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.

Porter Road Review: What to Expect

Ordering from Porter Road is a fairly straightforward experience. However, if you’ve never purchased meat online, you may not know what to expect or even how it works.

Unlike other companies that sell meat, Porter Road does not allow you to schedule a meat delivery. They don’t express why but I’m assuming it has to do with the availability of their dry-aged meat.

From browsing over the course of a month, I saw that their stock ran out daily. With that said, their inventory is also regularly updated.

During the week I planned to purchase, I noticed that the Brisket (both trimmed and packers), Tri-tip, and Picanha seem to be out of stock the most.

Be sure to check-out my smoked tri-tip recipe with their Tri-tip!

Even for this order, I wanted to get one of their whole trimmed briskets but it was sold out when I went to pay. After waiting 2 days, their email notification system let me know it was in-stock and I paid for the order.

Porter Road Shipping

Something I particularly liked when I ordered from Porter Road was how fast they got the order ready.

I bought a total of 8 things and I paid for the order November 9th, 2021 at 3:05 PM. I was updated/notified via email at 5:06 PM that the order was on the way.

The order then arrived on November 12th – The day of delivery you’re notified via their Shopify system that the order is on its way.

The package arrived via UPS; It was packaged in a recyclable cooler with 4 cold packs – 2 on the bottom of the meat as well as 2 on top of the meat.

The cold packs do not make direct contact with the meat as they’re wrapped in what appears to be brown, wrapping paper.

All items arrived cold to the touch and safe. I transferred 2 of the cuts to my refrigerator and the other 6 cuts to my freezer as there’s no way I would be able to cook and eat 7 cuts of a steak and a brisket on my own or in a timely manner without spoilage.

The Meat Arrives Ready to Use

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.

As meat freezes, the water in the cells will expand as it turns to ice crystals. As the crystals form they rupture these cells.

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.

I put my Flat iron steaks in my refrigerator the day they arrived. I then dry-brined them with kosher salt and pepper and grilled them two days later for my Dad and myself.

He prefers his steak rare, where-as I prefer my steak medium-rare; Both steaks were exceptional in terms of juiciness and flavor.

The next day, I took the blade steak out of the freezer and allowed it to thaw in my refrigerator.

After allowing a day to thaw, I took it out of the vacuum packaging and salt and peppered the steak. I allowed the steak to dry-brine for two hours and then grilled the steak and shared it with my father again.

Super beefy, tender, and delicious.

Overall, their dry-aged steaks are some of my favorite and If I’ve ever after that “nutty” sort of funk in a steak or cut of meat, I opt to go with Porter Road.

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 Meat Selection

Something I particularly like about Porter Road was that they have a good selection of cuts for a variety of different animals; Particularly for beef.

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

A lot of the cuts they sell I don’t have access to where I’m from. I also don’t have a butcher near me that can cut them up.

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

I will note, the main reason I opted to go with only 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 fair – again though, shipping cost obviously becomes a factor.

Grading?

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.“

Porter Road

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?

All things considered, Porter Road is definitely worth giving a shot.

So far I’ve been really impressed with the three steaks I’ve grilled and the brisket I’ve smoked.

If you’re after that sort of nutty, funky dry-aged beef flavor, Porter road should be at the top of your list.