{"id":10370,"date":"2023-01-23T06:44:51","date_gmt":"2023-01-23T06:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/?p=10370"},"modified":"2023-01-23T06:44:54","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T06:44:54","slug":"porter-road-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/porter-road-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Porter Road Review: Going All In"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Porter Road is one of the latest enterprises to get into the online meat delivery service and the company promises that its meat is life-changing. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it life-changing but I will give them extra points for delivering fresh meat, not frozen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a meat lover, I often had to shop for meat at several grocery stores and I always complain about how hectic it gets only to end up with a lackluster steak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two months ago, my little sister sent me a gift box from Porter Road that greatly improved my grilling<\/a> experience. Since then, I have ordered from Porter Road multiple times. I have also ordered meat from some of their competitors, including Snake River Farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is a detailed review of my experience with Porter road, from the ordering process to delivery and everything in between. Let’s get into it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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What I Like About Porter Road?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having used meat delivery a couple of times, there are a few things I have come to appreciate about Porter Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one, they clearly emphasize how humanely they treat animals. Crate-free pig rearing, chicken raised on grass, and hand-cutting their meat are signs that a lot of care goes into my meat. I like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also take care of their customers with great customer service. I’ve had to call them on two occasions and they were prompt to pick up and patiently addressed my concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another star is the wide variety of cuts like beef tongue and pork back fat that you can’t get from some of its competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also like that they don’t freeze their meat. Given that my package can take up to two days with express shipping, the meat won’t taste the same, especially considering that I would have to refreeze most of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When meat freezes, its moisture content reacts to these temperature changes<\/a> by expanding and crystallizing, affecting the natural structure of the meat. During the thawing process, these crystals damage the meat cells resulting in an unpleasant texture that you will definitely notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, I like to take advantage of their flat rate shipping for orders above $125 and their free shipping for subscriptions. They also offer generous discounts on gift cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Can Be Improved?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the many aspects of Porter Road, there are three areas that, in my opinion, can be improved on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first is that their limited variety of meats doesn’t compare to other online meat delivery services. Porter Road doesn’t have turkey or any seafood, which are both heavily consumed in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They don’t have wild game meats like bison, boar, and venison, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other is their high shipping cost for orders under $125 that are designed to incentivize customers to make orders that cost more. While it is an astute business strategy, it can limit consumers from enjoying their products when budgets are tight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is on Porter Road’s Menu?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Porter Road claims to sell only pasture-raised meat and chicken that is free of hormones and antibiotics. Their meat is usually clean and well-cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Porter Road’s selection of meats includes pork, beef, and chicken with a rich variety of cuts to choose from. Here’s a closer look at them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pork<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Porter Road offers 36 different pork cut options<\/a>. My personal favorite is the boneless pork chop which is just divine when served with fried rice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cuts include bone-in pork chop, pork tenderloin, brisket, jowl, pork butt, shank, short and spare ribs, rib tips, pork steak, picnic roast, pork bones, and pork back fat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For pork sausage lovers, choices include smoked links, Italian links, sweet Italian sausage, Memphis links, Bratwurst links, chorizo links, chorizo sausage, and Kielbasa links among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also have ground pork and ham.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Beef<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The star of Porter Road’s beef is their 35-day dry-aged beef that has a rich flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If ground beef is not for you, there is an array of grass-fed beef options including bottom round roast, filet mignon, brisket, shank, short ribs, neck roast, oxtail, short ribs, beef belly, osso buco, liver, rib eye, and top round roast that you can choose from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The variety of beef<\/a> steaks includes bavette steak, NY strip steak, Denver steak, flat iron steak, skirt steak, hanger steak, sierra steak, flank steak, and merlot steak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specialty cuts like tri-tip and picanha are also included in their beef selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also get steak tips, burger patties, bacon tips, fajita meat, stew meat, and beef tongue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry-aged hot dogs, beef bratwurst, and beef marrow bones for stock are also available.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Chicken<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chicken options include whole chicken, bone-in breast with skin on and boneless skinless chicken breast, bone-in thighs with skin on, drumsticks, and party wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can order chicken bones to boil or get chicken stock if you love soup.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Market Section<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Porter Road also boasts a robust selection of items in its market section<\/a>. They are mainly comprised of spices like different flavors of beef sticks, taco blends, and meat rubs for roasted and smoked dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two options for salami are also included. They are black pepper sorghum salami and Georgia blue Salami.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Where Does Porter Road Source Their Meats?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Porter Road meat is sourced from local farms that are close to its plant in Kentucky. This means that the products spend less time in transit between the farm, Porter Road’s facility, and your preferred cooking gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Porter Road meat is pasture raised and not caged. Additionally, they don’t use any antibiotics or hormones in their meats. The carcass is then transported and hand-cut at their Kentucky facility before being shipped to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Porter Road’s quality standards are noticeable in their tender pasture-raised, dry-aged meat which has an intense flavor. There is a deep yellow color in their free-range chicken and a dark pink hue in their pork cuts. These are classic signs of a pasture diet and ample outdoor exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What About Porter Road’s Subscription Boxes?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unlike some of its competitors, Porter Road doesn’t require you to subscribe to get the meat. You can make a one-off purchase or subscribe. This gives you a chance to try them out before committing to receive a regular order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subscriptions are on a 2, 4, or 8-week basis and you can cancel at any time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These subscription boxes are discounted and you can select custom add-ons that are the perfect addition to your subscription box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, there are 5 subscriptions to choose from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butcher’s Choice Box<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Starting with my favorite box, the Butcher’s Choice Box contains 2 pork chops, 2 dry-aged steaks, 2 sirloin fillets, a pound of dry-aged beef that I love for my breakfast sausage recipe, and a pound of pork bacon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weeknight Heroes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In this package, expect 2 pork chops, 2 pounds of dry-aged beef, a pound of taco blend, a pound of sweet Italian sausage, two 4 packs of dry-aged hot dogs, 2 sirloin fillets, and a pack of bone-in chicken breasts with the skin on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Of Porter Road Box<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This bundle contains a pound of bacon, 2 pounds of dry-aged ground beef, a pound of country sausage, a pound of chorizo sausage, and 2 dry-aged steaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steaks can be strips or ribeye depending on what is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beef Box<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In this package, you will get 2 pounds of dry-aged ground beef, 2 pounds of beef taco blend, two, 4 packs of dry-aged hotdogs, 2 premium steaks, and 2 butcher’s steaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beef And Pork Basics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This package contains 2 pork chops, 5 pounds of dry-aged ground beef, 2 pounds of ground pork, and 2 dry-aged sirloin fillets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is Porter Road’s Ordering Process?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Porter Road’s ordering process is pretty straightforward. It goes like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n