Porter Road Review: From an Actual Customer

Original Date of Review: 11/18/2021

After being targeted by Porter Road’s Facebook advertising/marketing efforts for over a year, I decided I wanted to give them a try.

I’ve also been looking for a place to source new cuts of meat from so that I can write about them on Barbecue FAQ.

The Meat Arrives Ready to Use Which is OK But..

Porter Road – unless otherwise stated – does not freeze their meat.

This is because they want the meat to arrive at your doorstep as fresh as possible.

While I understand the reason for it – if you’re buying a lot of meat – you’re going to have to freeze it regardless.

The orders I do with them are always large because it saves on shipping (more on that below).

The reason they don’t freeze the meat:

When the meat is thawed, the ice melts resulting in a certain amount of liquid loss that will affect juiciness and flavor.

If you’re not able to use the meat on that day or in the next couple of days – like me – you should freeze the meat to prevent spoilage.

If You’ve Never Tried Dry Aged Beef, This is a Good Way to Test

I do think places like Snake River Farms have good cuts of steaks that are comparable and so does Wild fork Foods but neither are dry aged and that flavor is awesome.

You get that sort of “nutty” funk flavor that’s really tasty and compliments the beef well – the best way to describe it is umami.

Really all you need is salt or pepper and that umami funk and you’re good.

Overall Good Changes to Shipping

12/14/2023: Porter Road now does what they call “Flat Rate” Shipping.

Meaning, depending on where you’re from, you receive a flat rate when you spend over $125.

So I’m from New Hampshire, if I bought $125 worth, I’d pay $15 in shipping.

They have a map that shows the various regions and flat rate costs.

Essentially if you’re out west, you pay $40. If you’re from New England you pay $15. If you’re from the middle of the United States, you get free shipping.

Again, all the above requires you to spend $125. If you don’t, you’re charged more in shipping ($24 is what I’m charged in New Hampshire.)

While this system is different from when I originally ordered, it also doesn’t feel like you’re penalized (or incentivized) for ordering a single item – which I originally noted in my review back in November 2021.

Now when I order, I can buy 1 item and I’m either charged $15 (flat rate) or $24 for shipping.

Porter Road Has Unique Selections for Beef

For a while, they were the only ones selling “Thors” hammer or “Volcano beef shanks” – which are just frenched shin bones from a cow.

Wild fork foods now sells these.

Upon re-looking often they have:

• Beef belly
• Beef bacon (+ bacon ends)
• Oxtail
• Beef liver
• Heart steak
• Different blends for burgers like smash burgers
• Vacio (combination of inside & outside skirt steak, bavette and flank)
• Pork brisket
• Pork wings
• Pork Flank
• Pork short ribs

These are all pretty uncommon cuts that you’d never find in your grocery store.

This is because Porter Road practices whole animal butchery – meaning, nothing goes to waste; They also run out daily and restock Monday – Friday.

Their current selection includes beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and sausage.

The main reason I typically only buy beef cuts is because I’ve never noticed a difference between my grocery store’s pork and chicken and online butcheries (besides price).

Simply put – in my opinion – chicken is chicken and pork is pork.

Porter Road’s prices for these types of meats are still pretty fair though.

Porter Road Doesn’t List Grading BUT it’s Very, Very Good

Porter Road does not grade their meat.

However, this practice is not uncommon for online meat delivery services or independent butcheries.

Below is an image of their brisket’s marbling – which is fantastic.

In the United States, grading is voluntary, where-as inspection for “wholesomeness” is mandatory as per the United States Department of Agriculture. Wholesomeness is paid for by Tax dollars, where-as grading is paid for the meat producers/processors.

Meaning, meat producers like Porter Road and their constituents are required to have their meat inspected for wholesomeness. Where-as they likely save their customers and/or themselves money by not having their meat USDA graded.

To quote their frequently asked questions page:

“…we do have a USDA inspector on-site every single day to ensure proper meat handling…Due to the small size of our farms and processing operation, we do not get all of our beef graded. When our farmers have opted to grade their meat, it has come back as either Prime or Choice Plus.“

Rather, they go based off of word-of-mouth for the quality of their meat. As someone who has now purchased and cooked with their meat, it’s great.

Should You Buy From Porter Road?

I think their beef is great and if I ever want to try something unique – I’ll typically check Porter Road first to see what they have.

Again, I don’t buy chicken or pork much but they do have some unique pork cuts that you won’t find anywhere else.