Major Retailer in Idaho Has Highest Quality Meat Department

If you haven’t experienced it already, you will soon! Now that warmer temperatures and later sunsets have arrived, one of the ways you like filling your evening is with a walk around the neighborhood and man, does it smell good! 

That’s because your neighbors aren’t waiting until Memorial Day to start grilling. Whether they’re serving up steak for a weeknight dinner for the family or grilling burgers for a party, the smells wafting out of their backyards is incredible! As a state with more cows than people, Idahoans love their meat and they want the highest quality meat, no matter the occasion. 

READ MORE: The Best Grocer Store in America Has Only Three Idaho Locations

Well, one major retailer in Idaho just got recognized for having the highest quality meat department in the nation. 

Major Idaho Retailer Has Highest Quality Meat Department

Chowhound recently took a look at 12 of America’s biggest grocery retailers to determine which leads the industry when it comes to high quality meat. After analyzing customer reviews, professional evaluations and store policies for the sourcing, feeding and treatment of the animals that become the meat on your plate, three grocers with Idaho locations appeared on the list.   

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I don’t have a Cotsco membership, so I’ve never gotten to taste meat from their store. However, Chowhound reveals that of all the chains they researched Costco had the best reputation for high quality meat. In putting Costco at the top of the list, they said: 

The home of the famed cheap rotisserie chickens is also home to one of Julia Child's preferred meat departments, so you know you can't really go wrong at Costco. The meat department at the much-loved warehouse club is a favorite of professional butchers, too, and it has a well-deserved reputation for stocking plentiful amounts of different cuts.

Idaho’s also home to a single location of Chowhound’s #2 choice, Whole Foods. They applauded the upscale grocer’s choice to sell antibiotic-free meats that have a very traceable supply chain and the number of third-party certifications the meat needs to go through. Whole Foods also prefers actual butchers to work in their meat departments, rather than a general employee that learns just enough to cut the meat. 

Further down the list, we were a little surprised to see Walmart and its sister company, Sam’s Club. Many people may overlook Walmart for meat because of the store’s reputation for being “cheap,” but Chowhound said that they’re working toward making their brand’s chicken products antibiotic-free by the end of the year. 100% of their pork already is. Customer reviews show that Walmart’s pretty consistent when it comes to the quality of their steaks. 

Walmart has 27 Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets in Idaho. Sam’s Club has a single location in Idaho Falls, but a Reddit rumor seems to think the store is eyeing an opportunity to return to the Treasure Valley…this time in Meridian.