Cole Cooks: Butcher Box Review
At Fun Diego Family we try and eat grass-fed beef whenever possible. Unfortunately, this can get quite expensive. For the past two years, we have helped control our budget through a monthly subscription to Butcher Box. This is our Butcher Box Review.
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Overview
UPDATE: We were informed that during COVID-19 there was a waiting list to join Butcher Box.
Butcher Box is a meat delivery service that delivers frozen meat to your door. It comes well-packaged in dry-ice so you can put it directly in your freezer.
There are a wide variety of options at Butcher Box. You can get grass-fed, grass-finished beef, free range chicken, Alaskan salmon and heritage pork. Our focus has been primarily on the beef options.
Why We Use Butcher Box
The advantage of Butcher Box is the quality and convenience. We still buy meat from the local butcher, but many times we prepare a steak meal on the spur of the moment.
The frozen meat at Butcher Box is perfect for both the sous vide and Instant Pot cooking we regularly do. The meat comes vacuum sealed and frozen steaks go directly into the sous vide bath. NOTE: we remove the meat from its vacuum seal and place in our own sous vide bags.
We also like to use the ground beef for hamburgers when we are too busy to grind our own meat. Recently we even did a taste test of the Butcher Box ground beef versus store bought ground beef that was also grass-fed. The Butcher Box burgers won.
Cost
Butcher Box is not cheap. We pay $129 a month for about 10 pounds of meat or $13 a pound. However, at our local stores grass-fed beef is pretty expensive. Grass-fed ground beef is generally $5 to $7 a pound, steak much higher.
Overall Butcher Box may not be cheaper, but it is not drastically more expensive. These are basic cuts of meat we use on a regular basis so it is nice to have a consistent source that we can budget for.
Our finding is that Butcher Box is correct in saying that the cost per serving is about $5 to $6. In our opinion, this is a great price for a high-quality beef dinner.
Plans
Our initial purchase with Butcher Box was a single package. We also bought similar packages from several different suppliers. Butcher Box was by far the best, and also the most reasonably priced.
Now we get a monthly subscription to their curated All Beef Box. This ranges monthly but usually has several steaks, a chuck roast and ground beef. We are part of the 2 pounds of free ground beef for life program that is included with monthly subscriptions.
As mentioned, we have only used Butcher Box for beef. We have some really good local sources for chicken, pork and seafood. The value we find is grass-fed, grass-finished beef which is harder to find.
Most Butcher Box plans are curated. You choose the type of meat (beef, pork and chicken) and Butcher Box picks the exact cut. What you get varies by month. There is also the option for a more expensive custom box where you pick exactly what you get.
The curated box plans cost $129 a month, or $238 for a large box (basically two regular boxes).
There is also the option for a custom box plan at $149 a month ($270 large). We have been happy with the beef options we get so we see no need to spend more. Also it is fun to get something different every month.
Once again, if pork or chicken was in the mix, we would be more particular about what cuts we received. Below is a sample of what Butcher Box includes in a typical plan.
NOTE: In 2020 we are trying out some of the pork. We will let you know how it turns out!
UPDATE OCTOBER 2020: We have tried many Butcher Box options including pork and even flat iron steak. Flat iron steak is a cut that is really hard to find. The pork worked out great for authentic pork carnitas.
Example Curated Packages
NOTE: All prices include shipping
Mixed Box $129/month 8.5 – 11 pounds
- 2 lbs of Ground Beef
- 2 NY Strip Steaks
- 4 Top Sirloin Steaks
- 1lb of Whole Pork Tenderloin
- 3lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Beef and Pork Box $129/month 8-11 pounds
- 2 lbs of Ground Beef
- 2 NY Strip Steaks
- 4 Top Sirloin Steaks
- 4 Boneless Pork Chops
- 2 lbs of Whole Pork Tenderloin
Beef and Chicken Box $129/month 8.5 – 11 pounds
- 2 lbs of Ground Beef
- 2 NY Strip Steaks
- 4 Top Sirloin Steaks
- 3lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
- 3 lbs of Chicken Drumsticks
All Beef Box $129/month 8.5 – 11 pounds
- 2 lbs of Ground Beef
- 2 NY Strip Steaks
- 1lb of Premium Steak Tips
- 2+ lbs of Chuck Roast
- 4 Top Sirloin Steaks
Individual Purchases
Before committing to a monthly subscription we sampled an individual box from Butcher Box and some other services.
In our case we bought the Steak Sampler for $135. This included:
- Ribeyes: 2 x 10 oz steaks
- NY Strip Steaks: 2 x 10 oz steaks
- Filet Mignons: 2 x 6 oz steaks
- Top Sirloin Steaks: 4 x 6 oz steaks
There is also a deal for 10 pounds Alaskan Salmon for $149.
You can also get custom gift boxes sent. Over the years we have sent many such gift boxes from other companies. We have started to send Butcher Box as a gift to those who appreciate high-end meat.
Conclusion
To summarize our Butcher Box review we can say that personally this has been a great product. The only issue we have had is once the package had a leak so air got inside. However, Butcher Box sent a replacement.
If you are into high-quality meat, Butcher Box is a reasonable option. If the cut of meat is not that important you really don’t need Butcher Box. You can probably find the meat you need at a lower cost at your local market. There are also lower cost subscription services that don’t focus on grass-fed beef.
We pick Butcher Box because it is about quality of the meat at a reasonable price.
