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ButcherBox Review (2022): What Makes It Stand Out And Is It Worth It?

by Outdoor Cooking Pros July 08, 2021

ButcherBox Review

If we tell you that:

  • You can have high-quality, grass-fed steak at home every month,
  • You don't have to feel guilty about it health-wise and environment-wise,
  • You don't have to leave your homes for good quality steak or seafood,

Will you believe us?

Well, you better believe it!

Butcher Box is at the top of meat delivery services.

1.) You subscribe to their meat delivery subscription service;

2.) You customize boxes with good quality meat of your choice or have them curate one for you;

3.) You are billed and you receive your Butcher Boxes monthly (or every 2, 4, 6, 8 months - your choice)

And that's not even the best part.

ButcherBox Review: What's In Store for You?

Butcher Box is driven by the goal of linking us to meat products that were humanely raised and wild-caught seafood that was sustainably sourced.

All these without having to spend hours in the local farmers' market or walking up and down the aisles of your local grocery stores.

ButcherBox

But jumping straight into the point, we know why you're here. You're wondering if Butcher Box is really worth it.

And frankly, if we were to write an honest ButcherBox review a few years ago pre-pandemic, our answer would've been different.

But now? This could actually be a game-changer.

How and What Do I Order From Butcher Box?

To find out if it's really worth it, you need to understand first how it works.

And believe it or not, the how is as easy as going to their website, choosing a plan, and waiting for the delivery.

Your ButcherBox meat orders will arrive at your doorstep in a cardboard box with dry ice, saving you from multiple back-and-forth trips from the grocery store (which is a blessing with our current situation)

How and What Do I Order From Butcher Box?

The dry ice is there to keep your frozen meats — well, frozen — throughout the shipping process.

But for the what, we'll elaborate the Choosing a Plan part a little better!

The process can admittedly be a little intimidating especially if it's your first time.

Choosing a Plan

Butcher Box offers you 5 kinds of boxes.

So depending on which kinds you need for a family meal or for a gathering for the month, Butcher Box has your back.

In every box, you can get 100% grass-fed beef, pork raised crate-free, free-range organic chicken, and wild-caught seafood options.

It depends on how you want to mix and match these quality meat choices for your specific timeframe!

Custom Box (Top Choice)

Compared to the boxes they curate for you, you can have 20% more meat from this box.

 

You can choose to build your own beef custom box, and go crazy over all the delicious beef from the 25 kinds of Butcher Box choices!

Custom Box (Top Choice)

 

 

You can choose the cuts of meat you want, and update them per order. You get to explore different kinds of cuts and find what you enjoy best — for short, you're not stuck with just one kind forever!

It comes in two sizes, Classic Box and Big Box:

Classic Custom Box
  • $149 per box
  • 9-14 lbs of high-quality meat
  • Good for 30 meals (which estimates to about $4.97 per meal) — steak night for $4.97 per person isn't bad at all.
Big Custom Box
  • $260 per box
  • 18-26 lbs of quality meat
  • Good for 60 meals ($4.33 per meal!)

Curated Boxes

If you don't have the time to specifically customize your boxes, or if you trust Butcher Box enough, you can have them curate the boxes for you.

Like the custom box, they come in two size options (Classic Box and Big Box) so you can choose which one fits your household's meat consumption best:

Classic Curated Box
  • $129 per box
  • 8-11 lbs of high-quality meat
  • Good for 24 meals
Big Curated Box
  • $238 per box
  • 16-22 lbs of quality meat
  • Good for 48 meals

Then under curated boxes, there are three kinds you can choose from:

Mixed Box

Basically a mix of chicken, pork, beef, or seafood.

Mixed Box

For an overview of a sample mixed box, you can get:

  • 2 lbs of ground beef
  • 2 New York Strip Steaks
  • 4 top Sirloin Steaks
  • 1 lb of Whole Pork Tenderloin
  • 3 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts

But keep in mind, this is just a sample. You're not limited to these.

You can potentially get anything from their selections such as heritage breed pork, breakfast sausage, chicken wings, pork loin chops, or even filet mignon — the cuts of meat and amount of meat in a box will depend on the season and availability.

If you only eat specific kinds of meat, Butcher Box also has curated options for you.

Beef and Chicken Box

As the name goes, you'll get only beef and chicken products. Eat as much grass-fed beef and free-range chicken[1] as you want!

Some of their chicken options include:

Beef and Pork Box

Exclusively enjoy pork choices:

Beef and Pork Box
  • Pork chops
  • Ground pork
  • Pork butt
  • Boneless pork chops
  • Heritage breed pork
  • Boneless pork loin chops

And beef choices:

  • Grass-fed beef
  • Grass-finished beef
  • Grass-fed ground beef
  • Grass-fed steaks
All Beef Box

If you love beef but don't really know what to get, you can choose this option to fully entrust the curating magic to Butcher Box.

But rest assured, you'll be getting 100% grass-fed beef!

Want to know what steak is best for grilling? We have a guide made especially for our readers.

What Exactly Is Grass-Fed Beef, Free-Range Organic Chicken, and Grass-Fed Ground Beef?

You've been reading a lot of these terms, for sure.

In case you're wondering what they are exactly, we'll explain it briefly so you can also appreciate what these options mean.

  • Grass-Fed
The easy explanation is that cows were fed with grass instead of grain. It's all about the animal's diet.
Some studies claim this makes their meat healthier for us to eat. The reason why it's also more expensive as compared to conventional beef is it takes farmers longer and requires more effort to raise them.
  • Organic
This is more about the environment they were raised in. It means the animals were raised in organic farms with no illegal pesticides, fertilizers, or genetic engineering wasn't involved.
    Organic
    • Pasture-Raised
    The animals are considered pasture-raised if they were able to freely roam around outdoors (or on pastures) for at least 120 days.
    • Free Ranged

    This means the animal (or more commonly for chickens) was exposed in a free-ranged environment and not locked up.

    Some prefer this type of meat since the animals are able to receive sunlight, be in extra movement, and overall a healthier upbringing.

      So, Why Did We Consider Mentioning These?

      Because one of the common concerns is the expensive price tag of ButcherBox.

      And though a lot of these is still up for debate — whether or not they're indeed healthier, whether or not they're worth itthere are actually good reasons for the high costs.

      But for some people, knowing that the animals were raised ethically and in a healthy environment are crucial considerations.

      Other than eating clean, there are people who observe "ethical eating" to eradicate inhumane animal slaughter and for environmental justice.

      So, Is Butcher Box Really Worth It?

      After drooling over the meat choices (we sure got hungry listing those down) and seeing the price points, the practical question is, is it worth it?

      The easiest (but probably cliche) answer is: it depends on your circumstance.

      What do we mean? Let's run it down for you.

      Yes, Butcher Box is Worth It For You If:

      • You are conscious about eating healthy food or going for organic options.
      • Definitely, pasture-raised meat or fed and grass-finished options are far better than mass-produced ones found in your local store.
      • Grass-fed steak tips calories too, if you're conscious about that.
      • Eating meat is a regular part of your diet. And you and your family eat meat frequently.
      • You have the freezer space for extra meat supplies per month. If you don't, all this meat will be a headache.
      • If you hold gatherings or parties often that features fancy menu like steaks, wild-caught salmon (learn how to best grill salmon here), and the likes.
      Butcher Box is Worth It
      • You have the budget to spare for a meat delivery service, or you can adjust your finances to fit the additional Butcher Box cost into your bills.
      • You want to start eating better quality meat-like, restaurant-quality!
      • You care about the welfare of the animals.
      • If it's not safe for you to crowd in public grocery stores, or if going out isn't a plausible option for you.

      No, Butcher Box Isn't Worth It For You If:

      • You don't really like meat, or if you just consume them once in a while. You might find yourself in a meat surplus if you subscribe to Butcher Box in one go.
      • Your budget is limited.
      • You don't really see the need to replace your normal meat with organic and grass-fed meat.
      • You prefer going to the grocery store yourself for your meat purchases.

      Keep in mind we all have our meat preferences, and not everyone gives emphasis to the specific cuts of meat, or whether or not it's grass-fed or organic meat.

      Not everyone's willing to spend an extra hundred bucks on meat too.

      And that's more than okay.

      Is It Cheaper Than Grocery Store?

      If you're serious about getting better meat, then yes, it will be cheaper than and easier to trust Butcher Box and let them source for you.

      It's far cheaper and healthier to cook on your own too rather than going to restaurants.

      But then again, if you don't really need grass-fed or high-quality meat, then going for grocery options will certainly be cheaper.

      Will It Help You Save Money?

      This has understandably been a common question. It's but natural to think about saving money, especially in this economy.

      But the answer to this is rather more complicated than just a yes or a no.

      If you're used to spending a lot of money on high-end steaks and seafood in fancy restaurants, then the Butcher Box may help you cook at home with similar quality.

      But quite honestly, if you're on a normal budget, subscribing to something like Butcher Box may require you to make way for it financially. Some do cut costs to fit this into their lifestyle.

      But then again, it's up to you if you'll find that a worthy thing to do.

      Awesome Butcher Box Deals

      If it helps, it's worth mentioning in this ButcherBox review that they offer a lot of enticing deals and setups that will make you want to apply for a lifetime subscription.

      Free Shipping

      Most subscription services like this have expensive shipping fees that can sometimes even exceed your total order. But for Butcher Box, all shipping fees are free!

      One common comparison for Butcher Box is Omaha Steaks, which offers a similar service.

      Though Butcher Box is more expensive products-wise, the free shipping and all the great deals make it worth the value.

      You're also free to schedule and cancel your boxes, adjust your subscription schedules (if for instance, you still have a lot of supplies for the month), without penalty.

      Lifetime Supply Promos

      If you head on to their website right now, you'll immediately see "free bacon for life"! You'll get one pack of ButcherBox bacon for every box without an additional charge.

      Lifetime Supply Promos

      There was also a time when they offered free turkey.

      To put things into perspective, on top of — let's say, your order of steaks, chicken, and some ButcherBox ground beef — you'll be given a free pack forever. 

      Free Online Recipes and Videos

      This may not seem much for some, but we appreciate having recipes to follow from Butcher Box themselves.

      You can find tons of interesting dish recipes on their website, as well as video tutorials on their Youtube channel.

      There are videos like explaining chicken cuts, featuring cooking tutorials, telling their story, showing the farms, and the likes.

      We don't know about you, but we appreciate having some informational additions to how we can maximize the Butcher Box experience.

      It's great to have someone teach us how to make a delicious burger from ground beef, rather than just giving us ground beef!

      A Quick Recap

      Overall, if you're just scrolling to read this for a tl;dr or if you actually made it here, the answers you need to know are basically:

      THE PROS:

      1.) Butcher Box is worth it if you're opting for healthier meat choices and the good quality of meat matters to you a lot.

      2.) It is worth it if the convenience and quality satisfy your needs and complement your lifestyle.

      3.) It is a great way to keep your fridge and freezer space full without the hassle especially during times of lockdown when it's not safe for us to go to restaurants outdoors and be in close contact with people.

      THE CONS:

      1.) It's expensive. 

      2.) If you're not that particular about the quality and taste of your meat, the options you can find in grocery stores are already good choices.

      3.) If you know how to source quality meat from a direct farm yourself, that's actually better. It's just that not everyone has that option.

      No, it's not for everyone. There are lots of ways to source good meat for a much cheaper price.

      Verdict

      Like many other things, there are pros and cons to consider for a meat delivery subscription service like Butcher Box.

      We believe that there's no one perfect service. You should rather find something that helps you and at least makes life a lot easier and gives value to the money your shelling out. If you're curious, you can try the service for a month. If it's just not for you, you can cancel anytime with no problem.

      See if this could be a game-changer for you as much as it was for many others!

      ButcherBox

       


      Weigh all your options—check out our review of other leading meat delivery services:


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