12 Luxury Foods You Can Actually Find At Costco
Getting to eat luxurious foods is a privilege. According to the USDA, there are 34 million people who are currently food insecure in America, with 9 million of them being children — a condition that's been exacerbated in recent years. But eating fancy fare can be considerably less expensive if you're shopping at Costco. The wholesale club offers a range of high-end cuisine at discount prices, whether it's beef, seafood, or other gourmet products.
A single one of these items can cost you thousands less than retail price while delivering a quality that's sure to impress your guests. Some of these epicurean items are available at your local club or can be delivered right to your door. The best part is that you can brag about how cheap you got them at Costco — or keep the savings to yourself and enjoy the secret of knowing where that caviar came from. You can put double or even triple back in your pocket while still indulging in the best dishes that money can buy.
1. Caviar
Caviar might be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of luxury food. And Costco sells a whole variety of it at different price ranges. The most opulent offering is the 35.2-ounce pack of Plaza Golden Osetra Caviar for $1,999.99. That's an entire kilogram of malossol salted unfertilized sturgeon eggs.
Malossol, which means "little salt" in Russian, is the highest quality of caviar and refers to the amount of salt used to retain flavor and freshness. In order to meet this caliber, the salt content has to be no more than 5%, and preferably 3.7% or lower. These little fish eggs are so expensive because sturgeon are becoming more rare. If they aren't caught fresh, they have to be farmed under very specific conditions.
The Plaza Golden Osetra Caviar is sustainably farmed in Greece. It is amber to golden in color and has a medium to large grain size with a mild to medium pop when you bite into it. It comes in a curing tin and with two mother-of-pearl spoons and a thermal tote to keep the eggs cool. This package should feed 30 to 50 people. "This is the perfect caviar. You cannot go wrong with it," a customer review on Costco's website reads.
2. Saffron
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the whole world. A mere gram of it can run you between $10 and $20. Not only does Costco sell this "red gold," it offers one of the best varieties on the globe. A 14-gram jar of full-thread saffron is $59.99. Plaza Saffron's product, which is sold at Costco, is grown in the Kozani region of Greece. It has a color score of 200+. The redder in color it is, the higher the quality. However, some customers who left reviews on Costco's site say they found a few yellow pieces in them.
"It's saffron. Smells like saffron, imparts that saffron essence. Been comparing to Persian saffron I bought at the same time. So far, to my pathetic senses, in cooking, they are equivalent," a customer who gave a 5-star review wrote.
This ancient aromatic spice comes from a purple flower related to the iris family, known as the saffron or autumn crocus. Each flower produces three stigmas, or threads, which are dried. It can take thousands of flowers to produce a single gram of red, stringy pieces. It also has to be picked a certain way at a certain time. It can take an entire day for a person to harvest just one gram, which is why saffron it is so expensive.
3. Japanese wagyu rib-eye roast
Wagyu is among the most expensive types of beef, and the authentic Japanese variety is even pricer. It's distinguished by what the cattle are fed, the animals' genetics, and the low-stress environment in which they are raised. It can take about 600 to 700 days to feed one of these high-quality cows a specific diet to enhance the meat's marbling, which is the white pieces of intramuscular fat you see in red meat. By comparison, cattle in the U.S. are typically only fed for about 120 days.
This prolonged feeding process, along with the high cost for farmers to provide this specialized treatment and cow tracking systems, contributes to wagyu's high cost. But you'll get quite a deal at Costco. It sells a 12-pound A5 grade — the highest quality designation –Japanese wagyu boneless rib-eye roast for $1,099.99. That's only $91.67 per pound. Maries River Wagyu writes that the price per pound on the standard market is around $250.
Costco's cut comes from Kagoshima, Japan, where about 20 percent of Japan's wagyu cattle are raised. Customers have raved about its quality. "The rib-eye A5 roast rivals that of Tokyo steakhouses for a fraction of the price. ... If cooked properly, these are absolutely brimming with flavor as good as the top cuts that I have tried multiple times in Tokyo," one wrote.
4. Jar of minced and sliced truffles
Truffles are among the finest delicacies in the world going back to ancient times. Costco offers a few different products containing the prized subterranean fungus. The wholesale club offers a dual pack of minced and sliced black truffles in Spanish olive oil for $49.99.
These Spanish summer black truffles are bathed in a salt brine to preserve their flavor before being preserved in oil. This twin pack is produced by TruffleHunter, and each jar weighs 2.82 ounces. The bottle of slices goes for $31.95 on Amazon, while the minced one sells for $30.99 at the time of this writing. So, you're getting a $12.95 discount at Costco. "Smells and tastes great! Exceeded my expectations at this price. Goes extremely well with all kinds of pasta and risotto. Highly recommended," a customer commented.
You'll also find some savings on TruffleHunter's white truffle oil. One 8.45-fluid ounce bottle goes for $22.75 on Amazon, but you can get a two-pack for $37.99. That's $7.51 in savings. This product uses truffles harvested across Europe mixed with cold-pressed olive oil. "Tastes great and at a price that you would normally only be able to get one bottle," a happy customer wrote.
5. Surf and turf
Surf and turf is an extravagant dish that can get expensive due to its combo of high-priced meat and seafood, typically filet mignon and lobster. Costco offers this dish with ultra-luxe ingredients at a significant discount of $379.99.
This surf and turf combo comes with two 6-ounce Japanese wagyu filets mignons and two North Atlantic cold water lobster tails that weigh between 20 and 28 ounces each. Both the tenderloin cut of meat and the seafood come uncooked and frozen. The beef comes from Kagoshima, Japan, and the lobster from Canada and the American Northeast.
The same size and quality cuts of wagyu are selling for $339.99 on D'Artagnan, while similar tails are going for $200 on Lobster Gram. So, you're getting a hefty savings by purchasing from Costco. "Ordered this combo for my COVID anniversary dinner at home, and we were very pleased with it. Steak melts in your mouth, and lobster was huge with an amazing taste. I totally recommend this!" a satisfied customer wrote.
6. Confit duck legs
Duck is a delicacy that you won't find on just any menu. Some consider it on the trickier side to cook, so it's more likely that you'll find the waterfowl on the menu of higher-end restaurants. One indulgent way to prepare duck is confit, which involves cooking the bird slowly in its own rendered fat. This cooking method was originally used as a means to preserve the meat but is now served as a tastier alternative to chicken.
Duck tends to be more expensive than chicken because they don't grow as rapidly and aren't produced on as large of a scale. The waterfowl's bones and fat are also heavier, so it costs more by weight since it produces fewer servings. Cooking confit also requires more fat than you'll get out of the bird alone, which jacks up the cost.
Costco sells 12 confit-cooked white Pekin duck legs at $159.99. It comes with three 2-pound packages seasoned with spices, garlic, and onion. The hormone-free birds are U.S.-raised at Maple Leaf Farm in climate-controlled barns where they can roam around freely. The same weight of meat would cost you about $240 at William Sonoma.
7. Smoked sturgeon
Sturgeon is another upscale fish on par with smoked salmon. According to the World Wide Fund, these prehistoric creatures are "the most endangered species group on earth" due to fishing for harvesting of their meat and eggs. That's why most of the caviar you see on the market comes from farm-raised fish.
Costco's smoked sturgeon offering is no exception. It comes from caviar producer Tsar Nicoulai's aquafarm in Northern California. The wholesale clubs sells six 6-ounce slabs weighing a total of 2.2 pounds for $69.99. A 2-pound pack from Mashallberg Farm will run you a touch more at $80. The flash-frozen fish is individually sealed and feeds about 12 people.
This smoked sturgeon has a six-month shelf life and can be sliced and served with charcuterie, in hors d'oeuvres, with cream cheese and crackers, or alone as a snack. One customer said the product will "transform" their brunch. "Yum! We love this moist, meaty treat of smoked sturgeon. Quality is superb, and the company seems quite eco-conscious. Looking forward to ordering again and sending some as gifts," another customer wrote.
8. Godiva chocolate
Godiva is known as one of the top luxury chocolate makers in the world. It sources the highest quality cocoa beans from Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia to make its confections, which it's been producing since 1926. The Belgian chocolatiers also use Grade A butter and heavy cream, Grade #1 nutmeat, fine hazelnuts, and premium sugar to make the best product possible.
Godiva still engages in the same chocolate-making methods as it did when Joseph Draps started the company. The timeless sweet treats are now sold at Costco, including the "Holiday Tower," gift boxes, and other packages. The mini bar multipack is its priciest product at the wholesale club. It contains a four-pack of six 3.1-ounce bars for $89.99.
It comes in three different dark chocolate flavors: sea salt, 72% cacao, and roasted almond. Each unit in the six-packs has eight silky smooth bars individually wrapped in iconic Godiva gold foil. Some customers reported that the Costco products might not have the same exact quality as the irresistible truffles you get directly from one of the chocolatier's stores, but the majority of customers seem to be satisfied, giving the product an average rating of 4.3 stars.
9. Proscuitto di Parma
Prosciutto and melon together are the chef's kiss. Actually, so is the cured ham and pretty much anything you pair it with. But buying it pre-sliced can get pretty pricey. Thankfully, we can go to Costco to get a little price break on this Italian delicacy.
Prosciutto, the Italian word for ham, is cut from a pig's hind legs. It is then aged via dry-curing. The Parma variety refers to the area in Italy where it is produced using specially bred pigs and precise levels of sea salt, time, and air. This process is 100% natural and forgoes preservatives, hormones, coloring agents, or gluten in its curing methods.
At Costco, you can get a boneless 14.7-pound Fratelli Beretta Prosciutto di Parma for just $229.99. This hunk of the hind leg comes from heritage-breed Italian pigs raised in one of 11 regions of Italy. It was dry-cured for a minimum of 14 months somewhere around Parma within the Emilia-Romagna area, where the sweet mountain air is dry and fragrant, which gives this prosciutto its distinct high-quality taste. Costco shoppers gave it a 4.5-star rating.
10. Parmigiano Reggiano
While you may not realize it when you sprinkle heaps of it over your pasta, the price of Parmigiano Reggiano can add up. It can be a little more noticeable when you're serving up slices of it with your antipasti or charcuterie platter. There are several reasons why this Italian cheese can cost you. Most of it has to do with the extremely high standards it is subjected to, which is why it's sometimes referred to as "the king of cheeses," according to Insider.
This fermented cheese is still made the same way monks did it in the Middle Ages. In order to get Italy's label of Denominazione d'Origine Protetta (DOP), or Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), it must meet certain criteria. First, it must hail from within the Emilia Romagna region, which includes Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua, or Bologna. It has to be crafted from unpasteurized cow's milk from cattle that are solely fed diets of hay and grass so the milk contains special bacteria native to the region. It can only be mixed with milk, calf rennet, and salt and has to be aged at a minimum of 12 months before being inspected for approval.
Cantina Direct charges $27.22 per 12-month-aged pound shipped from Italy. A full 80-pound wheel of it from Williams Sonoma will cost you $2,999.95. You can save yourself a couple thousand at Costco. The wholesale club sells a 24-month-aged 72-pound wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano for only $949.99.
11. Grass-fed organic beef
Today's upscale restaurant menus often feature organic beef. If you're paying a high price, you want your food to be healthy and free of hormones, preservatives, and other non-nutritious ingredients. The Organic Center says there are a lot of benefits to eating this kind of meat. It is richer in omega-3 fatty acids, contains more antioxidants, and may contain less cholesterol. It also reduces your exposure to chemicals, growth additives, and antibiotics. (Excessive exposure to antibiotics can reduce their effectiveness.) Organic meat also has a lower impact on the environment.
At Costco, you can get half of a cow's worth of this first-rate beef priced at $1,299.99. The wholesale club's "Raise American Grass Fed Organic Half Cow Locker Pack" is split up into striploin, rib-eye, tenderloin, chuck roast, and ground beef. It's definitely enough to fill your freezer.
This beef is 100% organic, grass-fed, and pasture- and American-raised, as well as USDA certified. Many customers have praised the quality of the meat, saying they only wished it came with ribs. "We've had a chance to enjoy several different cuts of this beef, and it did not disappoint. Grass-fed beef has a sweet smell and taste to it, compared to grain-fed. The quality of this beef is good, so would buy again," one customer wrote. Some, however, weren't thrilled with the packaging and shipping.
12. Jamón Ibérico
Jamón is another pricey pork product that's also one of the costliest pieces of meat on the market. It is a cured Spanish ham only produced in a small number of areas in Spain. And you can find an entire leg of the Ibérico de Bellota variety at Costco.
Jamón just means "Spanish ham." There are several types of it, including Serrano, Ibérico, and Ibérico Cebo de Campo. These designations refer to the breed of pig, how it's raised, and what it eats. Ibérico de Bellota is considered to be the highest quality among them. It is derived from free-range Ibérico pigs with black hooves that only eat acorns.
Costco's Covap Jamón Iberico Bellota Ham Leg is 15.4 pounds and comes with a stand and knife so you can slice it yourself. It lived in the Valle De Los Pedroches region of Southern Spain, where it roamed freely among 2.5 acres. It's been aged for three years in an aging cellar and is Aenor Certified for animal welfare. Many customers were pleased with their cuts. "This Jamón is fabulous. As good as an Ibérico Bellota Jamón gets and considered the best ham in the world by many. ... While expensive (after all it is 100% Ibérican Bellota), it is about half of what you will pay anywhere else in the USA," one wrote.