Wild Fork Foods

[njpietrantonio]

Hi All! I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Wild Fork Foods and their meat delivery service. If so I would appreciate all feedback.

They have an annual membership for $29 and it comes with free shipping. Without the membership their shipping is approx. $10 with a minimum order of $35, so it looks like a sweet deal.

Their brisket pricing $2.98/lb beats anything I have in NY, so would love to jump on this if it’s trustworthy.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I've purchased from them. The order was shipped promptly, well packaged, and was both complete and correct. Bonus alert for ya'll, I start with that comment because I also ordered hot dogs from a Coney Island vendor named Feltman's at about the same time. The dog outfit is a complete blivet to deal with. Took 4 weeks to get the order, and the dogs are just okay.

Now, as for Wild Fork. I ordered a variety of things to gauge their offerings. Bacon, brats, Italian sausage, heritage pork chop, and picanha. The bacon was okay, about like any better grade offerings in almost any grocery store. The brat was very tasty, and if you don't have a good brat source in your area, worth getting. Haven't tried the Italian sausage, or the picanha, but it is a beautiful looking cut. The pork chop is on tonight's menu, so I can report on that later.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Based on tonight's dinner.............................WOW!

First things first, logistics. If you live in a highly populated area, with trendy, foodie serving markets, and they carry the specialty meats that the "more discriminating" consumer wants, then there probably isn't any need to use a service like Wild Fork, unless the vendors local to you are in the predatory pricing business. Or, if you're fortunate to live in a more rural area where various of the products are produced and offered locally. Here in Central Texas beef, quality beef including American Wagyu, is readily available, so the beef offerings from a company like Wild Fork aren't all that attractive to me with one exception. Folks around here are very fond of "traditional" cuts, so certain Nuevo popular cuts like picanha aren't often seen. That said, a couple weeks after I ordered picanha from WF my local market had a couple pieces of prime grade in the meat department case. We have a fabulous grocery chain down here called H-E-B, they are a first rate market, and in larger cities offer a wide variety of specialty products. Out here in the sticks we can, from time to time, order in some of those products and they will accommodate. I suspect that's how the picanha was in the case that day, dumb luck for me. Someone else ordered it in, the store gets a full case of it, and sell that person however many they wanted and then put the rest in the case to move as it will. They don't routinely stock it unless demand gets to a certain level. Heritage pork is another matter. We haven't been able to find a local source, though might be that we haven't hit the right vendor yet. That's what prompted me to order from WF. My first order was on a promo that included not extra charge for shipping, so it made the pricing pretty attractive if the product proved worthy.

First picture is of the chop as it came out of the cryo package. This is Berkshire pork, and this cut is alternately called the ribeye of pork. Look at the color and marbling that you just don't usually get in commodity pork chops supplied to your local store.

It is a beautiful cut about an inch thick, weighed in at just over a pound.

I dry brined it with salt for a few hours as I normally do, and then just before throwing it on the fire I dusted it with a home made rub I often use for pork known as Memphis Dust. The recipe is on Amazing Ribs.com. It has a bit of sugar in it that will show itself in one of the later pics.

A bit of heresy here, I did this on my newest charcoal cooker, so it won't be the pellet experience you get from the RT. I like this cooker because it is small, uses a small amount of fuel to get high temps, and the fuel basket is adjustable in height for indirect, low & slow, and quick sear, all without much effort. I started indirect til an internal temp of 120, then moved over to direct for sear. There is so much (a good thing) fat in this chop that flare ups are absolutely unavoidable. If you are mindful you get a quick sear that gives you plenty of maillard reaction.......and flavor.........without ruining the flavor. The sugar in the rub makes it look burnt, but when pulled in a timely manner it doesn't taste burned.

I like to pull the chop at around 135-140 anticipating another 5 or so degrees of temp increase to 145 for cutting and service after a 10 minute rest.

I separate the bone, and slice across the chop for service. For the two of us, a one pound chop, even with the bone, is plenty. If you are a bigger eater, more chops would be gooder.

As you might expect, heritage pork is more expensive than commodity pork. This chop was $10 per pound......................and worth every penny, to me. The flavor was fantastic. My bride especially liked the meat next to the bone as it was the most flavor intense and juicy. As you can see, a lot of juice ended up on the board, even with a rest. Yet the chop on the plate was still very juicy as well. Next time I'll plan to make a nice board sauce from that leakage.

Shipping at $10 per order might be a deal killer, depending on how much product you order. Or, as was pointed out above, a $29 annual fee gets you "no charge" shipping if you plan to purchase regularly. Obviously, anything over three orders per year is a plus for the buyer. Unless I'm able to find an alternate source for heritage pork, it looks like I could become a regular customer for them. They also offer some other unusual products that look like they'd be fun to try. So, at this point, I'm a fan of Wild Fork.

 

[njpietrantonio]

Thank you for the detailed response. I really appreciate it. I live in a very populated part of NY, and brisket pricing is anywhere from $6 - $10 per pound. Knowing about the positive experience you’ve had, I’m comfortable trying this out for a year. I’ve had to purchase pork shoulder from BJ’s wholesale because it’s $15 total versus $65 at a butcher.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Thank you for the detailed response. I really appreciate it. I live in a very populated part of NY, and brisket pricing is anywhere from $6 - $10 per pound. Knowing about the positive experience you’ve had, I’m comfortable trying this out for a year. I’ve had to purchase pork shoulder from BJ’s wholesale because it’s $15 total versus $65 at a butcher.

We don't know each other so take this in the way I intend, that is as advisory not critical. You don't mention grade of beef quality in your comments. This is an important factor in pricing and, sometimes, availability. Premium grades are often worth premium prices, though there are exceptions. One of the drawbacks to online buying is that you don't have the ability to inspect your choice before committing the money. Some vendors have reasonable return/refund policies, some present them as reasonable..................until you have to do it, then the hoops you have to jump through make it much more difficult. Like anything else though, life is a learning experience.

 

[JGW]

I just placed my second order with Wild Fork. I ordered a brisket, some ground beef, sausage, etc. Good quality, and I don't have to go hunting for a decent brisket.

I order a prime brisket, and the site says average weight is about 14lbs. Just got my shipping notice - They are sending me a 21lb brisket. Not worried about the price, but damn that is a big piece of meat. I figure it's going to be closer to 18-19 lbs when trimmed.

While I normally cook em at 225, I might have to use 275/300 for that one just to avoid cooking it for 24 hours.

 

[JGW]

Doh. The initial bill said 21 lbs. They are shipping a 15.7 lb brisket on the actual invoice.

Just got done smoking/ eating the beef ribs I ordered earlier. Amazing.

 

[BowDown]

Wild Fork is local to me, as inn 10 minutes away. I've been there a few times, bought chicken, pre-marinated chicken, the sausage mentioned above and assorted hamburger patties. Prices were competitive with the Costco that is about a mile away which means the prices are pretty good as far as meats go with N. Texas generally having good prices. I think I may have spent $80 that day and got a lot of meat for that $80 IMO.

All I bought was very good and very good quality and I'd have no issues buying again. I actually intend to try their Au Wagyu next time I'm there

 

[Waterboy]

I’m doing two racks of ribs for Wild Fork tonight. One Berkshire rack and one commodity rack. Curious to see the difference. Everything I’ve purchased from them has been really good And always arrives frozen solid.

 

[JGW]

I’m doing two racks of ribs for Wold Fork tonight. One Berkshire rack and one commodity rack. Curious to see the difference. Everything I’ve purchased from them has been really good And always arrives frozen solid.

I did a rack of beef ribs from them yesterday. Amazing. That convinced me to become a member and get free shipping because I will continue to order from them.

 

[C. Keeper]

If I read it right it's free shipping on the 1st order only.

I just ordered chuck roast for Christmas, free shipping on first order. I think minimum order is $35

 

[Gonefishin]

My bad, it's free for the 1st order only unless you join for $29, which gives you shipping for a year.

 

[cf110814]

I just placed my second order with Wild Fork. I ordered a brisket, some ground beef, sausage, etc. Good quality, and I don't have to go hunting for a decent brisket.

I order a prime brisket, and the site says average weight is about 14lbs. Just got my shipping notice - They are sending me a 21lb brisket. Not worried about the price, but damn that is a big piece of meat. I figure it's going to be closer to 18-19 lbs when trimmed.

While I normally cook em at 225, I might have to use 275/300 for that one just to avoid cooking it for 24 hours.

I have been using wildfork for the past year. it's fantastic, great quality, and mostly cheaper than my local markets. You can't find prime brisket anywhere near me and wild fork prime brisket is cheaper than choice at the market. The only issue I have is their brisket ordering. Like you mentioned, it is a complete shot in the dark on what size you will get. I've gotten anywhere from a 12lb-20lb. If they only added some sort of weight ranges to choose from on the brisket, the service would be perfect. Currently it makes it impossible to plan a cook.

 

[Waterboy]

My rib experiment went well. I have to say I think the premium price for the Berkshire ribs was absolutely worth it. Those were the juiciest, tenderest, most flavorful ribs I’ve ever eaten. The commodity ribs were good but the Berkshire were next level. I can’t afford to eat them all the time but definitely for special occasions.

Wold Fork has an offer this week for a year of free shipping for 1 year if you order a minimum $150 order by Dec. 5. There are some restrictions so read before you invest! I’m not sure how much you save if you pay shipping on the qualifying order.

 

[JGW]

My bad, it's free for the 1st order only unless you join for $29, which gives you shipping for a year.

Yeah, I paid the 29. I'll be ordering a LOT of meat from them, but most will likely be chicken, ground beef, etc. Most of this stuff is about the same quality than I can get locally (I usually buy at Costco) when it comes to choice, but it's hit or miss at mine if something you want is there. At WF, it's there, it's available and damn it - I'm ordering.

 

[Johnshac]

We order wild fork here in central fla. Really like it. The seafood is great.

 

[Pacman]

I ordered a bunch of Wild Fork stuff recently. The pork products were very good/exceptional. I'm making my first pastrami right now from a full packer and the brisket does not seem as good as USDA Prime from Costco. I'm smoking tomorrow after a 7 day "corn", one day desalinate, and two day rub. Time will tell, but the brisket has had a certain "gameyness" smell from start to finish (think big box grocery store meat counter). I hope I didn't waste 10 days and a pretty good chunk of change.

 

[mikeporter616]

I recently smoked a prime packer and some tri tips from WF. I found the meat to be excellent, better that the meat from Costco or Sam's. I'll be ordering more.