Limited Time Offer!! Get Ribeyes, Drumsticks & Burgers Free In Your First Box
Limited Time Offer! Get A Free Grilling Bundle
Choose Butcher Box Meal Plan Starting From Just $99
Get Free Shipping On All Orders For Life
Meat & Sea Food Done The Right Way
More and more meat lovers are gravitating toward ButcherBox, a convenient and flexible meat subscription service. Subscribers can choose between curated and customized boxes of humanely raised beef, pork, seafood, and chicken, delivered monthly or every second month. The best part? This brand makes sure that all of the products provided are sourced from local farms that respect grass-fed, organic, heritage-breed, and wild-caught produce.
In this ButcherBox review, we will provide a complete rundown of this brand, the products offered, the prices, and customer feedback so that you can decide if this subscription is right for you.
ButcherBox has pretty humble and back-to-nature beginnings. Founder Mike Salguero ended up in a living room picking out his own $400 pile of meat from a cow share. From there, Mike became intrigued by the pure and wholesome taste of 100% grass-fed beef. He also discovered the varying health benefits of consuming grass-fed versus grain-fed cows.
So naturally Mike wondered, why wasn’t everyone eating it? Today, only 1% of the beef consumed in the US is 100% grass-fed. But, ButcherBox was born with the goal to make grass-fed beef more accessible than ever, and has since expanded to heritage-breed pork, wild-caught seafood, and organic chicken. Although there is little to no quality difference in heritage-breed pork and other pork, production is more efficient and consistent while also being ethical. This allows for higher quality standards according to this study.
Wild caught seafood is caught in natural habitats, meaning these products are not raised in captivity. Using methods that do not destroy the natural microbiology of the habitat while also taking appropriate numbers from the population is essential to caring for the environment.
ButcherBox now serves over 10,000 families in the United States and Canada and the team identifies itself as a friendly neighborhood butcher, always open, and hassle-free.
- High quality, sustainably sourced meat
- All items are personally tested by the ButcherBox team
- Reasonably priced in light of quality and ethical sourcing
- Recommended by reputable health and nutrition sources
- Free delivery within Canada and the United States
- Can pause, adjust the frequency, or cancel subscription at any time
ButcherBox delivers meat to your doorstep monthly or bi-monthly depending upon how big of a meat-eater you are.
All the meat that comes in a ButcherBox has been personally taste-tested by the team. This brand wants to introduce you to cuts and quality of meat that can’t be found in a grocery store, and quality assurance is their #1 priority.
ButcherBox encourages subscribers to learn all about the sourcing of their meats. That’s why every piece of meat in a ButcherBox is:
- Humanely raised
- Free of antibiotics
- Contains no added hormones
If you are worried about freshness, each piece of poultry, meat, pork, or seafood comes in frozen, vacuum sealed containers so that every item is fresh upon arrival. When delivered, all produce is stored in an insulated box and eco-friendly packaging, which is either biodegradable or recyclable.
Some boxes even come with dry ice, if necessary, since this brand is always committed to keeping your meat at the right temperature and ready to cook.
But what is in the boxes from this brand? When you sign up, you have 5 box types to choose from. With each of these boxes, you will have the option of a Classic or Big Box, with all of the quantities of each listed below:
Custom Box
- Classic Box: 9-14 lbs. of meat
- Big Box: 18-26 lbs. of meat
- Mixed Box, Beef & Chicken Box, Beef & Pork Box, and All Beef Box
- Classic Box: 8-11 lbs. of meat
- Big Box: 16-22 lbs. of meat
You can pause or cancel your ButcherBox subscription at any time, with no commitment to future orders. But please note that subscriptions automatically renew each month or every other month. So, unless you change your box type you will receive the same items in every shipment.
You should also note that all ButcherBox products are subject to availability, meaning that there may be quantity limits on orders, all or parts of orders may be rejected, or certain meats may be discontinued or substituted.
What Comes in A ButcherBox?
All the meat that comes in a ButcherBox has been personally taste-tested by the team. They want to introduce you to cuts and quality of meat that can’t be found in a grocery store. I personally have come across many a disappointing cut at the grocery store, so this alone piques my interest.
Every piece of meat in a ButcherBox is humanely raised, free of antibiotics and added hormones. ButcherBox encourages subscribers to learn all about the sourcing of their meats. Quality is largely influenced by how the animal lived: how healthy and content it was, and how humanely it was raised on a farm with sustainable practices.
BEEF
ButcherBox cattle are happily free to range on grassy pastures all their lives. The cows eat a natural diet of grass, and thanks to the climate, can graze all year round. Subscribers can feel good about consuming ButcherBox beef for these reasons:
- 100% grass-fed and grass-finished
- Pasture-raised and free to roam
- Source of Omega-3’s, vitamins, and minerals
Omega 3 fatty acids are essential in building and maintaining a healthy body. They are key to every structured wall within the body which includes muscles such as the heart. They’re also an energy source, which encourages consistent maintenance of the immune system, organ system, and blood vessels.
PORK
ButcherBox’s Chester White pigs are raised in Duroc, Berkshire and possess distinguished ancestry. Heritage breed pigs are special: according to ButcherBox, “their natural, old-world genetics mean that during their slow maturation process, they develop the fine marbling and great flavour that nature intended them to have.” Mmm, now I’m fantasizing about some crispy ButcherBox bacon.
These pigs lead some pretty great lives (minus the fact that they’re raised for eating):
- Bedding in open barns
- Outdoor access
- Nutritional diet (forage + all-vegetarian feed)
Foraging and all-vegetarian feed is beneficial to all animals, as they are able to roam and maintain a healthy diet at their own pace. This allows for higher quality meats and less greenhouse gas emissions from farms, which is further explored in this study.
CHICKEN
ButcherBox free-range organic chickens “spend their days roosting in barns and exploring the outdoors.” Who knew that chickens are adventurous by nature? The team works with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to align with their chicken welfare policy, and the birds are raised accordingly:
- Outdoor access with specialized enhancements
- Nutritious diet (forage + certified organic all-vegetarian feed
- Non-GMO project verified
The Non-GMO project is a program in which a business’ claims of carrying non-genetically modified products is verified and ensured that it has not been artificially manipulated in a laboratory.
My takeaway while writing this ButcherBox subscription review: if reincarnation is real and I come back as a cow, pig, or chicken in the next life, I hope I end up on a ButcherBox farm.
SALMON
Canadian subscribers also have access to ButcherBox wild sockeye salmon. Sadly, this seafood option is not available in the United States. I would have included a picture but I didn’t want to make anyone jealous.
Next up in this ButcherBox subscription review, we’ll get into all of the ButcherBox plans.
ButcherBox pricing depends on the box you choose and its size. They have 5 different boxes: 4 curated options and their most popular Custom Box, either in Classic or Big Box size. ButcherBox offers a range of add-ons and monthly specials, so even if you choose the curated boxes, you do still have freedom of choice.
We show you the full range of options in this ButcherBox subscription review:
- First up, the Custom Box. This brand consistently strives for you to feel comfortable with what you are receiving, and that is why they have created a customizable box option for you to build your own box based on your preferences.
- As stated, the Custom Box comes with 9-14 lbs. to 18-26 lbs. of meat which includes beef, seafood, pork, and chicken options. Though the brand does not specify what exactly comes in this box, we can only assume that the brand offers a wide selection of its produce to choose from those changes on a monthly basis.
- Next, the Mixed Box. This is one of the most diverse, fixed subscriptions the brand offers with 8-11 lbs. to 16-22 lbs. of chicken, pork, seafood, and/or beef. When it comes to seafood, the brand is known for its wild sockeye salmon. Make sure you add this to your cart and stock up on some lemons and dill!
This ButcherBox review suggests this box for those that also love homemade burgers, beef bourguignon, or a classic pork tenderloin with honey sauce. Including all of the different types of meat offered, a sample Mixed Box that the brand provides includes:
- 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 Breast
Then, the Beef & Chicken Box. The name says it all, the brand offers its grass-fed beef and organic chicken in this box, ranging from:
- 2 lbs of Ground Beef
- 2 New York Strip Steaks
- 4 Top Sirloin Steaks
- 3 lbs Drumsticks
- 3 lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
For a total of 8-11 lbs. to 16-22 lbs. of meat, this box is made for those that love a classic Bolognese sauce, stuffed chicken breasts, and the classic steak and eggs on Sunday, this box is definitely one to look into.
The Final Word
ButcherBox will almost always be pricier compared to grocery stores, the trade-off being better quality and ethically sourced meat. Some of us just want a good quality steak, or none at all. If you’ve ever seen documentaries like Food, Inc. on the horrors of the meat industry, you’ll recognize how badly these animals are treated and the environmental damage that goes along with it.
It’s like drinking fair trade coffee over regular coffee—it tends to be more expensive, and though it’s possible to find coffee that tastes just as good by unethical means, it’s the principle that counts.
All this being said, the negative ratings that turned up in this ButcherBox subscription review are troubling. I definitely wouldn’t want rotten meat to show up on my doorstep, but honestly, mistakes and shipping issues do happen.
The consensus is that the meat is high quality and good-tasting. Since there’s no commitment to the subscription, there’s no harm in trying it out. In light of the customer service issues, if you do decide to cancel, contact the team as early as possible.