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If you’re a meat-lover and have been struggling to get a large enough variety of cuts of meat while also only getting high-quality meats, then a meat delivery service like ButcherBox might be the answer.
But does this company really provide the same quality you might be used to at a local farmer’s market?
To help you figure that out and see what the company has to offer with their subscription plans, we tested out the service and put together this ButcherBox review.
What Is ButcherBox?
ButcherBox is a meat delivery subscription service from Boston, MA, making it easier for people to buy better quality meat at affordable prices.
Our initial comparison for some of the most popular products like grass-fed beef and pork chops showed that ButcherBox was indeed competitively priced compared to our local grocery store.
The service offers a selection of pre-arranged meat boxes with different combinations that suit different tastes and budgets.
There’s also the option to configure a custom box where you pick all your own favorites.
The meat is then packaged in special insulated boxes where it’s kept frozen using dry ice and delivered right to your front door.
In addition to having plenty of meat options to choose from, you can also get delivery of wild-caught seafood directly to your door.
What ButcherBox makes their top priority is to only source high-quality meat from small farms where animals were humanely raised.
That means using sustainable practices as well as only grass-fed and pasture-raised animals.
We’ll get to a sample list of products available shortly, but ButcherBox offers everything from ground beef to filet steaks and whole chickens.
ButcherBox Pros And Cons
From grass-fed beef to high-quality pork and poultry, ButcherBox offers a great choice when it comes to cuts and types of meat delivered.
I’ve never struggled to find something new to try out and always enjoyed the quality meats.
The pricing is also very good. I’ve compared it to local stores, butchers, and farmer’s markets, and you can save a lot.
And if you struggle to make up your mind, then a curated box might be ideal for testing out the service.
The only downside compared to other similar services is that you don’t have a huge selection of fish and organ meat if that’s what you regularly buy.
Pros:
- Great selection of cuts of meats for all tastes
- Provides only beef from grass-fed and humanely-raised cows
- Bulk order pricing is very competitive compared to local grocery stores
- Choose from pre-selected boxes or create your own
Cons:
- Limited choice of seafood and organ meat
How Does ButcherBox Work?
Let’s take a look at our experience from browsing the Butcher Box site to the cooked food landing on our plates.
Step 1: Register for ButcherBox
When you get to the website, you need to enter your email address to register with ButcherBox. This isn’t an immediate commitment to buy but gives you access to the online platform where you can select the type of deliveries you’re interested in.
Step 2: Choose Your Box
You can pick from a curated box that has a predefined selection of popular meat. They range in cuts and price but give you a great starting point.
Alternatively, you can design your own custom box. A custom box is usually more expensive, and the price will entirely depend on the size and quality of the cuts.
You can fill the box whichever way you like with chicken, heritage breed pork chops, sirloin steaks, and some ground beef.
Step 3: Shipping
Once you’ve placed and paid for your order, Butcher Box will pack it all up in an insulated box with dry ice. They then ship it to you within a couple of days, and you just transfer it over to your freezer.
Step 4: Defrost, Cook, Enjoy
Once you’re ready to eat meat, simply take the required amount out of your freezer and leave it to defrost for a few hours. Then cook your ButcherBox meat to your liking and enjoy a delicious dinner.
What Kind Of Meat Does ButcherBox Offer?
There are too many cuts of meat that Butcher Box sources to list out here. But we decided to list some of those that we decided to try out in the first couple of boxes we received.
Here’s what you might find:
1. Grass-Fed Beef
Butcher Box says that it doesn’t just source grass-fed meat but also ensures that the animals are humanely raised. So it’s not just good quality meat, but more ethically sourced.
- Grass-fed ground beef: This is the go-to ground beef product and a great way to make some homemade burgers for the BBQ.
- Grass-fed steak tips: Steak tips are cut from the tips of the sirloin, and they are great for cooking up a meal with bite-sized chunks of meat.
- Chuck roast: This is one of the cheaper cuts of meat that is ideal for slow roasting, especially in a smoker. Cheap cuts don’t mean bad; it just requires a different cooking approach.
- Sirloin steaks: These have always been my favorite, and now that I can get them from a grass-fed source at a lower price, they’re on my orders more often.
- Filet mignon: I had never tried this cut before, but it’s an amazing replacement for a Sunday roast or to impress someone on a date.
2. Free Range Organic Chicken
What I like about Butcher Box is that they only source organic chicken. That means you get a much better quality that tastes amazing.
- Whole chicken: I usually get one of these for roasting or the BBQ. It works particularly well for slow roasting, and you’ll be picking the bones clean.
- Chicken breasts: The chicken breasts are a great size, and you can pretty much add them to all types of stir-fries or curries. They’re not pumped full of water and have a great flavor.
- Chicken thighs: I never cooked these before, but I’ve now added them to my standard BBQ menu. All you need is some rub in spices, and the dark chicken meat will come to life.
- Chicken wings: You can’t sit down to a big sports event without a plate of spicy wings, and Butcher Box provides you with wings that are large enough to get more than a tiny mouthful.
3. Heritage Breed Pork
Heritage breed is one of the most sought-after types of pork in top restaurants, and I’ve had some amazing meals with these cuts.
- Boneless pork loin chops: The boneless pork chops have been a great success at my BBQs, and with just a simple marinade, you’ll turn these into a mouthwatering experience.
- Breakfast sausage: Sometimes, you just want a top-quality but plain sausage, and you can taste that these ones come from a quality source.
- Ground pork: Try mixing this with the ground beef for some mixed burgers. It’s a tasty way to make some simple changes to your meal plans.
- Pork butt: This cut actually comes from the shoulder, and it’s one of the easiest and best pieces of pork to put in a slow smoker.
4. Wild Caught Seafood
Adding some seafood to your orders is a great way to change things around a bit with your daily meal plans. Here’s what we’ve tried so far.
- Wild-caught salmon: There’s just no comparison to the farmed salmon you get in most chain stores, and once you’ve tasted it, you won’t go back.
- Sustainable cod: It’s quite difficult to get wild cod, and again the texture and flavor are completely different from what you’re probably used to.
What Subscription Plans Can You Choose From?
The first thing you do when you sign up is decide on what size box you want to have delivered and how often you want a shipment to be sent. Butcher Box is very flexible to your needs, so just start with one box and then adjust things as you need.
Here are some of the sample boxes we looked at and tried out.
Mixed Box
I strongly suggest that you try out this classic box when you first get started. It provides a bit of everything, and you get to find out the quality of the pork, beef, chicken, and seafood.
Curated All-Beef Box
This one is specifically designed for the beef lovers out there. You’ll get a good combination of steaks, ground beef, and different roasts for you to change things around a bit.
Curated Beef And Pork Box
This box combines the most popular beef and pork cuts available, and it’s a popular option to get everything you need for a BBQ.
Curated Beef And Chicken Box
This is a 50/50 split by weight in organic chicken and grass-fed beef, providing everything from chicken wings and breasts to sirloin steaks.
Big Custom Box
The big box is for those that know exactly what cuts they love. And if you have a family or party to feed, then this can be the best way to impress people for a lot cheaper than heading to the grocery store.
How Much Does ButcherBox Cost?
So, when you sign up, you can choose the box size, and you pay by weight. The price depends on the type of meat, and the cut with ground beef being cheaper than filet and free-range organic chicken breasts cheaper than thighs.
Here are some sample prices.
- Mixed Box: 8.5 to 11 pounds: $5.40 per pound
- All-Beef Box: 8 to 10 pounds: $5.8 per pound
- Big Box: 10 to 14 pounds: $4.98 per pound
Now, we’ve created custom boxes that were over $9 per pound, but that was for a load of steaks and prime cuts.
Delivery Options
The only delivery option you have is a courier, and Butcher Box uses a reliable service that seems to get the order to you within about two days.
It does depend on where you live, with larger cities getting deliveries faster than rural areas and small towns.
As far as how often you get a Butcher Box delivery, that all depends on how much meat you eat. And if you have a big family to feed and want to save trips to the grocery store, then you can simply set up more regular deliveries.
How Is Each Packaged Shipped?
One thing we haven’t talked about much in this Butcher Box review is how the meat arrives at your door unspoiled.
So, all the meat is frozen before it’s packaged in a specialty insulated box. The box also contains dry ice, which doesn’t melt as fast as water ice. And it doesn’t leave a soggy mess either.
Yes, it’s frozen meat, but I’ve yet to hear a complaint from anyone that has tried my meals. I don’t think anyone has noticed. And the few people I did tell said they couldn’t taste the difference.
Are There Any Downsides?
OK, so you don’t exactly have the cheapest meat options, and you certainly won’t find the cut-throat prices you often see in chain stores.
Yes, the prices aren’t cheap, but you have to put that in the context of the quality you’re getting. And when you compare Butcher Box prices to your local butcher, you’ll find that Butcher Box works out cheaper.
The other thing we did notice is that some specialty cuts that we tried and loved weren’t always available to order again. So you need to keep checking the site regularly if you have some special requests.
Why We’ve Stuck With ButcherBox For Months
We’ve been ordering from Butcher Box at least once a month for the past four months, and there are three main reasons why we keep going back.
1. High-Quality Meat
From the free-range chicken to the top-quality steaks and the sustainable cod, you simply cannot beat the quality. Local butchers might have some of the cuts in that quality range, but you rarely get so much choice.
2. Customer Service
We’ve only contacted customer service a few times, and never really with a problem. It mainly was to clarify things with the classic box or a custom order, and the team was very responsive.
3. Convenient Shopping
If your job makes it difficult to get to a butcher, or you have a large family to feed, then it doesn’t get much easier than Butcher Box. Order today, and most likely, you’ll have a knock on the door in about 2 to 3 days.
FAQ
Is Butcher Box worth the money?
Yes, Butcher Box is worth the money. The prices might seem a bit high at first, but once you factor in the quality of the meat and the types of farms it was sourced from, then you see the true value in this service.
Is Butcher Box good quality?
Yes, Butcher Box is good quality. The company only sources from small farms where animals are treated humanely and don’t spend their life in a cage.
Is ButcherBox cheaper than Costco?
Yes, ButcherBox is cheaper than Costco. With Butcher Box, there is no ongoing membership fee or minimum order quantity that could drive up the overall cost. We’ve also found the prices to be cheaper with Butcher Box as well.
Can you cancel ButcherBox at any time?
Yes, you can cancel ButcherBox at any time. Just make sure you cancel before your next billing date, as once you’ve been charged, your next order is prepared for delivery.
Does ButcherBox have fish?
Yes, ButcherBox has some fish available as well. They have wild-caught seafood, including salmon and cod, and they are all sourced from sustainable stocks and also not from seafood farms.
Does ButcherBox have organ meat?
Yes, ButcherBox has some organ meat available. You might not get every possible organ, but liver and kidneys are regularly available. Just check a bit in advance if you have a specific request or contact their customer service team for more details.
Are You Ready For Some High-Quality Meat?
OK, so that’s it for this Butcher Box review, and we hope that you’ve got all the information to plan a few meals and hit the order button.
Definitely sign up for access to the platform and check out the prices of some of the boxes. Try out the classic mixed option for a wide range of cuts.
And if you’re lucky, Butcher Box might be running a special offer where you get some free steaks with your first order.
Your family and friends will definitely not complain about the quality of food you serve.
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