Table of Contents 4-5 Welcome to ButcherBox! 30-31 Stew Beef 6-7 Grass-Fed & Grass-Finished Cheat Sheet 32-33 Ground Beef 8-9 Defrost + Storage 34-35 Ribeye Steak 10-11 5 Basics of Seasoning 36-37 Shaved Steak 12-13 Rubs & Marinades 38-39 NY Strip Steak 14-15 The Home Chef’s Toolbox 40-41 Filet Mignon 16-17 Cooking Temperatures 42-43 Premium Steak Tips 18-19 Cooking Icons Explained 44-45 Coulotte Roast 20-21 Beef Introduction 46-47 Tri-Tip Roast 22-23 Chuck Roast 48-49 Top Sirloin Steak 24-25 Denver Steak 50-51 Eye Round Roast 26-27 Flat Iron Steak 52-53 Beef Brisket 28-29 Ranch Steak 2 54-55 Pork Introduction 56-57 Pork Butt 58-59 Pork Tenderloin 60-61 Baby Back Ribs Don’t see one of your cuts in this handbook? Hop onto 62-63 Boneless Pork Chops butcherbox.com/recipes 64-65 Breakfast Sausage to discover: 66-67 Chicken Introduction • Detailed cooking instructions for every cut (up to 70, and more 68-69 Whole Chicken coming all the time!) 70-71 Chicken Thighs • Step-by-step recipes and videos from the ButcherBox test kitchen 72-73 Chicken Drumsticks and our favorite bloggers 74 Glossary • Tips and tricks for cooking quality meat in your kitchen 75 Thank You from ButcherBox! 3 3 4 Welcome to ButcherBox! I’m Yankel, Head Chef of ButcherBox, and I want to personally welcome you to the ButcherBox family. Your experience means so much to us — which is why we’ve created this handbook for you. We want you to get the most out of every ButcherBox you receive, and most importantly, embark on a whole new way of eating meat. I’ve spent most of my life cooking in restaurants, and I often get asked how I create my recipes. The answer is simple: Start with the highest-quality product and let the food speak to you. That’s why we go out to farms and ranches, and meet our partners face-to-face. We head out to the fields and pastures and get up close with the animals. We make sure our cattle, hogs, and chickens are raised humanely, and are free from hormones and antibiotics. To top it all off, we taste-test everything. Sourcing the absolute best product is our obsession. My job here at ButcherBox is to make sure that you’re fully equipped to prepare our meat like a pro chef. Cooking with grass-fed is easy — and we make it even easier for you. From tools of the trade to flavor profiles and cooking instructions for our most popular cuts, we’ve got you covered. Don’t be afraid to try something new! We work hard to make our products simple and accessible to everyone. We are so excited to have you join us on our journey towards better eating and a better world. Yankel Polak Head Chef ButcherBox 5 5 6 What does grass-fed, grass-finished mean? ButcherBox beef is guaranteed 100% grass-fed and grass-finished • Cattle live their entire lives on pasture eating their natural diet of grass • Never fed supplemental grain — some “grass-fed” cattle are actually grain-finished in feedlots, or fattened on grain quickly before slaughter • No antibiotics or hormones ever Why grass-fed? Health benefits • 100 fewer calories per 6oz grass-fed steak vs grain-fed steak • Lower in saturated fats but high in unsaturated fats like Omega-3’s and CLA’s (conjugated linoleic acid )— great for your heart, brain, and reducing the risk of cancer • Higher in vitamins and minerals Humane • Guaranteed humanely raised, and encouraged to roam free Environmental • Compensates for greenhouse gases emitted by cattle by locking it into the soil • We partner with ranchers who carefully manage farm biodiversity to protect water and soil + local plants and animals Taste • Grass-fed meat has more character! Cattle are much more active, so the beef develops more pronounced flavor — like wine grapes, grass-fed cattle carry the characteristics of the environment Our Pork & Chicken Like our beef, ButcherBox pork and chicken are in touch with their natural environments. We source heritage breed hogs, which are slow-grown and known for their exceptional flavor, while our chickens are free-range organic. Most importantly, our animals are never given antibiotics or hormones. Better than the supermarket stuff, our pork and chicken taste authentic. Find out more in our Pork & Chicken sections. Our personal standards are sky-high ― we never compromise on sourcing from farms with healthy and humanely raised animals, and the result is always a tastier product. 7 7 Defrost + Storage Raw meat should never be thawed on the counter, and must not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Doing so will result in an uneven defrost and promote the spread of bacteria. Do not remove meat from packaging until it has been fully defrosted. Defrosting in the Refrigerator Time: 1 lb of meat: Up to 8 hrs 3-4 lbs of meat: 12 hrs What you need: Plate with a lip / bowl / storage container What to do: Place the item you wish to thaw on the dish or storage container on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator. Storage [Refrigerator Method ] It is best to cook food immediately after defrosting. If you can’t, plan to cook your meat within these timeframes: Ground meat, stew meat, and poultry: 1-2 days. Steaks and roasts: 2-4 days. Food thawed in the refrigerator and still in its original packaging can be refrozen without cooking, although there may be some loss of quality. Defrosting in Cold Water Time: 1 lb of meat: 1 hr or less 3-4 lbs: 2-3 hrs What you need: Resealable leak-proof bag + large bowl What to do: Place the item you wish to thaw in the resealable bag. Submerge bag in a bowl of cold tap water, changing the water every 30 min. Storage [Cold Water Method ] Food must be cooked immediately and should not be left out. How do I know it’s fresh? Look: Discoloration is normal when meat is exposed to oxygen. Red or purple beef may turn brown. Touch: Some surface liquid is normal, but it shouldn’t feel slimy between your fingers! Pat dry, and smell it if you’re concerned. Smell: Meat will tell you when it’s bad. If it smells unpleasant, don’t use it! 8 9 9 Basics of Seasoning Enhance flavors, don’t mask them. Seasoning = Making food taste as good as possible! 1 Use quality ingredients and sufficient Here are 5 seasoning basics I’ve learned: salt to activate your taste buds. Get your palate to pay attention! Season in advance. 2 Salt and pepper on your meat the day before will draw out moisture, which in turn deepens the flavor. Sauce meat when it’s most absorbent - right after you cook. 3 Marinades keep meat moist while adding flavor and texture, but beyond the first few minutes, they don’t penetrate raw meat much. 10 Season throughout the cooking process. 5 You want the interior to be infused with as much flavor as the exterior, so that every bite is equally delicious. Keep tasting, too! For dry rubs, the only rule is there are no rules. 4 A dry rub is a blend of herbs and spices. Experiment with different flavors to transform something boring into a whole new experience. 11 11 Beef All-Pur pose Marinade Prep: 10 min Yield: ½ c 6 garlic cloves, minced zest of 6 limes 1 bunch cilantro, chopped ¼ c olive oil Mix all ingredients. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 months or frozen up to 6 months. 12 Chicken All-Pur pose Marinade Prep: 5 min Yield: 1 ½ c 6 garlic cloves, minced 1 onion, quartered 3 Tbsp rosemary, chopped 2 Tbsp thyme, chopped ½ lemon, with skin ½ orange, with skin ½ c olive oil Pulse all ingredients in food processor until blended. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 months or frozen up to 6 months. Pork All-Pur pose Dry Rub Prep: 5 min Yield: 1 c 2 Tbsp ground coffee, extra fine ground 2 Tbsp chipotle powder 1 Tbsp smoked paprika 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp mustard powder 1 tsp ground coriander 1 Tbsp brown sugar (optional) 1 Tbsp salt Mix all ingredients. Store in airtight container in cool, dry place for up to 1 month. 13 13 The Home Chef’s Toolbox Cooking like a pro means precision, and it is essential to have the right tools at your disposal. These will have your meat at the perfect temperature and texture, while working smoothly with your other kitchen equipment. Metal tongs are crucial to handling your meats without damaging or puncturing the surface. Why metal, you ask? The rule of the kitchen is that if it can melt, it will at some point, but metal withstands high heat. I prefer the kind that can stay closed — they’re easier to store. A wooden spatula with a flat edge allows you to deglaze a pan without scratching the finish. Rubber or plastic might work the same way, but remember that rule about melting? Wood works best here. Trussing and shaping roasts and steaks absolutely require food-safe kitchen twine. For big cuts and roasts, which tend to be irregular in shape, this string ensures even cooking. Control the food — don’t let it control you! In days of (y)ore, families needed only one cooking implement — the cast-iron skillet. The best tool to sear meat, it retains a tremendous amount of heat, can go straight into the oven and will last (several!) lifetimes.