Testing Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, M&S and Co-Op steaks

As the cost-of-living crisis rages on, we as a country are being forced to cut costs through any means necessary, with luxury foods being a prime example.

Spending upwards of £5 in store for one piece of meat is simply not feasible in this day and age, especially not consistently.

That said, we shouldn't deprive ourselves of the good stuff too much, life is still there to be lived is it not?

The steaks were all cooked the same way for the same amount of time (Image: Newsquest)

I haven't had steak for a long while, and certainly not in any restaurant where you can easily part with £30 or more for a good slice of cow.

It goes without saying that your local butcher will probably give you the best cut of beef that is restaurant-grade, but in the interest of more money for your buck, the supermarkets were under the spotlight here.

There are so many supermarkets out there that sell a whole range of meats, but which one offers the best steak?

Well, to find out for you, I decided to risk a limb or two to gout and bought 6 standard ribeye steaks from 6 of the major supermarkets.

To meat lovers, you're welcome, to PETA, I'm sorry.

All steaks were cooked the same, 2-3 minutes on either side (medium rare), and seasoned in olive oil and salt and pepper, no sauces were allowed.

I am no chef by any means, but these were the results:

The 6 packaged steaks from Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, M&S and the Co-Op (Image: Newsquest)

Tesco 5/10

Tesco is the most popular supermarket in the UK, and can be found near pretty much any town, village, or city.

Their normal ribeye costs £5.35, however at my store they had run out, so had to get Tesco finest for only 45p more (this cost only £4.60 on a Clubcard).

The steak was ok, or 'bog standard' as I put in my notes. 

It was a good size in the packet but seemed to shrink entirely in the pan.

Medium rare was not achieved, 2 minutes on either side turned it medium and quite dry in fact.

Slightly disappointing, especially for a 'finest'.

Aldi 7/10

I had high hopes for Aldi as it is without a doubt one of my favourite UK supermarkets.

The budget store is renowned for its cheeky marketing of 'copying' other stores' products, but how would the steak fare?

Not too bad actually for £4.99, which along with another steak, was the cheapest.

It had great taste and although it was a little thin, like Tesco, it was not dry and I'd certainly recommend it if you have to choose a cheap steak.

Here was the Co-Op's offering - the first time I'd used a griddle plan, I should add (Image: Newsquest)

Co-Op 8/10

You could have guessed, but this steak from the smaller Co-Op store was by far the most expensive: £5.50.

Although, you could really taste why.

The juiciness, flavour, texture and sear were almost incomparable to the rest, bar one, and I'd highly recommend it if money is no issue.

2-3 minutes was perfect for a medium rare and my family agreed (oh yes, I should point out I didn't finish every steak to myself, I didn't go full Atkins).

Morrisons 4/10

Morrisons, stick to fish. 

This was almost bottom, Morrisons' steak was not enjoyable in the slightest.

Bland, dry and devoid of flavour, it was very disappointing I must admit.

At £4.99 it was on par with ALDI's value for money, but the difference in quality was stark.

Asda 3/10

Well, where do we start Asda? On par with ALDI in terms of my store preference, this really disappointed me.

At £5.20 I thought, ok, at that price the quality will surely make up for how it looks in the packet - which really didn't strike me as appealing.

Personally, I thought it looked the worst in the packet and out of the pan.

At one point after tucking in, I glanced down at my feet to check I hadn't mistakenly cooked one of my Crocs, it was that tough.

Maybe you can blame the chef here, and I should've been more on the ball and considerate to weight and timings, but Asda's ribeye steak was my least favourite, and quite expensive at that.

M&S 9/10

The winner.

M&S are known for being quite an upmarket chain of stores that I rarely enter due to the assumption I'll need a bank loan to shop there.

At £5.25, it was the second most expensive but only 26p more than Aldi? So you really can't complain about that.

It tasted amazing and lost nothing to the pan, all those juices and flavour sizzled throughout the steak in a perfect haze of rouge.

This steak I did not share, put it that way.