The Best Food Subscription Boxes for Everyone on Your Gift List

It’s impossible to wade through the internet these days without landing on a food subscription or specialty delivery service—and for good reason. The idea of coming home to a curated box of food is appealing to even the most ambitious cooks among us. But what are the best boxes for dedicated outdoor cooks? After testing eight different companies, we liked these five the most. Buy them for yourself or send one along to a loved one for the ultimate holiday gift.

For the True Meat Enthusiast: Holy Grail Steak

Rather than offering a subscription service, Holy Grail allows you to create your own curated meal box from its roster of quality meats. I recently sampled a $300 box that included a Santa Carota carrot-fed prestige brisket, a 40-ounce upper prime Black Angus tomahawk steak (center cut, with a two-inch bone, meant to feed three to four people), and a Kurobuta ham. If you’re in the market for a subscription, its 12-patty burger box offers a selection of two different types of pork-and-beef-based burgers every three months for $99.

For the Vegetarian: FruitStand

FruitStand offers monthly produce boxes of specialty fruits and vegetables from small-scale farms across the country. When I sampled it, Mud Creek Ranch persimmons were in season (you get one type of item per box). Its Fuyu persimmons were short and squat and could be eaten firm or grilled, while its heart-shaped Hachiyas, once ripe, were perfect for roasting over a bit of applewood. (I made a puree of them to accompany a holiday charcuterie board.) A three-month subscription costs $134.95 and features specialties beyond persimmons, like star fruit, heirloom carrots, and citrus. Vegetarians will enjoy the diversity and grill-compatible finds in each box.

For the Sausage Lover: KC Cattle Company

Retired U.S. Army Ranger Patrick Montgomery helms the Missouri-based KC Cattle Company, which focuses on American Wagyu cattle products. A number of different boxes and subscriptions are available, but I recently tested the Trim the Tree Wagyu Bundle ($99.99); it featured a package of uncured Wagyu hot dogs, two packages of ground beef, two packages of bacon cheeseburger bratwurst, two packages of chorizo, and one package of summer sausage. The sausage was all easy to cook, and the packaging of the chorizo and ground beef made it easy to integrate into dishes like tacos, sloppy joes, and even stir-fries. It may sound basic, but I fell head over heels for the hot dogs. Did my family get to try them? I’ll never tell.

For the Poultry Devotee: Rastelli’s

The New Jersey–based butcher Rastelli’s has been going strong since the late 1970s—and for good reason. Founded by Ray Rastelli Jr., the store sells a wide variety of high-quality comestibles like wild-caught Gulf shrimp, pork porterhouse, and primal cuts of grass-fed beef. Boxes from the company can be built à la carte, and you can choose between everything from seafood to lamb to beef. But my money’s on the poultry: a $78 box included four packs of organic chicken thighs, six turkey burgers, and drumsticks, as well as chicken, roasted red pepper, and garlic sausage. Not only are the premade patties and sausages delicious, but there’s also a massive selection of organic offerings available.

For the Sweet Tooth: S’moreology

This Los Angeles–based company has everything you could desire when it comes to ooey, gooey s’mores. Its cookies and marshmallows are made from scratch, and it offers multipacks, so you can pick and choose from its various s’mores flavors. I recently sampled birthday cake (my favorite); churros and chocolate, which included a cinnamon-rich graham cracker; and a flavor called O.G., with homemade graham crackers and vanilla marshmallows and Hershey’s chocolate. There were seven flavors to select from when I ordered, but check back, because these are updated regularly. The marshmallows were perfectly square and pliant, and its kits even come with moist towelettes—the one thing I wish I had at nearly every s’mores bonfire gathering.