Labor Day is right around the corner, and as somber a send-off it is for summer, it’s also a time to celebrate steak and sunshine. If you’re anything like most Americans, you’ve been systematically sharpening your skill on the grill for the past few months, and by now you’re ready to take it to the next level. Besides upgrading your outdoor kitchen with a luxury grill, you can also make this weekend special by serving some quality meat from any of the various boutique butchers that have set up online shops to bring their catalog of charcuterie to your charcoal.
With farms in the heartland of Nebraska, Prescott Frost offers beef that is 100% grass-fed and certified organic by the USDA. Prime cuts are harvested at their peak, then flash-frozen in order to preserve this freshness. At Prescott Farms, they are committed to environmental stewardship and challenging the current agricultural model, as evidenced by their contribution of 2% of sales to various non-profits like the Nature Conservancy, FarmAid, and more. Visit their online store for steaks, burgers, and even hot dogs (pictured at top).
Before these cows come to your home, they live the good life, openly grazing along the California coastal range, taking in views of the ocean and the shade of Hearst Castle. In addition to the beef at Hearst Ranch, their online store also offers up a variety of other meats carefully selected from farms around the country that strive for the same standards. Famously old-fashioned American Bronze Turkeys, Berkshire Bacon, lamb roasts and wild red salmon are just a few of their offerings. To complete your meal they also have a line of drool-inducing dipping sauces like the wild porcini cabernet wine vinegar.
Usually, when you want to do something extra with your burger you start with the toppings right? Piling on as many exotic condiments as you can think of and reveling in the fact that you can barely get your lips around it. Well BuiltBurger has a slightly different idea with their attempt to create the world’s best burgers before placing so much as a leaf of lettuce on top. Their burgers are infused with flavors from around the world to provide for a truly unique grilling experience. Choose from beef, chicken, pork or lamb to start, and then cruise their menu of ingredient combinations until you find just the right one for your barbeque.
For a gamier approach to your grill, D’Artagnan has a menu of the finest meats from forests around the world. Their concept began with American Foie Gras, and has grown out of this dedication to delicacies and extensive list of gourmet meats. Their lineup of offerings looks like a list of residents at your local zoo with buffalo burgers, rabbit, venison, wild boar and a wide selection of wild truffle products. Their animals are raised sustainably and on natural food and clean water, and mostly on single-family farms that have been in the business for generations.
Who says you have to be near the coast for great seafood? Probably anyone who has tried to get lobster from a supermarket in Nebraska. The solution comes from The Lobster Guy, an online shop that knows the only way to have lobster is fresh and from Maine—sorry West Coast, but now you can enjoy the excellence of the East Coast too. The Lobster Guy’s signature offering is the seafood extravaganza, which ships a bucket of crustaceans in their natural salt water overnight to your door. The kit includes two live lobsters, scallops, shrimp, crab, bisque and chowder for an all-inclusive taste of New England. They also have a variety of other coldwater classics in less belt-busting proportions, like calamari, mussels, and salmon.
