Good Meat Is Not Cheap And Cheap Meat Is Not Good

Meat N' Bone was born with the premise of selling premium quality meats, particularly the best beef, at prices similar to what you will find at the supermarket. We define good meat as meat that comes from farmers who love what they do, with a care and respect for the animals who are raised to feed us.

We believe in working with farms that follow sustainable practices and are transparent. We also sell what you will not find in most grocery stores or local butchers; the kind of meat you would find at the best steakhouses in America. Dry aged, wet aged, hand-cut; Meat N' Bone is a place for meat lovers to celebrate meat. 

One of the challenges behind selling a premium product is educating the consumer, especially when the consumer is not usually exposed to the quality of product we sell.

What makes Meat N' Bone product so special? Why do you sell a Tomahawk Steak $74+ while my local supermarket sells it for $39.99?

All Meat Is Not Created Equal

Even if meat is categorized of a similar grade, it does not mean it is of the same quality. When we say "cheap meat is not good, and good meat is no cheap," we are just stating a fact; buying the best product usually comes at a premium.

While our prices are close or above to local supermarkets, you will never find a Tomahawk Steak at our store for $39.99 as you may find in your local Publix, Fresh Market or Walmart because when it comes to meat, you literally get what you pay for. There are enough options out there to find a lower quality steak. Meat N' Bone has focused on offering premium products at affordable prices (which does not necessarily mean cheap).

Meat Is A Commodity

This means that prices are not set by a single individual or entity. The price of commodities is set by supply and demand. Commodities are traded on exchanges such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

What does that mean for you as a consumer? It means that a comparable product will usually be priced similarly. For example, if you search online for meat from the top purveyors in the US, you will find that Meat N' Bone is similarly priced to them; heck, usually even below them but only marginally because we run an extremely LEAN business to be able to offer premium quality meats at supermarket prices. We keep costs low other areas of the business to keep our overheads low (e.g. our butcher shop is very minimal), so we can offer you the best product at the best price. Our product quality and consistency is one thing we will not compromise on.

Raising Healthy And Happy Cattle Is More Expensive

Raising cattle is expensive. Before that Tomahawk steak makes its way to your grill, a farmer spent 16-18 months nurturing, feeding and taking care of an animal. Happy cattle that are well fed, well cared for and raised with love will be more expensive than cattle raised under any other conditions. We pride ourselves in selling meat that comes from farmers that work hard every day to create safe, delectable, high-quality eats.

For example, at Ferry Farms in Michigan (pictured below), cattle has space to graze. Their diet is reviewed by a nutritionist and during winter, as temperatures drop, they are taken to shelter where they have a roof over their heads and heating systems. That has a cost.

Processing Good Meat Takes More Time

The farm and the environment where the animal is raised is just the beginning. We sell top quality product processed by experienced butchers who dry age ALL of our steaks to make sure they are tender and flavorful. After the primals (the big pieces of meat where steaks are cut from) are done aging, they are hand-cut and hand-trimmed, and then they are individually vacuum packed so that they continue a process of wet-aging to make the meat even more tender.

Cutting beef by hand and aging beef properly has a cost. Your local supermarket will usually age for only 5-7 days. Our average steak is dry aged for 21-30 days and then wet-aged for and additional 30+ days.

Fresh Meat Does Not Come Cheap

Last but not least, all of our product is extremely fresh. Our team uses sales analytics to forecast how much meat we will sell every week, and that is what we order. We keep our stock LEAN to be able to offer the best prices, but more importantly, so that ALL of our inventory is fresh. Even the products that we sell frozen have been sitting in our cooler for just a couple weeks. This is important because while vacuum-sealing is amazing, in a little over 60 days the freezer will start draining flavor from the meat.

Other online companies buy massive amounts of meat when supply is high, demand is low and prices are good. Then they freeze it and sell it to you over the next 6 months and call it "fresh." We do not condone the practice and that is not what we would call fresh meat.

This Is the Meat N' Bone Difference

Our margins are slim, so you will rarely find us offering discounts over 5%-10%. We believe that those who want the best quality are willing to pay a small premium and also believe that good meat is not cheap and cheap meat is not good.