ButcherBox Review 2024: Is the Meat Delivery Box Worth it?

Meal planning is much easier when you have a freezer full of meat since you can build your meals around what you already have.

The easiest way to stock your freezer with meat is by using a meat delivery service.

ButcherBox is a service that focuses on premium meats with a unique emphasis on quality and sourcing. Their boxes can save you a trip to the grocery store and allow your family to eat healthier.

This ButcherBox review can help you decide if the service is right for you.

What Is ButcherBox?

ButcherBox home delivery service is a monthly subscription service that allows you to order meat online. They offer a wide selection of meat and seafood. 

However, what differentiates ButcherBox from other meat delivery boxes is their extremely strict quality standards.

The farm-fresh meat from ButcherBox is all-natural and free of added hormones as well as artificial ingredients.

All of ButcherBox’s beef is 100 percent grass-fed and never grain-finished, their chicken and pork are free-range, and their sustainably sourced seafood is wild-caught.

How Does the Service Work?

When placing a ButcherBox order, you’ll start by picking your box type. The company offers the following options:

• Custom Box: contains any cuts of meat that you choose
• Mixed Box: contains a curated selection of beef, pork, and chicken
• Beef & Pork: contains a curated selection of beef and pork
• Beef & Chicken: contains a curated selection of beef and chicken
• All Beef: contains a curated selection of beef

If you want to choose the exact cuts you’d like, select the Custom Box. 

Next, you’ll need to choose your box size. ButcherBox offers two sizes:

• Classic: contains anywhere from eight to 14 pounds of meat, best for a single person or small households
• Big: contains anywhere from 16 to 26 pounds of meat, good for larger families or bulk buying

From there, you’ll be able to choose your cuts after checkout if you opted for a Custom Box. You can also select add-on items for any of the boxes. 

You’ll be notified when your box ships.

ButcherBox is a subscription service, so you will receive a monthly shipment until you cancel. 

Their website makes it easy to change your plan, edit the cuts you receive, skip a shipment, or cancel your membership. 

What Comes in a ButcherBox Shipment?

Here are the types of proteins and cuts you can expect from ButcherBox:

• Beef: sirloin tips, ground beef, tri-tip, burgers, chuck roast, top sirloin steaks, bottom round roast, NY strip steaks, ranch steaks, sirloin cap
• Chicken: whole chicken, boneless skinless breasts, chicken tenders, boneless skinless thighs, drumsticks, bone-in thighs, party wings
• Pork: ground pork, St. Louis ribs, breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, boneless pork chops, pork tenderloin, ground Italian sausage, bacon, bone-in pork butt
• Seafood: salmon, salmon burgers, cod, scallops
• More: ground turkey, ground bison, uncured hot dog

Add-ons that can be added to any order include:

• Ground beef
• Ground chicken
• Tender belly bacon
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Cold smoked sliced salmon
• Charcuterie variety pack
• Mild Italian chicken sausage
• Boneless chicken thighs
• Beef brisket
• Boneless pork chops
• Italian pork sausage links
• Chicken drumsticks
• Pulled pork
• Cold-cracked lobster meat
• Sea scallops
• Bacon

They also offer member deals that are available for a limited time only. These deals are often in larger quantities, so they’re good for buying in bulk.

How Much Does ButcherBox Cost?

ButcherBox has set prices for each box.

However, shipping is always free. The service also offers add-on purchases that range in price.

*Now until June 30th, Frugal Rules readers can get 2 packs of ground beef FREE in every box for a year with your new membership!

Where Does ButcherBox Get Their Meat?

ButcherBox sources its meat from trusted partner farms and fisheries that meet specific quality standards.

For example, most of their 100 percent grass-fed beef comes from Australia due to Australia’s stringent animal welfare standards.

Additionally, their wild-caught seafood comes from Alaska, Massachusetts, and Maine.

If you want another meat delivery service with seafood, Stock Yards is a good option. Read our review of Stock Yards to learn more about the service.

My Experience Using the Service

I was happy with ButcherBox. My box arrived completely frozen with dry ice. It was easy to order, and there was a large selection. 

The packaging was excellent, with a thick-walled insulated liner inside of the box. It was mostly made from recyclable materials, so it seems fairly eco-friendly.

In my box, I received:

• One sirloin cap
• Three pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts
• One rack of St. Louis style ribs
• One bone-in pork butt
• One pound of scallops
• One bag of cod filets
• Two pounds of ground beef

I started off by cooking the fish filets and slaw. The fish filets were extremely firm and not at all fishy. I was impressed with their quality.

Next, I made a batch of zucchini spaghetti with meat sauce for a potluck. I used ButcherBox’s ground beef to make my own meat sauce. It was an extremely tasty dish. 

I have noticed that fully grass-fed beef tends to have a slightly tangier flavor than grain-fed beef, but that flavor really suits most recipes.

Unfortunately, the package of ground beef I used had a small piece of the black plastic frozen inside of it. I quickly noticed it and was able to pick it out.

Nevertheless, I would have been pretty irritated if one of my potluck guests had found it instead.

Then I made slow cooker Mississippi chicken using the chicken breasts. I am extremely picky about chicken breasts, but these were excellent. 

Less expensive chicken breasts tend to cook up tough with a stringy, firm texture. Fortunately, this chicken was easy to shred and had a perfect texture.

Overall, using ButcherBox has been a positive experience. I could see myself returning to the service if we were to ever stop purchasing meat from our butcher.

Who Should Use ButcherBox?

Here’s who the meat delivery company is a good fit for.

Meat Eaters

If you or someone in your household eats a lot of meat, this is the meat subscription box for you. 

It could be a particularly good fit for people on a carnivore diet because the meat is extremely high quality.

Additionally, there is a wide selection of meats to suit whatever you feel like cooking.

People Who Want Convenience

ButcherBox is really convenient. You won’t need to buy meat at the grocery store, which can save time as well as eliminate the hassle of transporting fresh meat home.

This may be a good option for busy families, especially when paired with another grocery delivery service that provides pantry staples and fresh produce.

For example, pairing ButcherBox with Misfits Market, Thrive Market, or Hungryroot would make cooking dinner even easier.

Read our review of Hungyroot to learn more about that service.

Healthy Eaters

ButcherBox is also an excellent choice for healthy eaters. Their meats are premium quality and sustainably sourced. 

The service’s Angus beef is 100 percent grass-fed and never grass-finished, and their sustainably sourced seafood is all wild-caught. 

Additionally, they offer pastured heritage pork and organic free-range chicken.

If you’re looking for high-quality meat for your healthy diet, ButcherBox is the way to go.

Who Shouldn’t Use the Service?

On the other hand, here’s who may want to look elsewhere for food items.

Non-Meat Eaters

Since ButcherBox only provides meat products, it wouldn’t be a good fit for plant-based eaters like vegans or vegetarians.

Services like Purple Carrot or Hungryroot could be better choices if you don’t eat meat and need a meal delivery kit.

People Who Want Local Meat

ButcherBox also isn’t a good fit for people who want local meat. 

The company sources its meat from trusted partners across the world, so the meat you receive from ButcherBox likely won’t be from anywhere near where you live.

However, farmer’s markets are a great place to connect with local livestock farmers. You can also see if your local butcher locally sources their meat..

Pros and Cons

Here is what to consider when looking at this meat delivery company.

Pros:

• High-quality, sustainably sourced meat and seafood without antibiotics
• Free shipping
• Add-on specialty meats available
• Special offers for free meat for life

Cons:

• More expensive than store-bought meat
• My ground beef had a small piece of plastic wrapper frozen inside of it

If getting pasture-raised meat with good marbling is important to you, ButcherBox is worth trying.

Is ButcherBox Trustworthy?

Yes, ButcherBox is a trustworthy service. Their sourcing practices are highly transparent, and they have excellent customer service reviews. 

They provide a great deal of information about their product sourcing on their website, but you can also contact customer service for more information.

The Competition

Here are some other meat subscription boxes and details about how they compare to ButcherBox.

Good Chop

Good Chop is similar to ButcherBox, but they only offer meat from American family farms and fisheries. If you prefer to purchase American meat, this might be a better choice for you. 

They offer conventional and higher-quality meat options. Organic chicken and grass-fed beef are available for an extra fee.

Their prices are comparable, but ButcherBox’s portion sizes appear to be more generous for some cuts. 

For instance, where Good Chop offers a 1.5-pound boneless pork shoulder roast, ButcherBox offers a 3.5-pound boneless pork shoulder roast.

Read our Good Chop review to learn more.

Crowd Cow

Crowd Cow is an online meat marketplace with an optional subscription meat service. 

Like ButcherBox, they are picky about quality and sourcing. However, they offer a wider variety of types of meat (like bison and Wagyu beef), and some of their grass-fed beef is grain-finished. 

They even sell a variety of sides and desserts.

Crowd Cow is similarly priced but might be a better option if you don’t want to be locked into a subscription or if you like their wider variety of meats.

Read our Crowd Cow review to learn more.

Porter Road

Porter Road is an American meat delivery service that sells responsibly raised meats from farms in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. 

All of their meat is pasture-raised and purchased from small-scale farms that fulfill the company’s strict quality standards.

Porter Road is priced similarly as well, but they might be a better choice if you prefer American meat or want the option to place individual one-time orders in addition to subscription boxes.

Read our Porter Road review to learn more.

Bottom Line

ButcherBox is a good choice for meat delivery if you want high-quality meat from impeccably managed family farms. 

It’s not a traditional meal kit, so you’ll still need to purchase additional groceries to make meals. However, it can help you stock your freezer with responsibly raised meat.

The service is more expensive than store-bought meat, but the quality may make it worth it for your household.

What do you look for when choosing a meat delivery kit?