts to choose from. Costco offers chops, boneless
03:30legs, ribs, and shoulder cuts to give gourmands an affordable edible canvas to work with.
03:35Sam's Club, meanwhile, has a similar selection of whole cuts, though it's slightly more limited
03:39than Costco, sticking with racks and loin chops only. Unlike Costco, though, Sam's carries
03:44New Zealand lamb, and its ground variety might encourage modest cooks to step out of their
03:48comfort zone and whip up lamb burgers, homemade sausage, or meatballs to spice up the menu.
03:53Ultimately, both stores are a little sheepish about stocking this savory alternative to
03:57beef and pork, making it a toss-up between Costco and Sam's Club when it comes to the
04:02lamb battle. You can find workable selections at similar prices in both warehouses, thereby
04:06keeping the playing field relatively level.
04:09We were expecting a deeper trove of pricey game and other specialty meats at both warehouses,
04:14but the truth is that Sam's Club has no game in its game.
04:17Ooh, sick burn.
04:20Maybe it just wasn't the right season, or the particular location we visited isn't in
04:24a big game area. Nevertheless, having a pheasant or a package of elk steaks didn't seem that
04:29far outside the realm of possibility. Apparently, store management disagreed.
04:33Costco doesn't fare much better when it comes to rare meat, though it did offer packages
04:37of 90 percent lean ground bison in 2.5-pound cubes for about $20 per pound. That seems
04:43pretty pricey for ground meat, though bison is something of a specialty. But even this
04:46was restricted to a tiny sliver of the beef case, though you might find that you'll have
04:50to fight off a fair amount of attention from your fellow shoppers.
04:54Bottom line, if you're looking for game meat beyond bison, neither Costco nor Sam's Club
04:58is likely to offer a winning catch.
05:01Sam's Club carries far more fish items than we were expecting. There are plenty of wrapped
05:05packages with steelhead trout, ahi tuna steaks and chunks, halibut, and Chilean sea bass.
05:10Shoppers who appreciate prepared dishes can pick up seafood charcuterie boards, while
05:14shellfish fans will be in for a treat thanks to jumbo and black tiger shrimp nestled next
05:19to crab legs.
05:20As impressive as Sam's Club's edible aquarium is, Costco makes an even bigger splash. Atlantic
05:25salmon, farm-raised catfish fillets, and sockeye salmon share the case with whole versions
05:30of branzino and tilapia. There's also a bounty of shellfish, including warm-water lobster
05:35tails, dungeness crab sections, and nets of farm-raised little neck clams. Packages of
05:40whitehead shrimp were on special for $5 off per package, which is just one example of
05:44the discounts that Costco promises to entice wide-eyed shoppers.
05:48If you're looking for a haul of both fresh and saltwater seafood, Costco lets you cast
05:52a wider net than Sam's Club.
05:55Anyone who's tried to shop for anything on Costco's websites knows how severely limited
05:59the company keeps their online stock. It's a challenge to do simple price checks on current
06:03items, let alone arrange a full shopping list knowing what you'll be paying. But it's an
06:07entirely different set of obstacles when you're trying to buy the warehouse's meat online.
06:11All selections shown are super-premium brands in larger-than-average quantities, priced
06:15well over $100 per selection. Sure, you can get a Wagyu tenderloin roast for $999, but
06:22if you're just a home shopper looking to stock your freezer for the week, then you're sadly
06:25out of luck.
06:26In stark contrast, Sam's Club targets the average weekly shopper with a family to feed.
06:31There's even a digital replica of the meat department where everything is sensibly sized
06:35and reasonably priced. Part of this is due to the company's Scan & Go feature, which
06:39lets you arrange and pay for your order through the app, then sweep into the store, scan your
06:43items, and cruise home without having to stop at the checkout counter. It's the future of
06:47shopping in general, and Sam's factors its meat selections into this process, a concept
06:52that Costco hasn't gotten on board with.
06:54Get with the program!"
06:56So if online meat shopping is your own particular little slice of heaven, then Sam's Club is
07:01the winner for you.
07:02There's an ongoing debate about whether Kirkland or Members Mark items reign supreme. The meat
07:07departments are certainly a part of this conversation, and having a deep trove on offer from both
07:11stores helps them capture the hearts and dollars of their loyal shoppers. But whatever your
07:16personal preference, letting national brands share the case with the home label can give
07:20one store a distinct advantage. So who achieves the better balance between signature selections
07:25and national names? Sam's Club features well-known meat providers like Hillshire Farm and Geneo,
07:31while Costco pushes Butterball and Swift.
07:33Although the home brand of both warehouses receives a much bigger push by far, the store
07:37label that ultimately rises to the top when the meat hits the fire really depends on the
07:41individual customer. But in terms of the range of both store label and national brand meat
07:46items on offer, Costco and Sam's Club come out even.
07:49We fully expected Sam's Club to beat the feathers off Costco when it came to their
07:53meat department prices. After all, it's a Walmart company, which means low prices are
07:57practically guaranteed, or so you might think. As it turns out, the truth is more complicated.
08:02Side-by-side comparisons from common items revealed a mere one-cent difference between
08:07the two stores. With such negligible savings, choosing the right spot to shop comes down
08:11to personal preference for most of these items.
08:14But things take a dramatic turn in the seafood department. Costco's ahi tuna was nearly double
08:20the price of Sam's Club. While its steelhead trout was a dollar more per pound, that dollar
08:24might not be quite as drastic, but it could still make a difference for anyone doing comparative
08:29shopping. Do keep in mind that specific prices may differ at your local store. Overall, your
08:33budget should be able to handle meat shopping at either warehouse with a slight give-and-take
08:37price difference, unless you're looking for premium fish selections. In that case, you'd
08:41do best to stick with Sam's Club.
08:43While both warehouses have plenty of meat for their shoppers to choose from, Costco
08:47edges out Sam's Club thanks to a broader array of beef and seafood products. While Sam's
08:52does an admirable job with its inventory, and has a slick 21st century app that lets
08:56you shop and hop without waiting in line, a trip to Costco is bound to be a more satisfying
09:00experience for the average meat-loving shopper.
09:03What's most impressive about Costco is its inclusive array of pork, fish, and seafood
09:07selections. It's not as exhaustive as possible, but it does provide an admirable variety of
09:13sliced, filleted, and whole fish, something that Sam's Club simply didn't have. Finding
09:18crab legs and whole shellfish in several forms was also a nice surprise. That's the sort
09:22of thing you might expect to see at a standard grocery store, but not a warehouse where steady
09:26product turnover isn't guaranteed, and the pork selections were practically snout-to-tail,
09:31though whole hogs were notably missing from the case.
09:33Ultimately, the fact that Costco takes extra measures to offer its shoppers myriad meaty
09:38possibilities affirms its status as the winner of this contest.
09:41Welcome to Costco. I love you.