11 Best Mail Order Steaks in 2024

best mail order steaks

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Until recently, if you wanted to buy the best quality steak, you were severely limited by where you lived.

Luckily we are now spoilt for choice, with a range of specialty butcher shops delivering restaurant-quality steak online.

Even if you live in a small town, these online butchers deliver steak to your door anywhere in the continental United States.

We’ve rounded up the best mail order steak companies in the country for buying steak (and a range of other meats) online.

Best Online Steak Delivery Companies

1. Best Overall – Snake River Farms

Read our full Snake River Farms review.

We first reviewed Snake River Farms back in 2019 and have been ordering from them ever since.

This family business specializes in American Wagyu, which comes from crossbreeding imported Wagyu cattle with American Angus. You end up with beef rated higher than USDA Prime (the best grade you’re likely to find at your local supermarket).

AgingAll American Wagyu is wet-aged for 21 days. Dry-Aged meat is aged for a minimum of 30 days
Minimum Order$49.00 of physical product
Shipping OptionsOvernight shipping, Express (1-3 business days) or schedule up to 4 weeks out
Free ShippingOrders over $175
Gift OptionsYes
CouponsEnter SMOKED15 at checkout to save 15% on orders over $99

Selection

On the Snake River Farms website, you can choose from a huge variety of cuts, including your typical steakhouse classics like Ribeye, bone-in new york strip, and filet mignon.

What really sets Snake River Farms apart is their selection of rare Butcher’s Cuts, including hanger, skirt, Delmonico, flat iron, and ribeye cap.

With most steaks, you can choose the weight in ounces or size in inches, so you know exactly what you are going to get. Some steaks allow you to pick the grade, either Black or Gold label, with Gold having the highest marbling score.

Ordering

Snake River Farms has one of the best websites out of all the companies we tested. Product pages contain all the important information about each cut, and you know the size and weight you will receive. During checkout, you can select your preferred delivery date, and they even offer overnight shipping if you need to make a last minute order.

There’s an option you can tick if you are sending a gift, and there’s space for to write “to”, “from” and a message.

Unboxing

Orders are shipped in a thermal bag in a recyclable box lined with insulated foam. Dry-aged products are shipped fresh, while other items are flash-frozen prior to shipment.

What we’ve cooked

We’ve tested and used a wide selection of Snake River Farms products in our steak recipes. You can check those recipes out to see the size and marbling of some different cuts.

2. Runner Up – Porter Road

Read our full Porter Road review.

These guys are more than just a mail-order steak company. Porter Road is a full online butcher, selling a wide range of beef, pork, chicken, and lamb.

Their meat is sourced from small family farms in Kentucky and Tennessee before it is cut and dry-aged for a minimum of 14 days at their facilities in Kentucky.

All beef is pasture-raised and hormone and antibiotic-free. Porter Road say they are more focused on how animals are raised than how it’s graded. There meat doesn’t have a specified grade, but they claim that when it’s been graded it comes back as either Prime or Choice Plus.

They are also focused on sustainability and ensure all meat is humanely raised

AgingAll meat is dry-aged for a minimum of 14 days.
Minimum OrderNo minimum spend
Shipping OptionsStandard (5-10 business days), 2 Day Air (3-4 business days) and Next Day Air
Free ShippingOrders over $125
Coupons10% off first order with email signup
Gift OptionsNo

Their steaks are quite affordable compared to the competition.

A 19oz bone-in ribeye will set you back $39, compared to $99 for a 15oz ribeye from Snake River Farms. Now the Snake River Farms Ribeye will have a lot more marbling, so it’s not a fair comparison.

Selection

You can shop from over 50 different cuts of beef including all the classic cuts.

One thing we love about Porter Road is the selection of interesting cuts like Flank Steak, Tri-Tip, Bavette, Denver, and beef neck roast.

You can also let Porter Road do the meat shopping for you with one of their curated meat boxes.

Ordering

You don’t get as much flexibility with choosing the weight or thickness as Snake River Farms. Each product will give you an estimated weight range that’s usually accurate.

You can choose from three different delivery options, although there is no way to pick an exact delivery date.

Unboxing

Most meat is shipped fresh with insulation and gel packs in a standard cardboard box. A few products like ground beef and sausage are shipped frozen.

The box we ordered in our test arrived with the ice packs still frozen.

3. Best for Japanese Wagyu – Holy Grail Steak Company

Read our full Holy Grail Steak Company review.

Until recently, it was impossible to buy legitimate, authentic Kobe Beef in America.

This is no longer true. Holy Grail Steak Company’s mission is to give everyone access to world-class steaks that were once only available in Michelin-star restaurants.

Minimum OrderNo minimum spend
Shipping OptionsStandard & Expedited
Free ShippingOrders over $199
Gift OptionsYes
Coupons15% off your first order with email signup

Selection

You can choose from an impressive selection of Japanese A5 Wagyu and Kobe beef. You’ve also got domestic producers including Upper Prime Black Angus beef.

They even stock a small selection of Australian Wagyu, which in our opinion strikes a perfect balance of exceptional marbling, while still being a steak you would actually want to grill up any night of the week.

If you want to treat yourself or a friend, the selection of curated steak flights offer a range of different experiences.

Steaks regularly sell out and the selection is updated often.

Ordering

The Holy Grail Steak Co website is well organised, with options to browse cut, collection (E.g. Japenese Wagyu, American Wagyu) or even drill down to specific Wagyu Programs.

On each product page you’ll find information about the producer, the weight to expect and for some cuts, you can choose from different sizes or marbling scale.

There’s an option to add a gift note during checkout and you can also select your delivery date up to 8 weeks in advance.

Unboxing

All steaks are aged, cut and then vacuum sealed and blast frozen to -30°F. Orders are shipped frozen with dry ice. The exterior of the box is recyclable and the interior is insulation is made from corn starch which can be dissolved in your sink.

The meat in the box we ordered was still nice and cold we when cracked it open, despite sitting outside in the heat for most of the day.

4. Best Small-Scale Farm – Vermont Wagyu

vermont wagyu raw ribeye steak

Unlike the other companies in this list, Vermont Wagyu is the name of an actual farm in the hills of Vermont overlooking the Connecticut River.

They started off with 20 100% DNA Parent-Verified Full-Blood Wagyu calves back in 2008.

They believe in raising cattle naturally without antibiotics or hormones and with one-two acre of pasture per cow-calf pair.

The ribeye steak I tried was one of the most richly marbled, best-tasting steaks I’ve ever had. I also found the Rump Cap (Picanha) equally delicious.

You can shop farm favorites, including Ribeye, Strip, and Tomahawk, or pick up something a little more rare, like a Chuck eye steak, Coulotte, Hanger, or Bavette.

I’ve found the service has always been superb, so if you are looking to support a small producer, you can’t go wrong with Vermont Wagyu.

5. Crowd Cow – Best for Grass-Fed Beef

Read our full Crowd Cow review.

Have you ever wandered the meat section of your local grocery store, and wondering where the meat comes from and why it costs so much?

That’s what gave co-founder Ethan the idea for Crowd Cow.

Crowd Cow acts as a marketplace to buy high-quality meat from farms and ranches around the world.

The folks at Crowd Cow meet with farm and ranch owners and then work with a select few.

You can shop by the cut of meat, and then select which farm you want to buy that cut from.

You can read more about each farm and its philosophy of raising meat.

For example, if you want to order the Bone-in Ribeye steak you can choose pasture-raised, grain-finished black Angus beef from Washington State or 100% grass fed from Birney Montana (among several overs).

Crowd Cow sells a range of grass-fed beef, but it’s also worth learning more about the different methods of raising animals. I learned that grass-fed and then grain-finished can be an excellent approach.

The price varies quite a lot from farm to farm, so make sure you shop around.

Your meat order is frozen at peak freshness, vacuum-sealed, and shipped in biodegradable, recyclable packaging.

There’s a lot more than just beef available. You can also grab wild Alaskan Salmon, American lamb, chicken, and pork.

You can also order authentic Wagyu steak from Kagoshima Farms in Japan.

6. Chicago Steak Company

Photograph: mychicagosteak.com

Like Omaha Steaks, the Chicago Steak Company has been around for generations and also offers a lot more than the name suggests.

You can order fish, chicken, pork, roasts, burgers and of course steak.

The main focus is dry aged USDA Prime steak, which represents the top 2% of all beef consumed.

All steaks are sourced from Mid-West raised heritage cattle, and then aged for four to six weeks.

You can order both wet-aged and dry-aged steak, depending on your preferences.

Cuts like the premium Angus filet mignon have been aged for 4-6 weeks and are graded top one-third USDA Choice or higher.

They also sell a range of American Wagyu.

You can find Chicago Steak Company steaks at some of the top steak houses around the USA.

7. Omaha Steaks

Starting all the way back in 1929 Omaha Steaks is the oldest company to grace our list of steak delivery services.

If you thought meat delivery was a modern invention that required any fancy technology, you would be incorrect.

Omaha Steaks started delivering mail order steaks all the way back in 1953 so it’s fair to say they know what they are doing. Only in more recent years have we started to see more Omaha steak alternatives pop up.

Despite having steak in the name, you can buy a huge range of meat, seafood, appetizers, desserts and even wine off their website.

Their gift baskets have also gained a reputation.

All meat is flash frozen, vacuum packed and shipped with dry ice in a styrofoam cooler. You can also get a phone and email alert to let you know when your meat has been delivered.

The catalog is huge, but the 30-day dry aged bone-in ribeye and new york strip are great options for steak lovers, as is the 21-day aged filet mignon.

If you really want to treat yourself upgrade to the private reserve Wagyu.

8. Kansas City Steaks

Originally started as a family butcher shop back in 1932, Kansas City Steaks moved over to the distribution side.

Nowadays you can order a full range of beef, ham, turkey, lamb, pork, seafood, and even sides.

The main event, of course, is the steak, which is wet aged.

You can shop by steak but (they have all the usual options), or by beef type including classic, USDA Prime, Grass Fed or American Style Kobe Beef.

You can’t go wrong with the USDA PRime Ribeye steak which has been wet aged for 28 days and ships with a free seasoning packet.

9. Debragga

Many of the top steak houses and restaurants in New York city order their steaks from Debragga.

While they are most famous in New York, they ship anywhere in the continental U.S.

There’s an impressive selection of meats to choose from, including Wagyu beef from Japan, and Wagyu style beef from Australia and the United States.

If Wagyu isn’t your thing, you can also buy all the usual steak cuts and choose if you want dry aged, prime, naturally raised or grass fed.

What’s the difference between naturally raised and grass fed you ask?

Grass fed beef is exclusively grass-raised and grass finished, while the naturally raised beef is grain finished.

10. Lobel’s of New York

To round out our list of best mail order steak companies, we have another classic New York based butcher shop that specializes in USDA Prime and American Wagyu.

Unlike several butchers in this list, Lobel’s ship their meat fresh, not frozen. The meat is vacuum-sealed and placed in Styrofoam cooler with frozen gel packs to withstand 48 hours of unrefrigerated shipping.

You can browse the full range you would expect from a dedicated butcher shop, including premium seafood, veal, lamb, pork and a huge selection of American Wagyu and natural prime beef.

11. ButcherBox

Rounding out our list we have ButcherBox. If you’re familiar with subscription boxes then you’ll already know the concept.

You can choose from a selection of curated boxes, or build your own then get it shipped to you for free every month.

A popular choice is The Mixed Box which costs $129 per month for 8.5 – 11 lbs of meat, or enough for 24 meals.

An example box includes:

  • 2 lbs of Ground Beef
  • 2 NY Strip Steaks
  • 4 Top Sirloin Steaks
  • 1lb of Whole Pork Tenderloin
  • 3lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

But once you subscribe the exact contents of the box change every week.

It’s a fun concept and makes a great gift for meat lovers.

Is online meat delivery safe?

If you’re looking for an alternative to your traditional local butcher or big chain supermarket (or you’re just lazy), getting meat delivered to your door seems too good to be true.

But is it actually safe to ship high-quality meat?

It turns out it is.

There are a few different methods online butchers use to deliver meat safely.

Most meat is shipped frozen, with insulated boxes and dry ice inside to keep the temperature cold.

Companies like Porter Road and Snake River Farms use bio-degradable insulation to cut down on waste.

Is it cheaper to buy meat online?

Generally, the meat you find from online butchers caters to the high end of the market.

This makes sense, people looking to order steak online are looking for a way to get their hands on the best quality grass-fed, Wagyu, or sustainable raised beef. Not save money.

Having said that, some of the companies in our guide are cheaper than others, so it’s definitely worth shopping around.

Wrapping it up

You now have no excuses for wasting money on cheap steak from the supermarket.

If you don’t have any good butcher shops near you don’t despair. We truly live in a golden age for meat lovers with the best butchers delivering amazing quality steak to your door.

You might also want to check out our guide on where to buy Wagyu Beef online.

If you’ve never ordered steak online before you should definitely give it a try. It’s a safe and convenient way to try steak that could previously only be tasted in the finest restaurants.

Not sure what steak to order? Check out our guide to the best steak for grilling.

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9 Comments

  1. Black Diamond Beef is the best grass fed meat I’ve ever ordered. I’m surprised it’s not on the list.

    1. Melanie K says:

      Black Diamond seems to be closed

  2. Martin Mena says:

    what about Grand Western Steaks used by Guga?

  3. This article was put online in February 2020, as the comments are dated February 2020… it’s October 24, 2021, so, does this ranking still apply to today? Just curious…

  4. J. Wakefield says:

    Tri Tails Beef out of Amarillo, Texas has the best and most reasonable prices,
    even in todays rising prices. I save a huge amount of money buying from them.
    Nice people to deal with & good service. They have a special on 6 each Ribeyes
    for $149.00 special I bought before Thanksgiving. Very tender & aged for over
    30 days

  5. Art Swersey says:

    You must be kidding. Omaha Steaks are the worst. There is no way you tried it or you would know how bad they are. The apple dessert was the only thing that was good.

  6. Have you checked out Rastelli’s? Their selection looks pretty good and still reasonably priced. I am still shopping around, so I have not tried anyone but Omaha, so far.

  7. Rick Lunn says:

    Where does Pat Lafrieda rank? Some of the best aged stteaks I have ever ordered.

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