Are Meal Delivery Services Worth It? My Butcher Box Review

The website has a very clean, modern feel to it and has just about everything you ever wanted to know about meat contained within its pages. Information on each of the boxes is laid out in an easy-to-understand way, and you can learn all about how each of the meats in your box is farmed and sourced. 

We especially like the blogs, videos, and guides that walk you through the order process, and you’ll find detailed information on different cuts of meat and how to prepare them. You’ll soon know your ribeye from your sirloin and be cooking up masterpieces with tri-tip and tenderloin in no time. 

There’s no mobile app at the moment, so you’ll need to manage all of your orders via the website.

Signing up only takes a few minutes to complete, and you’ll receive a bonus of 2 lbs of pork chops, 3 lbs of chicken breasts, and 2 lbs of ground beef when you complete your first order. 

There are six different boxes to choose from, four of which contain a fixed amount of meat, and the remaining two offer different ways you can customize:

Since Butcher Box isn’t actually a meal kit delivery service, there aren’t any meal types to choose from. However, if you opt for one of the custom boxes you’ll get to decide which cuts of meat you’d like added to your box. This is a particularly useful option for chefs that know their way around the kitchen, but novices might be put off. Just some of the cuts you can choose include:

Unlike other delivery services, Butcher Box doesn’t provide any recipe cards or additional ingredients to cook up recipes from scratch. However, it does have dozens of useful recipes available for free on its website that you can try yourself.

There’s a huge variance in the difficulty of these recipes, and cooking time can be up to five hours at a time if you’re preparing a full roast. We’d recommend browsing the list to find something that suits your skill level, but some of our top picks include:

Prices per box are fixed each month, and you can swap between the different options at any time. We’ve included the box prices below, but Butcher Box claims that its portion sizes will average out to around $5.40 per meal. Of course, this isn’t taking into account the extra ingredients you’ll need, so plan to budget a little more than this. Shipping is always free.

Butcher Box isn’t geared towards any specialist diets unless you’re giving the carnivore plan a try. It’s a straightforward meat delivery service, so those looking for vegetarian, keto, paleo, or weight loss plans won’t find what they need here.

Butcher Box has a very functional website that leads you directly to their different plan options from their homepage. Once you select your plan, you move forward to pick your items. I decided on the custom box for my order just because I was interested in trying out some of their seafood. My boyfriend and I do not eat much pork, so it was not worth it for us to order the mixed box, their most popular option. I believe when you order one of the assorted boxes, you receive a combination of meat hand-picked by Butcher Box’s team.

The custom box allowed me to select up to six different items from every category. In addition, each box automatically comes with free ground beef for life. They also offered me a free pack of applewood bacon during check out! I was super stoked to get these free items because I could better plan for my other selections.

After your items are chosen, you head over to check out to input your billing and shipping information. Then, you receive a confirmation email and wait for your box to arrive within the designated time frame.

I had a bit of trouble processing the order on my iPad for some reason. Although I clicked the help button on Butcher Box’s website, their team was helpful with this issue. Ultimately, I had to process the order on another device, but the contents of my box remained on the account.

After your items are chosen, you head over to check out to input your billing and shipping information. Then, you receive a confirmation email and wait for your box to arrive within the designated time frame.

I had a bit of trouble processing the order on my iPad for some reason. Although I clicked the help button on Butcher Box’s website, their team was helpful with this issue. Ultimately, I had to process the order on another device, but the contents of my box remained on the account.

My order was placed on September 20, 2021, and was anticipated to arrive between September 22, 2021, to September 28, 2021. It ended up coming Saturday evening on September 25, 2021. The tracking information was updated that morning. Luckily, I checked before heading out for the day. Otherwise, I may have missed the delivery. Everything arrived in a giant box as expected with a significant amount of ice packs to ensure the meat stayed fresh and cold.

The only downside of the delivery was that Butcher Box did not disclose the arrival time. So, I had to wait around for it to arrive until about 8 pm. Although, everything was still icy upon arrival, which was reassuring considering the contents were all raw meat.

Each item arrived individually packed in tightly sealed freezer-safe bags. We planned to cook the sirloin steaks first, so we placed the rest of the meat in the freezer. Each bag opened quickly with the help of some scissors.

I ordered the following items in my custom box: 2 packs of top sirloin steaks, 1 pack of ribeye steaks, 1 pack of NY strip steaks, 1 pack of bone-in chicken thighs, and a 2lb bag of wild Alaskan salmon. In addition, I received 1 package of bacon and 2 packs of ground beef for free. While I have not gotten the chance to try every item, they all appear to be high-quality. So far, I made the sirloin steaks, ground beef, and NY strip steaks. Each was tender and had excellent cuts of meat.

Both the steaks and ground beef tasted fantastic with some basic seasoning. I also added a bit of whiskey to the marinade for the sirloin steaks, which paired wonderfully. Their all-natural flavor was the star of each meal.

I was pleasantly surprised with how fresh all the meat was so far, primarily upon arrival. Usually, when you order meat products for delivery, there are only minimal ice packs, if any, in the packaging. Butcher Box kept everything cold which ultimately maintained their freshness. I had no issues at all for the meat I cooked already and found the cuts to be incredibly fresh.

Butcher Box did not provide any support materials with my delivery. Although, their website has a blog featuring a variety of different recipes, tips, and other relevant information.

The first meal we made using our Butcher Box products was tasty top sirloin steaks. I allowed them to marinate with some salt, pepper, garlic, powder, and onion powder. We also drizzled a bit of whiskey on top to infuse the steaks.

After they had some time to marinate, we began cooking the steaks using a cast-iron skillet. We cooked six since we had some company over that night and placed two back in the refrigerator to eat later in the week.

The following evening, we whipped up a quick and tasty meat sauce using the free ground beef included in the butcher box. My favorite part about the experience is that you can create various meals using the meat included as a base. I am looking forward to making more yummy meals with my Butcher Box products.

Add-ons come in the form of additional cuts of meat which will automatically renew as part of the following month’s box. So, if you don’t want to receive your extra selections regularly, make sure you amend your order for next time. 

You can buy gift certificates too if you want to give a carnivorous friend something a little different for their birthday, and the platform often runs discount promotions so it’s always worth checking in to see how much money you could save.

You can get in touch with Butcher Box via a helpline that’s open between 8 am and 11 pm EST, seven days a week. In addition, you’ll find both live chat and email options available via the website. Service agents are attentive, respond quickly, and can usually resolve any issues in short order. 

Plus, the help center has a range of other helpful tools including a package tracker, a portal for reporting feedback, and a subscription management option. If you’re still struggling to find what you need, an extensive FAQ is on hand to help out.

You can delay your subscription, skip deliveries or cancel altogether with no financial penalty. As long as you make your request before the next processing deadline you should be OK. You can log into your account to find out when your deadline is. Butcher Box uses slightly different terminology to other services when you wish to cancel, and you’ll instead need to select the ‘stop subscription’ option if you want to cancel completely. 

If meat just isn’t your thing, or the service seems just a little pricey for you, one of these alternatives might be right up your street.