Best online meat delivery services

Ginger Pig

Once you try a Ginger Pig sausage, you’ll struggle to buy them anywhere else. Ginger Pig rear animals on more than 3,000 acres of pasture and North Yorkshire moorland, working with a small group of like-minded farmers who supply their seven London shops. Good animal husbandry and welfare are at the heart of what the Ginger Pig does, because “livestock that is looked after well in the field will taste better on the plate.” Hear, hear.

Best for… Sausages, sausage rolls, top quality steak – and, of course, joints of pork.

Provenance Village Butcher

Provenance Village Butcher has long-lasting relationships with farmers. The farmers they work with have years of experience (and expert husbandry skills), and Provenance offer wonderfully flavourful poultry, beef, pork and lamb, as well as a range of festive butters, sauces, and ready-to-eat ham and charcuterie. Look out for the meat boxes and bundles, which make for a great gift, too.

Best for… The rib of beef and Iberico pork chops are stand-out, and the free range turkeys and turkey crowns for the Christmas season are farmed outdoors on small farms in Essex and Warwickshire. We also love the sage and orange dry brine for turkey and poultry.

Parson’s Nose

Parson’s Nose, a family-run butcher in London, won two stars at the Great Taste Awards for their turkeys which are reared at high welfare farm Walters Turkeys in Berkshire. Their big online selection of free-range meats is sourced from ethical farmers in England and Scotland, and you’ll find Scottish beef, excellent pigs-in-blankets and chipolatas and chickens from Suffolk and Somerset.

Best for… The Christmas box includes a turkey breast, gravy, cranberry sauce and all the vegetables you need for the big meal, which is mightily convenient. The Sutton Hoo chickens from Suffolk are particularly succulent.

Coombe Farm Organic

Everything from Coombe Farm is special, but the meat for which they’re renowned is their award-winning beef from retired dairy cattle – meat that would normally be rejected, yet one taste is enough to understand its quality: we’re talking seriously good, complex flavour. Not only is the meat organic and sustainably farmed, but Coombe Farm have also just scooped up a hat-trick of awards at the Great Taste Awards 2021. They’ve created an organic box for October, including pork loin, silverside, osso bucco and chicken legs – all for £40.

Best for… Beef, which has an intense yet sweet and mellow flavour due to its fat-marbling. The bacon, goat meat and charcuterie are outstanding, too.

Swaledale

A whole-carcass butcher, which works with a small group of family farmers rearing native breeds around the Yorkshire Dales. You may have seen Swaledale’s name on restaurant menus – their beef has a rich marbling of fat, giving it amazing flavour (the steak is second to none), and their pork chops and ribs are really very special. For Christmas, Swaledale offer an incredible range of beef rib, rolled sirloin and rump roasts, if you’re going for something different from turkey. The rumps range in size from 800g for 4 people up to 3.8kg that will feed 14-16. Their meat is expertly aged, butchered to order, then shipped in recyclable packaging to arrive with you in peak condition. Don’t miss their christmas range, with delivery slots still available on the 19th and 20th December.

Best for… These guys are well known for their pork, from Tamworth and Middle White pigs. But their beef too is grass-fed, slow-grown to maturity on the Yorkshire Dales, and the results are all in the flavour.

Pipers Farm

Quality and provenance are at the heart of everything Pipers Farm does. They work with 25 small-scale farms in Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall, and their whole-carcass approach to butchery ensures nothing is wasted. Our team have never been disappointed by a joint or cut of meat from Piper’s – their reputation goes before them.

Best for… The range is broad, but pre-prepared and stuffed birds, including cockerels, come highly recommended, plus you can get what they call ‘weird bits’ (love it), including bones for stock and offal that can be tricky to come by online.

Farmison & Co

Based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, Farmison prides themselves on working with traditional farmers, who raise heritage breeds on pasture. The meat is always free range, and herds and flocks are given time to grow rather than being rushed to market. The business was started by two restaurateurs, and as well as the fantastic range of meat, they also offer ready-made delights such as these festive specials: the Ultimate Beef Wellington and Duck Galantine.

Best for… The celebration food is stand-out. We love the ready-to-roll porchetta, and the trimmings such as pigs in blankets and chestnut and sherry sauce – all highly recommended.

The Ethical Butcher

A specialist online retailer focusing on the highest ethical standards of meat production. Many of the farmers the Ethical Butcher work with use regenerative farming methods, with animals being entirely pasture-fed. All orders are delivered the next day to ensure freshness.

Best for… The soy-free chicken is impressive (and comes with a great range of seasonings). The burgers are best-sellers that will knock your socks off.

HG Walter

As suppliers of hundreds of restaurants, it’s no surprise HG Walter can be relied on for impressive meat. They specialise in native breeds, such as Hereford and Aberdeen Angus cattle or Hampshire Duroc pigs  reared on small farms and grown slowly on a natural diet. Meat therefore has an excellent marbling of fat and, consequently, flavour. For quality this good, the prices aren’t as high as you might expect – and you can stock up on bones for stock, soups and sauces, too.

Best for… The beef fillet is truly wellington-worthy, and the range of lamb – both on and off the bone – makes for brilliant stews and curries. Check out their pantry items too.

field&flower

As farmers, founders James Flower and James Mansfield know what goes into producing quality free-range meat, and they’re committed to supporting traditional British farming… All the meat they sell comes from high-welfare animals fed a natural diet. Meat is dry-aged and hand-butchered to order, then prepped and packed the day before delivery. Can’t say fresher than that.

Best for… It’s all good, but the ethical wild game is a highlight.

Knepp Wild Range Meat

Knepp’s Tamworth pigs graze outdoors year-round, with lives that are worlds apart from intensively reared pigs. The farm has a low density of free-roaming animals whose behaviour and different grazing techniques provide opportunities for other wildlife. In other words, eating meat from Knepp helps contribute to nature conservation. Minimum spend for online orders: £50

Best for… The Tamworth pork is exceptional and sells at lightning speed.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Knepp Wild Range Meat (@kneppwildrangemeat)

Fir Farm

Fir Farm in the Cotswolds rear rare breed sheep and maintain the condition of the pastures by grazing in rotation with their cattle. They employ mixed farming – where crop production with grassland and grazing livestock are integrated, along with deeper rooting plants and composting – which helps to rebuild soil fertility and organic carbon levels. Call 01451 608900 to order.

Best for? Top quality lamb that’s big on flavour.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Fir Farm (@firfarm)