Butcher Box: A Review

Hey gents, today I’m reviewing a product rather outside my usual range, but it’s a product (rather a service) I’ve used and loved for quite a long time (over two years, to be exact), so I think it’s worth sharing here.

Additionally, I know some of you are interested in who I am beyond the clothes I wear. Perhaps this will give you some insight in that regard.

I’ve always believed that clothing and grooming are about bettering ourselves as men, which obviously includes how and what we eat.

For this reason, today I’m talking about why I love Butcherbox. If you’ve never heard of them, Butcherbox is an online store that delivers high-quality meat right to your door.

Today I want to explain why I’ve been a loyal customer of theirs.

Why I like THem

They reached out to me a few months ago to let me know that there was no longer a waiting list for new customers, which I was very happy to hear.

Like a great many DTC brands that offer home delivery, they’ve thrived in recent months, not only because demand for home delivery of all products has increased but because they didn’t have to adjust their operations in response to the pandemic.

To their credit, this got a lot of new members put on waiting lists cos they wanted to maintain high-quality standards instead of taking shortcuts that would have allowed them to continue production in spite of a nationwide beef shortage.

I appreciate companies that make decisions like that. It may not be profitable in the short term but it’s the best way to maintain customer loyalty in the long run.

As you may know, this is something that matters to me, which is why I mention it so often when I talk about other brands that I like. But I digress.

Let’s get right into why Butcher Box’s meat is a cut above the rest.

It starts with two small, hyphenated words: Grass-Fed.

Look at those happy cows. Why are they happy? Cos they eat right!

Grass-Fed: What It Means And Why It maTTErs

When I was researching this article, I wasn’t surprised to find out how unregulated the term “grass-fed” is in spite of its popularity among foodies.

It’s not quite as nebulous as “organic” or “all-natural”, but it presently leaves meat companies a lot more allowance than is perhaps fair or entirely honest.

In a nutshell, any beef product whose cows are fed grass at all can be legally labelled grass-fed. This is one reason that I like Butcherbox so much: their beef is 100% Grass-Fed and Grass Finished, meaning the cows graze on grass from the moment they’re weaned till they’re slaughtered.

Compare this with the more common corn-fed beef you see in supermarkets. It may be cheap feed for cattle, but the trouble with corn is that cows really shouldn’t eat it (1). And just like humans, cows get sick when they eat food they shouldn’t. To combat this, farmers give them antibiotics from very early on, traces of of which end up in the meat we eat.

Butcherbox’s simple solution to this, for the sake of both their cows and their customers, is to feed cows only what their bodies are designed to digest:

Grass

Their cattle are free to range on grassy pastures throughout their entire lives, grazing year-round on their natural diet.

As an added bonus, this beef is far more nourishing for us, offering a good source of the omega-3s, vitamins and minerals stripped from corn-fed beef.

This is important to me.

Their PRoducts and THeir Ethics

Butcherbox’s ethics don’t end with how they feed their cows, though. They source their products only from farmers who meet their rigorous in-house standards. Their slaughterhouses are inspired by Temple Grandin’s exhaustive studies on animal trauma and they strive to minimize their carbon footprint by shipping their products only in recycled, recyclable containers.

(As a side note, you’ll notice in the video that their meat is still very well-insulated and shipped with dry ice, which means your meat will still be cold after sitting on your porch for six hours on a hot day in August.)

Shall we talk a bit more about the other products they offer?

Chicken

Their chickens are free-range organic and verified by the Non-GMO project. They eat a nutritious all-vegetarian diet and all their chicken products are Level 3 Animal Welfare certified by the ASPCA. Their goal is to source all of their chicken from RSPCA or the Global Animal Partnership (GAP)-approved breeds/strains by 2024.

They offer a variety of cuts, from wings to drumsticks to whole chickens, and if you’re new to cooking at home, they even have a pretty impressive list of recipes.

Pork

Good stuff, huh? Food of the gods, in fact.

I almost always add some bacon to my order (more on the options below) and the pic above should make it obvious why. Butcherbox pride themselves on the heritage swine breeds from which their pork comes, boasting such prestigious strains as Duroc, Berkshire and Chester White, all of which possess distinguished ancestry.

Like the chickens and cows they source, their pigs are allowed to mature slowly and forage in the outdoors. Their feed is all-vegetarian and they bed in open barns.

As a result of this, Butcherbox’s pork has beautiful marbling in it and a fantastic flavor that you just won’t find in Wal-Mart’s freezer section.

Other Stuff

Butcherbox also have a variety of other products available, from wild-caught sockeye salmon to grass-fed lamb. If you’re not a vegetarian, I’m pretty sure they’ll have something you’ll like. Click here to check out their other products

My editor is a fanatic cook who had a lot of fun researching this article, so at his suggestion I’ve also included the site’s impressive collection of recipes and available cuts of each product.

Your Options With ButcherBox

One other thing I like about Butcherbox (long list, I know!) is all the options they offer. In my two years as a customer, I’ve opted for a custom box, which usually costs me $150. When I combine this with the other extensive bulk shopping I do (see video), I usually receive about one a month.

They offer promos quite frequently, and their customer service team are quite diligent about keeping me informed of those.

But I need to clarify something.

The price I pay for a single box, as well as those mentioned in the other packages below, may sound steep, but it’s unfair to compare these price points to the meat counter at your supermarket.

The quality simply doesn’t compare.

If you want a fairer comparison in terms of the quality of meat offered, check out a Whole Foods or other high-end grocery store or even your local artisanal butcher.

You’ll find similar price points only without the convenience of home delivery and almost certainly without the guarantee of ethical sourcing Butcherbox offers.

The Boxes

Although Butcherbox is a subscription service, they offer a great deal of flexibilitiy in terms of shipping frequency. With a bit of advance notice, they’ll even ship you a box on demand outside your usual schedule.

You can choose from five boxes, all of which are available in two sizes. Exact cuts will vary based on region and seasonal availability but you’ll never be shorted.

The smaller box size, which starts at $129/month, includes 8-14 pounds of meat, or the equivalent of 24 adult-sized meals.

The larger box size, which starts at $238/month, includes 16-26 points of meat, or the equivalent of a whopping forty-eight adult-sized meals.

If you’re considering following the Lion Diet, which, by the way, I don’t endorse or practice, the All-Beef box will be a good place to start. I only mention it cos a well-known speaker and his daughter both swear by it, which may be why they endorse Butcherbox on his podcast.

A Beef and Pork Box and a Beef and Chicken Box are also available, as well as a Mixed Box, which will usually include beef, chicken and pork.

Finally, they also offer Custom Boxes (my choice), which allow you to choose up to 21 cuts, including various everyday and premium pieces.

On A Personal Note…

You may believe, based on what you’ve seen in my other videos, that I spend a lot of money on clothes, and you may be right. I’ve talked repeatedly and in detail about the importance of investing in high-quality pieces that will last for years and thus save you money in the long run.

I have a similar philosophy when it comes to feeding my family. I allocate a large portion of my budget, perhaps larger than some think is necessary, to food.

I do this for a variety of reasons, from my own personal fitness and health goals to my daughter’s extensive allergies.

To an extent I do it for the convenience as well, but that’s not the main reason. If convenience were my main goal I would opt instead for one of the many subscription meal services available (Marley Spoon, Blue Apron, etc…), but as I mentioned earlier, I’m not paying for convenience.

I’m paying for top-shelf meat.

A few More Specs

Given how perishable their product is and the rigorous in-house QC and hygiene standards they employ, Butcherbox is only available within the continental U.S. But this cloud has quite a silver lining:

Shipping is free no matter what package and frequency you pick.

As an added bonus that I quite appreciate since I freeze a lot of what I buy from them, their meat tastes every bit as good after I freeze it and even better than any I’ve ever bought at a grocery store.

these are The Good Guys

Butcherbox has quite an impressive set of values, and from what I’ve experienced as a loyal customer, they’re quite true to it. From the care they take to raise their heritage-breed swine to the cardboard they use for their boxes, they really care about treating all their assets right.

It’s quite refreshing to encounter a company whose mission is more than silly virtue signaling. Butcherbox treat every party with whom they have a relationship as valuable assets, not just their stockholders. As of right now, they aren’t even publicly traded, which suggests to me that their priorities are straight in terms of who their most valuable stakeholders really are.

Conclusion

So there you have it, gents. My Butcherbox experience. I hope you’ve known me long enough to trust my reviews of a product that’s not clothing or grooming-related. If you live in the U.S. and you’re not a vegetarian, I suggest you give them a try.

How about all of you? Anyone here ever tried Butcherbox or a similar grocery delivery service? I know their popularity has skyrocketed in the last few months for obvious reasons.

Let me know what you think down in the comments, or send me a message on Instagram or Twitter (you follow me, right?). I always love hearing from you guys.

Until next time, gents, this is The Kavalier.

(1) The man interviewed in this article, Michael Pollan, expands much more thoroughly on troubles with the corn industry in his admirable book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. (New York: Penguin, 2006). You can purchase it here.

Full disclosure: the links to their site I’ve included in this article are affiliate links, meaning that I do get a bit of money if you click on them. I’ve always operated The Kavalier using affiliate links: I hope I’ve earned your trust enough that you know I only take money from brands I can honestly recommend. Butcherbox is most definitely one of them.