The Best Meat Gifts We’d Give Any Griller, Steak Lover, or Pitmaster
Yes, meat gifts are the only gift worth giving.
Reviewed by Eunice Lucero-LeeDeputy Editor, Deals and Trends
Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. We may earn a commission through links on our site. Why Trust Us?
WE ARE IN high meat season: America’s turning 250, summer barbecues are aplenty, ballpark hot dogs are being consumed, and World Cup tailgates are a daily occurrence. Summer might just be the season of the meat lover, myself being one of them.
I’m no pit master, but I’ve tested plenty of kitchen and cookware in my loving pursuit of perfecting my grilling and smoking skills. When it comes to meats, there’s a lot of noise about what can yield the perfect steak or what cut of meat offers the best umami flavor. I’m not here to debate those granular points; however, I can tell you what gets me most stoked about red meat. The following makes a great gift for any meat lover in your life, or keep the goods for yourself.
Best Meat Boxes
With all that meaty accouterment, here’s what you’ll prepare, grill, and/or smoke. These online butcher shops are more than just your standard subscription box: choose single cuts of Wagyu, curated gift boxes, and even merch.
These meat delivery services offer a wide range of options and shipping methods to deliver premium cuts of beef (and other proteins) to avid meat eaters. Buy and try as you please, stock up on your favorites each month with a custom subscription, or give them as a gift.
Best Meat Boxes for Meat Lovers
Porter Road offers a variety of prime, dry-aged beef—a huge crowd pleaser that’s also affordable. Dry-aged beef undergoes temperature-controlled aging before being trimmed and cut. It has an excellent variety of gift boxes and samplers, which takes the guesswork out of picking cuts.
Butcher Box is one of the best known brands for meat delivery and its pasture-raised, grass-fed beef is sourced from Australia and the U.S. Getting set up with a monthly subscription is
Meat N’ Bone co-founder Gabriel Llaurado recommended the picanha, but rest assured, anything you pick will be good. The brand has an expansive selection of Wagyu cuts that yield delicious results whether you’re grilling, searing, or smoking.
Simply put, Wagyu beef is beef from cattle bred in Japan, known for its excellent marbling (the little white lines of fat you see in steak). When cooked, those muscle fibers break down, adding flavor and tenderness to the meat.
Lengua—Spanish for tongue—looks gnarly, but it’s my absolute favorite dish my grandma makes. I couldn’t find it at my local butcher shop, so I was excited to see it available from Eagle Rock. If you want to try your hand at something different, I highly suggest trying this cut.
Between summer barbecues, beach days, and America’s 250th birthday, there’s a lot of opportunity for hot dogs. This pack includes plenty, along with cheddar bratwursts and jerky. I’ll always revere Ball Park Franks, but better dogs exist.
Best Meat Accessories
Getting a grill or smoker setup is the bulk of the battle, but these top shelf meat accessories will elevate the experience. These are the top five picks I personally use and love.
Beef tallow got a lot of attention recently, but we keep it simple: Use beef tallow for extra crust on steaks, making fries, and crisping veggies. The high smoke point means it won’t burn, and the tallow adds a meaty kick to any dish. And yes, you can even use it as a moisturizer.
Lodge has been around since 1896—you've got to respect that staying power—and knows how to make great cookware. It forges all its cast iron in the US for durable pans that’ll last for generations.
The Blacklock line comes triple-seasoned from the factory, so there’s no pre-seasoning fuss. Take it out of the box and start searing immediately. It’s our top pick of cast-iron skillets available.
Seriously, this thing is an absolute unit of peppering. The multiple grinding blades and overbuilt construction earn this mill the elevated moniker of “cannon”. You can adjust the grind size to perfectly season varying cuts of steak, and it only takes a couple of turns. Ever crank a mill and wonder if you’re even getting any seasoning out of it? That ends with the Männkitchen.
I don’t know how I went so long without using a meat thermometer. The Meater Plus gave me the precision I needed to reverse-sear a medium-rare filet mignon and ensured I didn’t dry out the chicken. The paired app is intuitive and user-friendly, and the charging station takes up very little space in the drawer.
A big tub of fancy salt has myriad uses, especially for an avid meat eater. This Icelandic flaky salt is the perfect seasoning for a Ribeye or can quick-brine chicken before it’s smoked. The course texture also helps form that perfect crust when searing.
Shop More of Our Favorite Gifts
Best Gifts for Men Under $50 | Best Golf Gifts | Cool Gifts for Dad | Best Gifts for Men | Best Camping Gifts | Best Fitness Gifts | Unique Gifts for Him | Best Tech Gifts |
Danny Perez is a Reviews Editor for Popular Mechanics with a focus on men's style, gear, and home goods. Recently, he was coordinator of partnership content at another product journalism outlet. Prior to that, he was a buyer for an independent men's shop in Houston, Texas, where he learned all about what makes great products great. He enjoys thrifting for 90s Broadway tees and vintage pajama sets. His spare time is occupied by watching movies and running to impress strangers on Strava.
Eunice Lucero-Lee is the Deputy Editor, Deals and Trends, for Best Products, Popular Mechanics, Runner’s World, Bicycling, and Biography. Her obsession with beauty and pop culture keeps her on top of the latest trends and viral online finds, which can also be seen in her work spearheading the Hearst Enthusiast Group’s sales and deals content. Her editorials have been featured in publications like Cosmopolitan, Esquire, The Numinous, woman&home, and Sparkling, among many others. A former music editor, she pioneered Asia’s first-ever English-helmed K-Pop magazine and has extensive experience with celebrity profiling and red-carpet reportage. She is based in Manhattan where she watches Scandi-noir crime procedurals with her cat.
Readers Also Read
So, You’re About to Become a Soccer Fan
The 30 Best Gifts for College Guys
35 Dorm Room Ideas to Start Campus Life Off Right
Gifts for Guys Under $50
