Ordering steaks online can be confusing your first time. When mail-order steaks first came to be, there were only a few brands. Now, however, there are dozens.
With so many options on the market, it can be tricky to choose the healthiest option. To help you eat better, I have teamed up with other culinary professionals and decided to test-to-recommend the best mail order steaks so you can focus on preparing meals only.
Our team has tested dozens of different steaks, ordered them, prepared them, cooked, grilled, and took a bite to make the final cut. After testing different brands, we narrowed down the best providers to order a steak.
The Best Mail Order Steaks
- Best Overall Mail Order Steaks: ButcherBox
- Cheapest Mail Order Steaks: Crowd Cow
- Best Subscription Service for Steak Orders: ButcherBox
- Best Provider of Freshly Shipped Steaks: ButcherBox
- Best Frozen Steaks Mail Order: Snake River Farms
- Best Mail Order for Angus Beef Steaks: Good Chop
- Best Wagyu Beef Steak Mail Service: Snake River Farms
- Best Dry-Aged Steak Delivery Company: Porter Road
- Best Michelin-Quality Steak Mail Service: Holy Grail Steaks
- Best Pasture-Raised Beef Steak Delivery: Porter Road
- Best Exotic Steaks for Mail Order: Fossil Farms
11 Best Mail Order Steaks
1 - ButcherBox (Best Overall & Subscription Service)
- Free delivery throughout the United States
- Grass-fed meats
- No hormones or antibiotics
- Monthly subscription delivery services
- No American Wagyu
ButcherBox is our go-to source for steak and other meat types, including chicken, beef, pork, and seafood. We like that they offer free shipping when you order steak for a monthly meat subscription.
They specialize in grass-fed beef without hormones or antibiotics. They offer mail delivery throughout the United States.
One thing we like about ButcherBox is that it offers four different subscription boxes. It even allowed us to swap out specific products from each order.
Quick Facts:
- Humanely-raised heritage breed pork
- Select from up to 21 different cuts
- Customizable boxes available
2 - Crowd Cow (Most Affordable Steaks)
- American Wagyu and dry-aged steaks
- Regular gifts for first-time users
- Easy to use website
- No black Angus
Crowd Cow comes in at number two due to its selection of dry-aged beef and American Wagyu. These are tender and marbled cuts, which can be more flavorful.
We like that Crowd Cow offers specials such as free products on first box orders.
They make meat delivery easy through their intuitive website and the ability to set up a recurring delivery of your previous order.
Crowd Cow delivery ships throughout the United States, except Alaska and Hawaii.
Quick Facts:
- 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised meat
- Humanely-raised without added hormones
- Flexible shipping options
3 - Good Chop (Best Angus Beef)
- Sustainably raised animals
- Free shipping
- High-quality cuts like filet mignon and ribeye steak
- Basic steak selection
Good Chop is an online butcher that sells quality meat from domestic family farms.
They don’t offer any exotic game meats but are focused instead on quality basic cuts, such as beef and pork. We liked that their subscription box is delivered every four weeks.
Good Chop was founded to provide Americans with a meat service they could trust.
This meat delivery service offers steaks such as New York Strip steak, Ribeye, Sirloin, Filet Mignon, and more.
The company says they are a local butcher, as all their meat comes from the US [1].
They put a lot of emphasis on animal welfare and sustainable animal raising, so you can be sure you’re eating a top-notch steak.
Quick Facts:
- Only sell US-sourced meats
- 2 subscription box options
4 - Snake River Farms (Best Wagyu & Frozen Steaks)
- Snake River Farms has non-GMO fed animals for their filet mignon
- Real Wagyu beef
- Easy ordering process
- Snake River Farms has no worldwide shipping
Snake River Farms is known for its American Wagyu-style beef and natural prime beef sourced from family farms in the US.
Specializing in these high-caliber hand-cut beef types Snake River Farms offers cuts ranging from New York Strip steak and ribeye to filet mignon.
Something of note is that Snake River Farms is one of the only companies listed to offer premium Angus filet mignon. According to the Snake River Farms website, it is of a higher quality than USDA Prime.
Snake River Farms, a family business, utilizes a wet aging process as opposed to traditional dry aging. This is reportedly a way to keep the meat juicier and more tender, which we can testify from our experience.
Quick Facts:
- American Wagyu Beef & Kurobuta Pork
- Sourced from family farms in the US
- Snake River Farms has higher than USDA Prime options
5 - Porter Road (Best Dry-Aged Steaks & Pasture-Raised Beef)
- Pasture-raised cattle
- Hand-cut meat, even for filet mignon
- Minimum 14-day dry aging
- Limited option
Porter Road began as a catering business and has since developed into a mail-order steak company.
The main facility of Porter Road is in Kentucky, where they still sell with high standards for processing, ensuring a no-stress, toxic-free environment for local people and restaurants.
According to their website, the Porter Road company's founders place a premium on sourcing only high-grade cattle that are raised optimally [1].
Some of their best-selling steak options, from our experience, include filet mignon, NY strip, boneless ribeye, and bone-in ribeye. Although they have limited options to choose from, they compensate with overall great quality and ample cuts, which we found handy.
Our review of Porter Road might come in handy in case you wish to learn more.
Quick Facts:
- Environmentally friendly meat sourcing
- Allows individual purchase, or you can subscribe
6 - Chicago Steak Company
- The Company has USDA prime beef
- Wide choice of meats, such as filet mignon
- Ships throughout the US
- No free delivery
The Chicago Steak Company is another of the oldest steak delivery services around. Their most popular cuts include ribeyes, sirloin steaks, prime rib, strip steaks, and filet mignon.
The company specializes in USDA prime beef, which is considered to be some of the best.
According to the Chicago Steak Company website, USDA Prime represents the top 2% of beef served in the US and is a step above USDA's choice commonly found in any butcher shop or grocery store [2].
The Chicago Steak Company ships throughout America and offers numerous recipes on its site, which we found very handy and time saving, enabling us more time for trying different recipes.
Quick Facts:
- Great Steak Debate People's Choice Award winner
- Both wet and dry-aged cut options
7 - Holy Grail Steaks (Best Michelin-Quality)
- Deliver to home throughout the US
- Michelin-grade steaks, such as filet mignon
- Hand-cut meats
- Caters more to restaurants
Holy Grail Steak Company is among the more interesting meat product providers on this list.
They are the only company in the US that can sell Japanese Kobe Beef under an exclusive license from Kobe-Niku.
Holy Grail offers some of the highest-grade steaks out of any provider on this list.
Although not having subscription services might be a dealbreaker for some, we suggest focusing on tasting their USDA Upper Prime steak. With each cut, you'll experience a unique flavor, and you won't miss the lack of variety.
With that said, however, they come at a much greater cost than any of the other meat box providers.
Aside from Kobe Beef, they offer A5 Wagyu, Black Angus, and Kurobuta Pork. Their best-selling product, according to their website, is their dry-aged upper prime black cowboy ribeye.
If you wish to learn more about Holy Grail Steak Company, visit this link.
Quick Facts:
- USDA Upper Prime steak
- Authentic Japanese Wagyu Beef
8 - Fossil Farms (Best Exotic Steaks)
- Wide choice of alternative meats
- High-caliber cattle
- Ships throughout the country
- More money than some providers
Fossil Farms offers unique types of meat, including ostrich, alligator, kangaroo, wild boar, top-caliber beef, and more. The trickiest part was really choosing the meat from their site, given the wide range of options.
Fortunately, their user-friendly website aids in selection. With one click on the meat, you get a display of available cuts in that category.
Like a few of the other providers mentioned here, they offer hand-cut and authentic Japanese Wagyu and Angus.
Something to note is that they provide a wider range of cuts then in butcher shops that can be delivered to your home.
According to the Fossil Farms website, they offer grass-fed beef that is never given growth hormones, steroids, or antibiotics.
Quick Facts:
- Steroid, hormone, and antibiotic-free
- Humanely raised and grass-fed
9 - Omaha Steaks
- More variety than a local grocery store, with cuts like filet mignon
- Omaha Steak delivers throughout America
- Wide selection of specialty meats
- Customers raise issues about Omaha Steaks' customer support quality.
Omaha Steaks is one of the oldest mail-order steak providers in America. They started as one of many family-owned butcher shops in Omaha, Nebraska. Today, you can choose from their range of different products, including snacks, wines, and cheeses.
This makes Omaha Steaks an all-in-one stop for a great wine, perfectly paired with delicious cheese and meats.
We found it to be highly practical and time-saving, especially when you're planning to have guests over.
Omaha Steaks has been in business since 1917 and developed from local butcher shops to mail-order steaks and finally to online delivery.
Omaha Steaks sell a range of cuts, from New York strip steaks to filet mignons and ribeye steak.
You can choose from a variety of other meats, including lamb chops, pork chops, turkey, and even caviar or foie gras, and Omaha Steaks delivers these to you in a few business days.
Quick Facts:
- Complete meal and steak packages
- Regular holiday special offers
10 - Kansas City Steak Company
Kansas City Steak Company is another butcher shop turned web-based meat provider.
Since then, they have become one of the larger mail-order steak companies in the US. Some of their most popular cuts include their T-bones, ribeye steak, sirloin steaks, Kansas City Steak Company strip steaks, and tenderloin.
We tried their various options and exploring their diverse range of gift packages proved insightful. We learned that products from every price range offer high-quality meat.
- Discounts on delivery over certain amounts
- Large variety of high-quality meats
- Delivery throughout the US
- Kansas City Steak Company has higher price than others
They also offer a selection of other meats, including lamb, pork chops, chicken, and seafood. Their price tag can be a bit higher for some items than some of the other providers on this list.
You can learn more about the company in our Kansas City Steaks company review.
Quick Facts:
- Serves USDA Prime and Choice beef
- Complete satisfaction guarantee
11 - Harry & David
- Marinated steak options
- High-quality gifts
- Steak alternatives such as ground beef
- Limited steak menu
Harry & David show up last on our list only because they have a more limited selection of steaks when compared to some of the other companies on our list.
Because Harry and David are more focused on gourmet basket varieties, they offer less in the way of everyday meat options, yet they compensate with great easy order prepared meat.
With that said, they do have quite a few high-quality steaks to choose from, including their prime rib, bourbon, and peppercorn marinated steaks, and filet mignon of top sirloin.
Harry & David is located near New York City and ships throughout the country.
Quick Facts:
- Customizable gift basket selection
- Ships throughout the US
Buyer's Guide on Best Online Order Steaks
In our Buyer's Guide for the Best Online Order Steaks, we examined important things to make sure their steaks are really top-notch. These factors include:
- The flavor of the steaks
- The reputation of the butchers and farms
- Customer feedback
- Wide menu option
- Value for money
Because there are a lot of different delicious steak delivery providers, it was important for us to narrow down the top providers. These key considerations allowed us to objectively name the top businesses for steaks on the internet.
“The customer service at Butcher Box is only rivaled by their superior products. For anyone looking for top-quality, sustainable, humanely raised meats; this is the place!”
- Gretchen R., Verified Better Business Bureau Reviewer
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The Flavor of the Steaks
The flavor of the steaks will depend on many factors. Little is known, but how meat is handled will affect the taste.
When looking for a place to buy steak, how they handle their products could change their final flavor when cooked. Consider researching online steak retailers using flash-freezing methods for their meats.
Flash freezing is one of the best industry practices to contain the product within a short period. The temperature will affect quality and safety, resulting in better-tasting steaks.
How do you know if the steak is flash-frozen?
When delivered, you will see tiny ice crystals on the cuts. Cooking these means less moisture will leave the meat, making the steak have better flavor. If it has been sitting out before freezing, the water will instead pool or evaporate.
The Reputation of the Butchers and Farms
In terms of the reputation of the butchers and farms, it's great that the most trusted online sellers are honest. They share information about the farm where your steak comes from. This is different from lots of stores that bring in meat from other countries without you knowing.
Buying meat from old-school butchers will give you a level of transparency supermarkets can’t afford.
The best part is to vet the online company before buying from them. Sometimes, it takes a simple Google search to learn everything about their practices and sources.
Of course, you have to be discerning with the information you choose to believe. Look for telltale signs of deception before committing to a company.
Customer Feedback
Customer feedback might be crucial when it comes to mail order steaks.
If the company has only positive or negative comments, consider looking for another one. Some shady companies pay reviewers to leave only positive reviews to inflate their standing.
A company with far more positive than negative reviews is more believable. Also, check how they respond to these ratings. If they are respectful and promise to improve, you will likely get some excellent experience.
Wide Menu Option
If they have lots of choices, it's better for you because you can get everything you want from one place. This is even more important if the company doesn't have free shipping.
Value for Money
You can get great value for money if you shop your meat online.
Most online meat companies offer discounts when you buy meat in bulk. After all, it encourages you to buy more from them.
Think about their bundles and packages when looking for the company with the best online order steak. Choose the one with the highest discount rates.
If they can offer free shipping when ordering in bulk, the better. Ask about the company’s meat packaging to ensure your steak will remain fresh for a long while after delivery. It ensures freshness if you aren’t home when they get delivered.
FAQs
Is Ordering Meat Online Safe?
Ordering meat online is safe with reputable suppliers. Online food providers follow industry standards similar to offline restaurants, ensuring proper handling and frozen shipping.
Is It Better to Purchase Meat From the Supermarket or Butcher Shop?
In general, butchers offer better meats than the local supermarket, where meat may be frozen or injected with water. Butchers are more honest as they know they’re competing against big establishments, so they will offer the best quality to ensure you come back for more.
The #1 Online Steak Provider
After thoroughly reviewing over a dozen steak providers, we’ve narrowed down ButcherBox as the best. They are great not just for steaks but also for other types of meat, from ground bison to seafood.
Because they regularly deliver each month, you don’t have to worry about constantly going to the grocery store. This, combined with their free delivery, also means you can save on restaurant costs using high-caliber hormone and steroid-free meat.
You can select from different box options and can even customize your box based on your preferences. For high-caliber steaks regularly delivered to your door, check out ButcherBox.
#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 November
- No organ meat
References:
- https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/slaughter-cattle-grades-and-standards
- https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/01/28/whats-your-beef-prime-choice-or-select
As a steak lovers like me, mail-order steaks provide a wonderful option to savor delectable cuts while relaxing at home. Today, treat yourself to some delicious steaks. Strongly recommended!