How is the jerky in your subscription box sourced?

It can be challenging to keep your pantry, glove boxes, and pants pockets full of beef jerky without making near-constant trips to the store. That is, unless you get a curated snack subscription box that brings you fresh, handcrafted jerky every month.

Jerky is the perfect gift for any meat lover. Check out these curated jerky subscription box that deliver the best of America’s small-batch artisan jerky makers right to your door.

Grass-Fed Beef

The way cattle are raised can have a big impact on the taste and nutrition of the beef they produce. Grass fed cattle are raised on pasture with a natural diet of grass, herbs and other foraged plants. This is different from grain fed cattle that are typically raised in feedlots where they eat only grains to reach an ideal market weight in less time, which requires more space and is not as healthy for the cows.

There are some vague definitions of grass-fed and grass-finished meats that can be misleading, but most agree that it means the cows had access to pasture their entire lives with the exception of their mother’s milk. This also means that the cattle weren’t fed any grains to reach a desirable carcass weight and grade.

Generally speaking, grass-fed beef has lower saturated fat than grain fed beef and is richer in nutrients like Vitamins A (from carotenoids), E and K as well as Omega 3 fatty acids. Grass fed beef also tends to have more of the anti-oxidant CLA.

Grass-Fed Pork

Grass fed pork comes from pigs that are allowed to live more naturally, roaming fields and woods. They are free to move around, socialize with other pigs, and sleep in small shelters at night. They are given supplemental feed with more digestible ingredients like grain and human food discards, but the majority of their diet comes from grass.

People turn to pastured meat for a number of reasons. Many say it tastes better, while others appreciate the ethical treatment of animals and a positive impact on the environment.

If you’re interested in purchasing whole, 100% Grass-Fed Pork from local Wisconsin family farms, you can do so by placing a deposit on a frozen animal! This is the best value and will stock your freezer with high-quality, locally raised meat. It also gives you the chance to meet and talk with the farmer that raised your animal. Click here for more info.

Grass-Fed Chicken

While grass fed beef is very common, it’s less common for chicken to be raised this way. The reason for this is that chickens’ digestive systems are not suited to solely eating grass and other foraged foods, as cows do.

Instead, chickens have a highly variable diet and are able to process a variety of different foods. They peck at tender shoots of grass and clover, hunt for seeds, eat bugs and worms, scratch up ants, and more. This varied diet is how they get the protein, fats and other nutrients that they need.

So if you see chicken labeled as “grass fed” or “free range” it is likely that the chickens were given a lot of space to roam and that they did not spend time in a feedlot. This is especially true if the farmer uses regenerative farming methods that improve the soil, reduce carbon emissions and water quality. It is also possible to find pasture-raised chicken online from responsible farms that use meat delivery services.

Grass-Fed Turkey

The 46 million turkeys eaten every Thanksgiving (and also at Christmas and Easter) are mostly raised in factory farms. They live in cramped conditions and have their upper beaks snipped off, which keeps them from pecking for bugs and picking through weeds. They are fed highly processed, genetically modified grain and have no access to the outdoors or fresh pasture.

In contrast, pasture-raised turkeys get to roam freely on open fields. They eat grass, bugs and other insects as well as supplemental grain. The result is a meat that has more nutrients and flavor. Pasture-raised turkeys are also leaner than conventional turkeys and require less cooking time — 12-15 minutes per pound at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Country Archer was started by artisan butcher Celestino “Charlie” Mirarchi in 1977. His goal was to make jerky that is healthy and tasty. Today, Think Jerky uses only grass-fed beef and free range turkey — no added hormones or antibiotics plus ingredients that are non-GMO, gluten free and paleo friendly.