Americans are buying cheap street meat in parking lots to fight high costs — unreal deals of $39 for 20 ribeyes. But here’s why it could be a ‘very gross’ and risky decision

“The whole piece of meat was grey and very gross looking,” said Michael Gandolfo of Orlando to local outlet WFTV, who says he spent over $400 on a bundle from a Kenston Farms truck outside an auto parts store. “There’s NO WAY this is real meat,” he wrote in an online review.

Kenston Farms has 4.6 stars on Google, with over 2,700 reviews — but also holds an F rating from the Better Business Bureau for unanswered consumer complaints.

A multi-state operation

Based in Alabama, Kenston Farms hosts "mega meat sales" for steak bundles out of tents and trucks parked outside auto parts stores and strip malls. While some online reviewers praise the prices, others say the meat is subpar and nearly impossible to return once the truck leaves town. Some reviewers note that they received a discount to leave reviews, too.

And it's not just Florida; the company seems to pop-up and rotate between at least nine states. Investigation of their public Facebook ad library shows they have ads running in Connecticut, Wisconsin, Alabama and Oklahoma at time of writing — with inactive ads in Ohio and California. A Reddit post for Las Vegas, Nevada and an Arizona blog post detail similar sales tactics — and similar complaints.

One Reddit user describes their experience: "The steaks are terrible. They will make you wait in a long line, then bring you one at a time into the tent where they're selling. They will try to get you to buy large package 'deals' that are 'heavily discounted'. The salesman may not say much, the hard sell is the time you committed in line, and now you're on the hot seat having to make a decision on 'the more you spend the more you save' deals . It's a carnival trick, and it's hard to resist."

So what are people buying?

To find out, WFTV sent a reporter to a Kenston Farms meat sale in Haines City. After paying $39.99 (plus an 11% surprise “event fee”) for a box of ribeyes, they brought the goods to Kevin Murphy, a Certified Executive Chef and faculty member at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

“It has a funny red color to it, which is probably indicative of the plum juice,” Murphy noted, after examining the label and slicing into one of the ribeyes.

The ingredient list confirmed it wasn’t just meat: in addition to “mechanically tenderized” beef, the steaks contained water, rice starch, plum juice concentrate, sodium phosphates, trehalose, garlic powder, rosemary extract and bromelain. Furthermore, their beef patties also contain water, bread crumb and beet powder for color.

Sodium phosphates and trehalose are used in the food industry to keep meat moist and avoid spoilage. Bromelain is used as a tenderizer.

The ribeye meat was also ungraded — meaning it hasn’t been evaluated for quality by the USDA. While the grading process is voluntary, it helps consumers know what to expect from the product they're paying for.