We’ve been an environmentally conscious household for quite some time, and our food is no exception. For philosophical and environmental reasons, we’ve considered a switch to an entirely plant-based diet several times. But both my husband and I have found a plant-based diet that incorporates meat and seafood a few times a week works best for our personal health and energy levels. And in all honesty, our daughters love a good flank steak. We do our best, however, to eat in a way that is kind to ourselves and the Earth. 

“Conventional meats aren’t the only option, and sustainably caught and sourced seafood is available.”

Thankfully, if you are like us and want to keep animal-based proteins in your weekly lineup, conventional meats aren’t the only option, and sustainably caught and sourced seafood is available. There are family farms and fishermen that implement responsible practices in all they do —- from treating animals with care and respect to working hard to protect the waters they love to fish in. The only question is access. Is there any easy way for a busy family to vet and procure high-quality and responsibly sourced meat? (Spoiler: Yes, there is!)

Because we choose to include small amounts of consciously-raised, animal-based proteins in our weekly diet, and finding sources can be daunting with our family schedule, we were intrigued and excited to hear about Good Chop. The company sources all its products from farms and fisheries committed to quality and sustainability and the taste and quality of their meat and seafood reflects this. Most of the seafood sold on Good Chop comes from Marine Stewardship Council or Aquaculture Stewardship Council-certified sources. 

“All of our meat comes from animals born, raised, and harvested right here in the U.S. Our wild fish is caught off American coastlines, and our farm-raised seafood comes from U.S. fisheries.”

– Good Chop

Moreover, we were excited to hear that Good Chop’s mission goes further regarding environmental impact, focusing on a more “local” aspect. “Many meat subscription services import their meat on huge cargoes from overseas, but we don’t play that game,” says the Good Chop team. “All of our meat comes from animals born, raised, and harvested right here in the U.S. Our wild fish is caught off American coastlines, and our farm-raised seafood comes from U.S. fisheries. Working with domestic producers allows us to reduce pollution caused by international transportation while supporting regional economies at home.” 

Our family eats home-cooked meals together five to six times a week, so having a freezer stocked with our favorite domestically sourced meat and seafood is certainly a plus when it comes to meal planning. After receiving a Good Chop box full of our personal selections and incorporating those into a week of our family meals, I’m excited to share my experience with you start to finish — from online ordering all the way to recipe suggestions.

How Does Good Chop Work?

Ordering

Good Chop is a web service that delivers responsibly raised American meat and sustainably sourced seafood products right to your door. The process is quick and easy. Once on the Good Chop site, you first choose one of two sized boxes that meet the needs and size of your household. Considering we only eat meat or seafood a few times a week, we started with the medium-sized box, and so far, it has been plenty for our family of four. According to the website, the medium box is suitable for individuals or small families and contains up to 36 portions or 14lbs. I’d say the medium box could get us up to a month’s worth of meat-centric meals.

“Good Chop is a web service that delivers responsibly raised American meat and sustainably sourced seafood products right to your door.”

After you’ve chosen your box size, you get to shop and customize, choosing from the types of meat or seafood and the various cuts. You pick up to six cuts of meat and seafood for a medium box ($149), which includes everything from Gulf shrimp to Alaskan cod to bacon, ground meats, and even pulled pork. The second size is a large box ($269) recommended for bigger families who like to keep their deep freezer stocked. A large Good Chop box will contain up to 72 portions or 28lbs, and you’ll choose 12 cuts of meat or seafood. 

For our box, we opted for various beef, chicken, and pork cuts. We also chose some cold water West Coast seafood since we thankfully have access to fresh, locally caught Gulf seafood where we live. One such fish was rockfish, which we’d never tried, and we can say it was delightful in our fish tacos! So much so that our picky eater asked for seconds. More on that later.

Once you’ve selected your cuts, you’re all set. There are no membership fees, and you don’t have to commit to a monthly subscription unless you want to. You can change your selections for each box you order and even go back and forth between medium or large sizes. 

Shipping + Delivery

As for shipping, with the Florida temps still high, I was concerned about the state of the product when the box arrived. Even though the dry ice was melted, the product was safe inside an insulated box. It was still frozen and went right into our freezer. Besides the plastic, the dry ice, and the vacuum-sealed frozen product, I found the packaging relatively low-impact. The box and padding were made from recyclable materials, and the box went right to our recycle bin. Our order was accurate, and each package was well-sealed. (I have had issues with this when using other meat delivery services!)

Tasting Our Picks

Beef — Grass-fed Flank Steak 

Although we limit our red meat intake to a few times a month, our whole family loves a good grilled flank steak, and it’s a bit of a treat for us. It’s one of the first meats we could get our daughters to eat. We generally do a few hour marinade, but this time, we wanted to really taste the flavor of the steak, so we kept it simple, just coating it with some salt and pepper and a little garlic powder before throwing it on the grill. The flavor was fantastic, which is not surprising given the quality of life of the cow. 

According to the Good Chop team, all the beef comes from farms where the cows have plenty of space to roam and access to grass pastures. Good Chop offers some excellent grass-fed, grass-finished beef from the Midwest, and grass-fed and grain-finished cuts are offered as well.

Pork — Pork Loin Roast and Thick-cut Uncured Bacon

Also for our box, we chose a pork loin which we haven’t had a chance to eat yet but we like to slow-cook it or even air fry it and serve it with crispy potatoes and good sauerkraut.

It is also worth noting that Good Chop threw in a pack of uncured bacon for us to try. It was truly thick and had such great flavor. It was perfect for use on our Sourdough BLTAs (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado).

We were especially excited to try the pork because Good Chop supports farms raising Heritage pigs. It’s nice to know some family farms are working hard to save original heritage breeds in addition to treating the animals well! According to the Good Chop website, their farmers keep their hogs in “climate-controlled barns where they’re safe from extreme temperatures and predators while having access to the right amount of food, veterinarian care, and attention.”

Chicken — Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts and Thighs 

While ground turkey is a new staple for Good Chop (previously it was only offered seasonally!), chicken is a poultry standard and offered year-round. It makes sense: chicken is the most consumed meat in our house, so we of course added boneless skinless chicken breast and chicken thighs to our box. 

We cooked the thighs as part of a one-pot orzo dish and loved the flavor they added. We only used one 10 oz pack of the amount sent, and the dish didn’t feel overwhelmed by chicken. It was just enough. We have two more packs left to enjoy and are looking forward to trying the breast, which is a favorite addition to our meal plan regular – chicken pesto pasta! 

According to Good Chop, the chicken comes from dedicated family farmers in Georgia, who take immense pride in raising chickens to provide you and your family with exceptional poultry. These chickens enjoy a free-range lifestyle and are nourished with clean ingredients like corn, wheat, barley, and soybeans.

Sockeye Salmon

We love seafood in our house, but it isn’t always a full embrace for my husband. Having spent time living in Seattle, he tends to be very picky about his salmon in particular. Nevertheless, he was very excited for me to add the wild-caught sockeye salmon to our box. Free from any chemicals or coloring, it promises to rival even his beloved Northwest salmon.

Rockfish

The fan favorite of our family so far has been the rockfish — a total surprise since none of us had tried it before! There were several filets sent, and we decided to lightly season it and grill it for use in our fish tacos. It was flaky, white fish with no “fishy” aftertaste which we compared to a Gulf Coast snapper.

Knowing that there was care taken in procuring this fish made our experience just that much better. Both of our orders were wild-caught, and we were well aware that overfishing is one of the biggest threats to our modern food system and Earth’s ocean health and biodiversity. Good Chop works with fisheries that carry a blue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label, guaranteeing that they are conscious consumers replenishing the ecosystems from which they take. For their farmed fish, Good Chop depends on American aquaculture which allows wild fish populations to recover.

What Makes Good Chop Different?

We found Good Chop to be quite different from other butcher subscription services we’ve used. First, they offer a considerable variety of cuts — over 60 — all sourced in the United States. This is fairly rare!

And while Good Chop meat products aren’t all organic or grass-fed, it is refreshing because the service allows customers to get sustainability-sourced products from humanely-raised animals on environmentally conscious and vetted farms without the premium price. Both box sizes seemed reasonably priced compared to other subscription services, offering a more attainable alternative for households. 

“The service allows customers to get sustainability-sourced products from humanely-raised animals on environmentally conscious and vetted farms without the premium price.”

To maintain sourcing standards, Good Chop works with partner farms that undergo third-party regular visits and audits to ensure they meet or exceed the strict guidelines, treat their cattle with respect, and use sustainable farming practices.

Overall, we enjoyed our Good Chop experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to do better on their meat and seafood sourcing but craving the convenience a delivery service offers. Good Chop provides an excellent option for those who want to support American family farms using sustainable practices and humane and compassionate animal rearing while enjoying an amazingly large selection of high-quality, flavorful meats. 

Key Takeaways

  • Supporting American livestock farms and sustainable fishing and aquaculture operations helps mitigate your food footprint. Good Chop is an easy way to do that without all the legwork to find reputable sources. 
  • Good Chop’s extensive selection of types and cuts of meat and seafood, all sourced in the U.S., offers customers great options for variety while reducing emissions compared to shipping from overseas.  
  • Good Chops portion and box sizes and its pricing make it a good choice for most household budgets. (Read: We had leftovers!)
  • Good quality meat and seafood delivered right to your door is a major plus for busy schedules. 

Psst…Good Chop is offering Good Trade readers $120 off across their first four boxes. Click the link or use code GOODTRADE120 as your promo code.

THIS STORY IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FRIENDS AT GOOD CHOP

Randi Donahue is a freelance writer who lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida and is fortunate to live right next to a glorious nature preserve and a few miles from a white sandy beach. She and her family are passionate about nature, health & wellness, and sustainable living and believe the path to a healthy and prosperous life requires authenticity, kindness, and a whole lot of fresh air.