Few meals are more satisfying than a juicy steak or succulent seafood. Luckily, you don’t need to rush to the grocery store when you get meat cravings.
Nowadays, you can turn to an online meat delivery service and get your meat delivered straight to your doorstep.
I’ve made it my mission to test all meat delivery services available on the market, and today I’ll talk about Allen Brothers and ButcherBox.
I’ve used both of these services for three months, so I’ll explain their key differences and features so that you can make your choice.
ButcherBox vs Allen Brothers: Key Differences
The main difference between Allen Brothers and ButcherBox is how their delivery services function.
Allen Brothers is a Chicago steak company that functions as a subscription service and a la carte.
They are often described as the holy grail steak company. They have steak boxes you can subscribe to, plus a vast selection of individual cuts of meat.
ButcherBox only functions as a box subscription service. It means you subscribe and get a box delivered to your home every month.
Allen Brothers give you more flexibility. You can choose exactly what kind of meat you want, and how many pieces. With ButcherBox, you don’t have that same level of freedom.
They only offer one box where you can choose which cuts of meat will be delivered to you. You don’t get to pick individual meat cuts with their other four boxes.
Comparing Their Features Head to Head
1. Meat Selection
Allen Brothers and ButcherBox differ in their meat selection. Allen Brothers online meat delivery has a much larger selection. They offer beef, lamb, pork, veal, poultry, and seafood.
They also offer some game meats — bison and elk. However, their primary focus is on beef, especially USDA prime beef.
Apart from USDA, they also offer dry-aged beef, grass-fed, USDA Prime Black Angus, wet-aged, and Wagyu Japanese steaks.
“Since 1893 Allen Brothers has been serving the exacting standards of top chefs and restaurants nationally. We have earned our reputation based upon one guiding principle — never compromise. From the hand-selection of our meats to our meticulous aging methods and hand-cut custom portioning, every step of our processes is precise and performed to your exact specifications.”
- Allen Brothers Official Website
Their poultry offering includes chicken, duck, turkey, and quail, and the seafood menu includes crab, shrimp, lobster, scallops, and shellfish.
Finally, they offer some pantry items, such as caviar, truffle butter, and foie gras.
On the other hand, ButcherBox has a smaller meat selection. They offer beef, pork, chicken, and seafood but don't have any game meat or spreads.
They also have a somewhat smaller beef selection. Among other cuts, they offer:
- American Wagyu beef
- Kobe beef
- Beef tallow
- Dry-aged ground beef
- New York strip steaks
- Sirloin steaks
- Chuck roast
- Pork tenderloin
- Strip steaks
2. Subscription Boxes
Both of these companies offer subscription boxes. Here’s a summary of their offering.
Allen Brothers
Allen Brothers have five steak-of-the-month subscription boxes you can choose from:
- Duo: Steaks and more. Available monthly or bi-monthly.
- Duo 12 $1,000
- Duo 6 $550
- Six months: steak and more. Available on even and odd months. $1,000
- Twelve months: steaks and more $2,000
- Family: steaks and more. Available in 6 or 12 months.
- Family 12 months $1,800
- Family 6 months $1,000
- Share: steaks and more. Available in 6 or 12 months.
- Share 12 months $1,500
- Share 6 months $800
All of these boxes only offer steaks [1]. Allen Brothers say you’ll get restaurant-quality steak, and I agree. Allen Brothers steaks are above average quality compared to local grocery store meat.
Each prime steak and filet mignon goes through a dry-aging or a wet process, which makes it more tender and juicy. Overall, meat lovers will love their steak selection and quality.
ButcherBox
ButcherBox also offers five subscription boxes, but they aren’t focused only on steaks:
- Custom Box
- 9 to 14 lbs $159 per month
- 18 to 26 lbs $288 per month.
- Mixed box — Includes beef, free-range organic chicken, and pork raised crate-free.
- Beef and chicken box — Includes beef and free-range organic chicken.
- Beef and pork box — Includes beef and heritage pork
- All beef box — Includes only beef.
The Custom box lets you choose up to 25 cuts of meat that will be shipped to you. You don’t get the same choice for other boxes.
Mixed, two meat and the all-beef box also come in two sizes:
- 8 to 11 lbs, $137 per month
- 16 to 22 lbs, $253 per month.
I also don’t have any complaints when it comes to ButcherBox meat quality. I opted for the Custom box so I could choose the cuts myself. My favorites were dry-aged steaks and Wagyu beef.
3. Sourcing
Here’s how these two companies source their meat.
Allen Brothers
Allen Brothers say all of their meat, apart from Japanese and Australian Wagyu, comes from family farms in the US. They only source from mid and middle-northern states, as they have an ideal climate for growing and feeding [2].
They focus on USDA prime beef and their patented beef aging — especially wet and dry-aged beef. Butchers do the aging at the highest artisanal standards.
ButcherBox
Compared to Allen Brothers, ButcherBox goes into much more detail about how they source their meat [3]. They put a lot of emphasis on animal welfare:
- Humanely raised beef — 100% grass-finished, humanely raised without supplements, growth hormones, and antibiotics.
- Heritage breed pork — Pasture-raised and crate-free from heritage lines, such as Duroc and Berkshire pork. Due to this, the pork has a slower maturation process and develops better marbling.
- Organic chicken — Raised free-range and USDA-certified organic.
- Wild-caught seafood — Sustainably harvested. They source seafood such as salmon, scallops, lobster, cod, and halibut.
Stand Out Features
Allen Brothers have several stand-out features. I especially liked their grilling assortment. This came in handy when we had an office grilling party.
They offer several premium meat options that are grill-ready, such as USDA prime steaks assortment, beef burger patties, and a gourmet collection that even includes hot dogs.
They also have a surf & turf assortment so that you can enjoy delicious seafood and prime beef together. Finally, they offer gift cards, which are a perfect gift for any meat-lover.
Related Comparisons:
ButcherBox vs Allen Brothers: What’s the Best Delivery Service for You?
Both Allen Brothers and ButcherBox are among the best meat deliveries, but I have to give an advantage to ButcherBox meat subscription service.
They have a large meat selection: everything from seafood, chicken, and beef, including USDA prime beef.
Their cattle are sustainably raised, so you’ll only get the best cuts of meat. You don’t have to wonder if the meat is healthy. Each cut of meat I tried from them had a tender texture and was juicy.
Finally, I love the flexibility they offer. You can choose between five different subscription boxes to get precisely the kind of meat you like best.
Click here, and mail-order your box today.
#1 Meat Delivery Service
ButcherBox
- Grass-fed and grass-finished beef delivered directly to your door
- Without antibiotics or added hormones
- Customizable boxes available
- Select from up to 21 different cuts
- Get the BEST PRICE until the end of June
- No organ meat
