Grass Roots Meat Box is a monthly subscription box of grass-fed beef, pasture raised poultry and more. You pick what you like and need, and it comes shipped to you monthly. When we eat meat (and we don’t eat a lot of it) I am picky with what we buy. However, it can be hard to find quality sources, even in large grocery stores. I find locally, that while I can find grass-fed ground beef, grass-fed steaks are hard to source. I had a chance to try out their subscription box, getting to choose the meats we prefer, and also had a chance to see how their service works. We had a fun time making many meals, and especially a huge batch of hand-crafted soy-free beef jerky, which you can find the recipe below.
What is Grass Roots?
A farmer-owned, sustainable livestock cooperative. We sell the best pasture-raised meats on the planet, shipped from our farms straight to your door.
How is a co-op different from a typical business?
It means the farmers have an ownership stake in the business, and that we pay fair, living-wage prices to our farmers.
What kind of meat does Grass Roots produce?
We grow the most natural, healthiest grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken, forested pork, and pasture-raised turkey.
What’s different about how you raise your animals? Our animals are 100% pasture-raised, so they live outdoors with fresh air and thick grass their entire lives. This means they are never crammed in indoor cages like most farmed animals, and instead live natural healthy lives.
What’s better about “pasture-raised?” Our animals get a varied diet and lots of exercise, making their meat much more flavorful. Our chickens scratch and hunt insects, our pigs root for grubs and acorns in Ozark forest (thus we call it “forested pork”), our cows munch on a variety of fresh grasses and never eat grain. We rotate our animals daily to enhance the land, restoring valuable nutrients to the soil.
Our meat is healthier because our animals are never given hormones, unnecessary antibiotics, or other additives. Our standards are considered “better than organic,” because organic certification can still allow unsanitary factory-farmed conditions. Did you know that “free range” chickens usually live their entire lives indoors, with a tiny “access door” to the outdoors that they never use? Not on our farms! You can read more here: About sustainable farming
Where are your farms located?
Our farms are based in rural Arkansas, each farm and location is listed here.
Why is buying from small farmers important?
Small farmers do things the right way. We have superior quality control on our meats, unlike big agribusinesses that regularly send sick animals to slaughter, have contamination problems, etc. You get a healthier product buying from the small farmer, and know exactly where your food is coming from. Plus, purchasing direct from Grass Roots farmers creates living-wage jobs in one of the lowest-income rural areas in the nation. Small scale, sustainable farming is an important way to support rural economies and support diversity in our agricultural system.
How can customers know where their meat is coming from?
We track 100% of our products using blockchain technology, at every stage of production. This creates a bulletproof record as the product travels through our value chain.
How does the blockchain tracking work?
You can scan our packages with your smart phone and see the journey from farm to hauler to butcher to packaging to shipping to plate. We’re the only meat company in the world that is doing this for 100% of our products.
How does ordering work?
It’s easy! Visit here and build your custom box by adding items to your cart.
How does my meat arrive?
Your meat arrives frozen inside an insulated tote, in a cardboard box lined with corn-based, biodegradable foam. We pack with lots of dry ice in the box to keep every frozen during the journey.
Enjoy our favorite recipe for hand-crafted beef jerky. Our recipe is soy-free so our youngest can enjoy this high protein treat.
Beef Jerky
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds flank steak
- 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2/3 cup coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
Directions:
Thaw frozen flank steak until partially thawed (in refrigerator).
Remove steak from refrigerator, trim any visible fat, and thinly slice the meat with the grain, into long strips.
Add meat strips and remaining ingredients into a one gallon zip top bag. Seal tightly, pushing out any air. Shake gently to combine. Place bag in refrigerator for 6 hours to marinate.
Drain the marinade and toss, lay the meat strips out on dehydrator trays with plenty of space around each piece.
Dry at the hottest setting (ours tops out at 158°), rotating trays as needed for even drying every hour, until the jerky is done (which depending on meat thickness and humidity, can take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours. We usually run our dehydrator overnight).
Let cool, then store in a tightly sealed mason jar for up to 3 months.
Enjoy as a savory protein snack!
Note:
Read liquid smoke’s ingredient list. The ugly old school brand has a very simple list, the fancier brands often contain ingredients like wheat. If you have fish allergies, there is a vegan Worcestershire sauce that is free of anchovies.
FTC Disclaimer: We received product for potential review. All thoughts are ours.