As someone who really enjoys the convenience of online shopping, it comes as no surprise that when high-quality organic meat starting entering the stage that I was super excited to try it.
Well, my dreams have come true, you can get high-quality meat ONLINE and I cannot wait to share my experience!
Never heard of Butcher Box before? Here are the deets on one of my new favorite subscription services.
What is Butcher Box and Why Should You Try It?
Butcher Box is an online meat delivery service that offers high-quality grass-fed and grass finished beef, heritage pork, and organic chicken to your front door on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
They are neither a farm nor online grocery store but rather the middle-man who works with local farmers who believe in fair labor practices and community values who offer the best meat possible.
That means the animals are humanely raised, the meat is high-quality, and the meat is hormone and antibiotic free.
How Does Butcher Box Work?
Butcher Box is a monthly/bi-monthly subscription service where you get to choose from four types of “boxes” plus any additional add-ons like bacon, breakfast sausage, burger patties, and more.
As of this blog post, the current Box options are:
• Mixed Box (beef, pork, and chicken) – this is the most popular option
• Beef and Chicken
• Beef and Pork
• All Beef
• Custom Box (where you pay an extra $20 and can choose what cuts of meat you want. This is especially nice for more expensive cuts!)
Below is what you can currently get in the custom box as of this posting:
Unless you opt for the Custom Box, you don’t get to choose the type of meat and which cuts of meat you receive. You get to choose WHAT meat you get in the other boxes, just not the cuts.
I actually don’t mind this because I find it more exciting to get cuts of meat I may not normally pick up. It keeps things interesting and prevents me from cooking the same meals every week (though you certainly CAN).
If you’re like me, you have a ton of cookbooks you’ve thumbed through but never used. This box will encourage me to actually cook the recipes I’ve dog-eared over the years.
Now, back to the Box!
Each Box comes in two different sizes:
• The Classic – 9-14lbs of meat for about 24 meals
• Big – 18-26lbs of meat for about 48 meals
You can see what that looks like for the custom box below:
I currently get The Classic (beef, chicken, and pork for $129), but as soon as my husband and I buy our own house in the coming months, I’ll be opting for the Big Box since we won't be sharing freezer space.
Butcher Box Quality
Like I mentioned before, Butcher Box sources their meat from farmers who believe in high-quality meat that comes from humanely raised animals that have never been treated with hormones or antibiotics.
It comes very well packaged, and no longer comes with a tote bag and other packaging that seemed wasteful.
Now it comes packaged in water-dissolvable all-natural peanuts, cardboard, and dry ice. So much better for the environment!
When my meat arrived, it was completely frozen. No leaks and no defrosting.
I simply unpacked it, tossed to meat in the freezer, and put the box and its contents in the recycling bin.
Easy.
Now, on to the meat!
The Beef
The beef is 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, not GRAIN finished. This means that the meat is especially nutrient dense and high-quality.
Grass-fed grass-finished meat is proven to be higher in antioxidants, omega-3’s, CLA (which is known to fight cancer), trace minerals, and vitamins than grain-fed or grain-finished meat.
The cows live their entire lives on a free-range pasture where they can roam eat a natural diet of grass. If the weather prevents the cows from grazing, they are fed silage (dried grass and green fodder) or hay (dried grass).
Butcher Bix beef is sourced in both the US and Australia.
Hormone and antibiotic free.
The Chicken
The chicken is 100% organic and free-range and is raised on small family farms who are committed to sustainable and humane practices. The chickens are free to roam and forage and are fed an all-vegetarian diet (forage + feed).
Since these chickens are able to move around, play, and interact with other chickens, their meat is naturally leaner than conventional chicken you find at most grocery stores.
The environment ensures that these pasture-raised birds live a stress-free life which yields high-quality meat and flavor.
Hormone and antibiotic free. SOurced in the US.
The Pork
Heritage breed pork can be hard to find! These “old-world” breeds – Duroc, Berkshire, and Chester White – have a distinguishable fine marbling and flavor that conventional pork doesn’t.
The animals are pasture-raised and have open barns and bedding with plenty of room to roam, engage in natural behaviors, and interact with other pigs.
Butcher Box bacon contains no additives, no nitrates, no sugar, and is gluten and lactose-free.
The pigs have been fed an all-vegetarian diet with no animal bi-products (forage + feed).
Hormone and antibiotic free. Sourced in the US.
How Much Does Butcher Box Cost?
• The Classic - $129 for the Mixed Box, Beef and Chicken Box, Beef and Pork Box, and the Just Beef Box. $238 for the Big Box sizes.
• Custom Box - $149 for The Classic and $270 for the Big Box.
Depending on what cuts you receive, that comes out to about $7.75-$9.00 per pound of high-quality meat.
At Whole Foods, their organic grass-fed meats range from about $7.00-$9.99 which is pretty comparable.
Not everyone has access to Whole Foods, so I think if you’re looking for high-quality, humanely raised, and nutrient dense meats, Butcher Box is a great option to consider.
Still Not Convinced? How to Buy Butcher Box on a Budget
If you’re looking to switch to higher quality meat but don’t want to bust the bank, here’s how you can make the most of Butcher Box:
Avoid the Custom Box…Unless…
Choosing your own types and cuts of meat is awesome, but that extra $20 isn’t.
HOWEVER, what’s cool about the Custom Box is that you can choose more expensive cuts of meat. The cost remains the same no matter what you choose, and you get to choose 6 cuts.
You can even get 6 of the SAME cuts if you wanted, which is why getting multiple cuts like chuck roasts and pork loin roasts through the custom box will give you more meat.
The key is to order the cuts you can’t source easily or locally. If your local grocery store already sells high-quality organic chicken, then opt for buying beef or pork through Butcher Box.
For example, getting high-quality steaks isn’t always an option for me, so it’s worth getting them through Butcher Box.
If you’re scoffing at the $129 price tag for the Classic non-custom boxes, I encourage you to calculate how much money you already spend on meat per month.
Many people find that they are already spending that amount and sometimes more on meat, so why not go for meat that is more nutritious?
Another way to save money while still getting quality meat is to stretch the meat. Unless you’re eating New York Strip steaks, which really, you should be eating AS A STEAK, you should be able to stretch most of the other cuts to accommodate multiple meals.
This is especially true when the meat is paired with real foods like fresh produce and whole grains to bulk up your meals.
This can be done by making a large pot of stew using the stew meat from Butcher Box and plenty of vegetables and potatoes.
The ground beef can be used to make taco meat, meatballs, and pasta sauce.
Chicken and pork can be shredded and used in a multitude of dishes like enchiladas, casseroles, chicken salad, etc., that can feed larger groups of people or used for meal prep.
You can even make bone broth with the bones of certain cuts and stretch your dollar even further. And the best part, this homemade broth will be super nutritious!
And, before I forget, at the time of this posting, Butcher Box is offering an exclusive deal for HHH readers:
TWO POUNDS of grass-fed grass-finished beef per order for FREE for the life of your Butcher Box subscription!
That means you get the best beef you can find, for FREE, when you sign up for Butcher Box through this link (and STAYS free for the lifetime of your subscription). This is only for a limited time!
Is that bananas or what? That’s $16-$18 of free, high-quality beef for free.
Final Thoughts on Butcher Box
Personally, I really love Butcher Box. I don’t reeeaaally mind grocery shopping, but for me, there are just better things to do, and I really like having a box of fresh, high-quality meat show up at my door every month.
I’ve been meaning to really switch up the meats my family consumes and Butcher Box is a gateway to overall healthier eating.
Next month, I’ll opt for the custom box so I can get a few more beef cuts like the ribeye, chuck roast, premium steak tips, and sirloin cap to further diversify the meats I have on hand.
I will say that my husband and I don’t actually eat a ton of meat. We eat meat most of the time at dinner, and that’s pretty much it. For us, the classic size box has worked well for our needs.
However, if you’re on the paleo diet, keto diet, on Whole30, have a large family, or are generally a person who consumes a lot of meat or meat at every meal, then I’m not convinced that Butcher Box will offer enough meat for the cost, especially if you eat cuts like steak.
Despite this fact, the beef, chicken, and pork offered in these boxes are absolutely delicious. I didn’t know meat could have such full-bodied flavor, especially the pork.
If you haven’t been able to source heritage pork, I highly recommend it! You will never go back once you've tried it.
Everything we’ve tried has been really tasty and well worth the cost – especially the steaks which we often save for date-night. And yes, we stay in a lot of the time on date night because we haven't found a restaurant that makes a steak better than we do!
Does this happen to anyone else?
In the end, Butcher Box is for those who:
• Are concerned about the quality of meat at the grocery store– most, if not all of the meat you can find at your local grocery store is from animals that are treated with hormones, antibiotics, and live their lives in horrible conditions. The meat is devoid of the full-spectrum of nutrients you can get from grass-fed grass-finished options and is filled with stress hormones since those animals often live in fear, squalor, and despair. The quality of the meat and the treatment of the animals is extremely important to Butcher Box so you can rest assured that the animals are treated well, eat healthy diets, get to interact with other cows, chicken, or pigs, and are never treated with hormones and antibiotics.
• Cannot source high-quality meat locally – If you live where only conventional meat is available or your options for high-quality meat is sparse, Butcher Box is the perfect way to supplement your meals with high-quality meats you can’t normally get.
• Enjoy more expensive cuts of meat but can't find them locally– Often, the meat section at the store only offers organic chicken and maybe even some organic ground beef. Butcher Box offers many different cuts of meat and even a monthly special (this month is Tri-tip!) on a cut they don’t normally carry so that you can enjoy all your favorite cuts with the assurance that it’s high-quality.
• Enjoy variety – If you opt for any of the box options aside from the custom box, you will receive a variety of cuts that will make your meals more diverse and interesting!
• Like recipes for the meats you get! - Once subscribed, Butcher Box offers tons of healthy recipes you can make with the meats they offer on your members' page.
• Like the convenience of high-quality meat delivered to their door monthly or bi-monthly – if you are someone who doesn’t enjoy grocery shopping or just wish you spent less time at the grocery store and still want high-quality meat, then Butcher Box is the perfect option.
• Like the option of having high-quality meat in the freezer for easy use to supplement your meals when you need it - As someone who works from home, and even for my husband who works long hours at an office, it's super convenient to not have to go to the grocery store after a long day of work. I can simply pull some good meat out of the freezer and cook up a delicious meal without leaving the house for ingredients!
Butcher Box is Not for those who:
• Are able to source high-quality meat like beef, pork, and chicken through a local grocery store, CSA, farm, or co-op for less than the prices at Butcher Box.
• Are focused more on budget than quality – This is okay!! Not everyone can financially justify buying Butcher Box and you just do the best you can.
• Do not like surprises – You can’t choose exactly how much of what meat and which cuts you receive unless you opt for the custom box.
• Eat a lot of meat - If you eat meat at every meal or your family eats a lot of meat, then the cost of Butcher Box is, in my opinion, too expensive. This also includes those who may follow Whole30, Paleo, and Keto diets that rely heavily on meat since you can't bulk your meals with grains or legumes.
For me, convenience is king, especially when my husband works long hours and we just want more time to spend together other than grocery shopping.
Having some great meat options delivered to my door without having to hit up the local Whole Foods is totally worth it not only for convenience-sake but for the quality and flavor of the meats Butcher Box has to offer.
Pair it with my weekly Amazon Fresh delivery and BAM! I’ve just saved myself a load of time NOT spent shopping.
So, if you're on board with sourcing high-quality nutritious meats, I encourage you to give Butcher Box a try. And, don't forget that for a limited time, they're offering 2lbs of grass-fed ground beef for free for HHH readers through this link.
Have you ever tried Butcher Box before? How was your experience? Please share in the comments below!
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