Cooks Venture vs ButcherBox (2023) Choose The Best Service

Last Updated On: April 19, 2023

I first tried meat delivery services when I ran out of meat preparing for a family party, and my local grocery store didn't have anything I was interested in.

During my time on a carnivore diet (15+ years), I've tried and tested all meat delivery options available on the market, including Cooks Venture and ButcherBox.

Today I'll talk about my experience using these two meat delivery services.

I'll explain the main differences, features, shipping, and, most importantly, meat quality so you can choose the right meat delivery service.

ButcherBox vs Cooks Venture: Key Differences

The main difference between Cooks Venture and ButcherBox is that ButcherBox has a selection of five subscription boxes, while Cooks Venture has only one.

ButcherBox has four boxes of pre-selected meat, meaning you don’t get to choose the individual cuts you’ll receive. They also have a custom option where you can choose up to 25 cuts of meat yourself.

On the other hand, Cooks Venture has only one box option. You can choose between two box sizes, where you can choose between 6 or 12 pieces.

Also, ButcherBox is a subscription service, meaning a box of meat will be delivered each month. You’ll always have a steady supply of meat.

Cooks Venture isn’t a subscription, but you must make a new order whenever you want a new box.

Comparing Their Features Head to Head

1. Meat Selection

Cooks Venture

Cooks Venture’s meat selection includes chicken, beef, lamb, and pork. The company started by raising pasture-raised heirloom chickens and selling chicken boxes.

Heirloom is a special breed of chicken that lives outdoors, is slow-growing, and is usually smaller than other chickens.

Also, heirloom chicken has to come from a breed recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA). These breeds can be traced back several generations [1].

Recently, Cooks Venture farm started selling other pasture-raised cattle, so now they also sell beef, lamb, and pork. They currently don’t offer any seafood, but they plan to include it soon.

ButcherBox

ButcherBox’s meat selection includes beef, chicken, pork, and seafood. Here’s an example of their popular offerings:

New York strip steak
Pork loin
Whole chicken
Ribeyes
Sausages
Ground beef
Salmon
Ground pork
Boneless pork chops
Pork tenderloin
Japanese Wagyu beef
Humanely raised pork
Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts

ButcherBox doesn’t offer lamb, and both Cooks Venture and ButcherBox don’t have any cured or game meats.

2. Box Options

Here’s what boxes you can get from both of these services.

Cooks Venture

Cooks Venture lets you choose between two box sizes:

Regular $159 — You choose 6 items. The box weighs between 10 to 18 lbs.
Large box $289 — You choose 12 items. The box weighs between 20 to 36 lbs.

Their chicken offering includes:

Whole chicken
Chicken wings
Ground chicken
Chicken drumsticks
Boneless, skinless chicken breast
Pasture-raised chicken broth

Their beef offering includes:

Ribeye steaks
New York strip steaks
Sirloin steaks
Ground beef
Chuck roast
Beef tri-tip
Stir-fry sliced beef
Beef brisket
Boneless pork chop
Ground pork

Their lamb offering includes:

Ground lamb
Lamb leg steaks
Boneless lamb roast

You can choose between 6 of these for the regular box or 12 for the large box.

ButcherBox

ButcherBox offers five different boxes you can choose from:

Custom box — Comes in two sizes:
1. 9 to 14 lbs $159
2. 18 to 26 lbs $288
Mixed box — A selection of beef, chicken, pork, and sustainably sourced seafood.
Beef and chicken
Beef and pork
All-beef box

Mixed box, two meat boxes, and all-beef boxes all come in two sizes:

8 to 11 lbs $137
16 to 22 lbs $253

The larger option is good for big families, as you’ll be stocked with meat for the whole month.

CLICK FOR BEST PRICE

3. Meat Sourcing

Cooks Venture

Cooks Venture has 800 acres of farmland in Arkansas. This is where they first started growing organic chicken. They work together with crop farmers and grow cattle using regenerative farming practices.

“Most of us aspire to eat food that is good for us, but many of the buzzwords that we see on food labels no longer mean what we think. At Cooks Venture, we are committed to providing food for you and your family that is unparalleled in quality and taste while leaving the earth better for the next generation.”
- Matthew Wadiak, Cooks Venture CEO & Founder

Here’s how they source their meat:

Beef — Grass-fed beef and grass-finished [2]. The cattle can roam freely on pastures and aren’t given hormones.
Chicken — Free-range organic chicken, non-GMO project verified. The chicken is air-chilled for crispier meat, antibiotic-free.
Lamb — Grass-fed and grass-finished. Cattle can roam pastures freely and are never given corn or corn by-products.

Cooks Venture puts a lot of emphasis on regenerative farming. Their cattle are allowed to roam and eat a natural diet of grass so that they can restore grasslands and have better land management.

ButcherBox

ButcherBox says they source their meat from small farms. These are family farms and ranches across the US. They also source their beef from Australia.

Here are ButcherBox farming practices:

Beef — 100% grass-fed beef. Their cattle are humanely raised and never given antibiotics or hormones [3]. This is pasture-raised beef, so the cattle are allowed to roam all their lives freely.
Pork — Raised crate-free. This is humanely-raised pork, which means the pork comes from breeds such as Duroc, Berkshire, and Chester White. This pork has a slower maturation process, so the meat has better marbling.
Chicken — Pasture-raised chicken that’s USDA-certified organic. Chickens are raised in a sustainable environment and have access to the outdoors.
Seafood — Includes wild-caught Alaskan salmon, sea scallops, lobster, cod, and halibut. Seafood is sustainably sourced to ensure there’s enough for future generations.

4. Shipping and Packaging

Cooks Venture

Cooks Venture ships to all 50 US states. However, there’s no free shipping for Alaska and Hawaii.

They use FedEx and UPS for shipping, and your order will arrive between 7 to 14 days.

The orders are sent on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. As soon as the order is dispatched, you’ll receive tracking information via email.

My order arrived in 7 days, slightly longer than other meat delivery subscriptions I used.

You don’t have to be at home to accept the delivery, and the meat can stay outside for up to 12 hours.

Cooks Venture meat is sent frozen and individually vacuum-packed. The boxes have insulation, and they also include dry ice.

Frozen whole chickens can stay in the freezer for up to a year, and defrosted can stay in the fridge for up to 7 days.

One thing that they offer that I liked is their Cooks Venture Guarantee. Each purchase of their heritage breeds meat comes with a guarantee.

If your order arrives damaged, is missing, or isn’t packaged well enough, you can contact them, and they will rectify the situation.

ButcherBox

ButcherBox delivers to 48 US states — except for Hawaii and Alaska.

They will send your meat box in the 3 to 7 days you place the order. I received mine after 4 days.

You have the option to cancel fee-free if you don’t like their box. You’ll receive a new delivery every month if you decide to continue.

Apart from offering free shipping, they also have a lifetime offer of free ground beef — as long as you subscribe, you’ll receive free ground beef.

ButcherBox also sends an email with tracking information, so you’ll know exactly when your box will arrive.

My order arrived in an insulated cardboard box. Each cut of meat was flash frozen and vacuum-packed.

There was also dry ice to ensure the meat didn’t exceed 40 degrees.

I wasn’t home when the package arrived so the box was outside for about two hours and was still frozen when I opened it.

You can also set how often you want meat delivered with ButcherBox. They offer a delivery every four, six, and eight weeks.

Stand Out Features

Cooks venture and butcher box side by side and a worker with food boxes in between

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that ButcherBox has a gifts section.

Here they offer a range of special boxes. This comes in handy when you’re tired of eating the same beef, pork, and lamb every day.

These boxes also contain high-quality products and are a great gift for yourself or another meat lover.

Here’s what you can choose from:

St. Patrick’s Day box $79 — You can celebrate the holiday with a combination of Irish-American meat, such as grass-fed beef brisket.
New products box $119 — Be the first to try their new products, such as charcuterie meat, sausages, and sustainably sourced seafood.
Celebration box $139 — A great choice for a party.
Fully cooked box $129 — Get a selection of already cooked meat.
Beef variety box $155 — A curated selection of beef.
Seafood box $149 — A curated selection of sustainably sourced seafood.
Ultimate variety box $149 — Includes different cuts of beef, chicken, and pork.
Mini box $94 — If you have a smaller family or want some meat just for you.
Chicken sampler $129 — Includes whole chicken and different chicken cuts.

What Breed Are Cooks Venture Chicken?

Cooks Venture chicken are Naked Neck Buff, Delaware, and a Peterson family heirloom bird.

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ButcherBox vs Cooks Venture: What’s Better?

My vote for the best meat delivery goes to ButcherBox. This delivery service only sources the highest quality meat from small farms.

They send frozen meat in eco-friendly packaging, which you can recycle so that there’s less environmental waste.

You can choose between larger family packs and have more than enough pounds of meat for the whole family or a smaller pack, which is a good choice if you don’t have enough freezer space.

Finally, you can opt for one of the pre-selected boxes or pick each cut of meat yourself. You have total control and flexibility.

Click here, and order juicy, top-notch meat today.

#1 Meat Delivery Service

ButcherBox