Delivered to Your Door

Nov 20, 2022 by Chef David

By Chef David

Keeping kosher just got a lot easier with the ability to have high-quality kosher meat delivered right to your door. In fact, this convenience simplifies travel decisions, which often focus on food availability. Sure, grocery stores contain packaged staples, like cereal, pasta, and even cold cuts, but it can be a challenge to locate fresh kosher meat. Local supermarkets have been challenged by supply chain shortages. Fear no more! Just like restaurants that use purveyors to source and deliver meat, the kosher consumer can shop on the internet, thanks to a few visionary brands that are addressing this unspoken need. Simply and seamlessly, you can order kosher meat online. It’s a dream come true!

The process is simple, search for the cut of meat you’d like, place an order and it shows up on your doorstep on the scheduled date. There is no guesswork about availability or freshness. Orders arrive promptly, professionally packed in ice, ready to become your next culinary creation. Two providers we tested are Grow & Behold certified by the OU and Star K and Kosh certified by Star K. Both companies are part of the  Jcommerce Group, an e-commerce leader in the kosher space.

Online Deliveries Became the Norm

Online ordering has been around for a long time, surging in popularity in March 2020 as the pandemic lockdown redirected essential purchases away from stores to eCommerce. As online grocery sales increased, so did the demand for kosher meat deliveries. Online ordering provides kosher consumers with a selection of high-quality, fresh products with kashrut they can trust. The convenience of home delivery is a game changer. Consumers are looking for availability, predictability, and quality, which is exactly what these brands deliver.

Grow & Behold

Founders, Naf, and Anna Hanau, met on an organic vegetable farm and fell in love, and prepared to live “in the middle of nowhere,” Naf was prepared to be self-sufficient, he thought, “we’ll raise chickens, and I’ll schecht them for my family, so we can keep kosher and eat well.” In 2010, their first year they sold chickens raised by the farmer who had provided the birds for their wedding, the David Elliot Poultry farm, where Naf trained.

Grow & Behold continued to grow, adding beef in 2011, lamb in 2012, and duck in 2013. They gradually expanded with the addition of Rose Veal, beef jerky, dry-aged Steaks, Salami Sticks, Montreal Smoked Meat, and Marinated Beef and Chicken. In addition to meat, they sell cheese, sausage, and fish. They even provide a full line of kosher for Passover products.

We tasted some of their extraordinary cheeses and they didn’t disappoint.

Organic and Pasture Raised

If you are a consumer who wants your meat organic and cruelty-free, Grow and Behold was created with you in mind. They use farms located close to their processing facilities to minimize travel by raising animals raised outdoors in pastures, with no hormones or antibiotics. Their commitment is never to compromise on quality or kashrut, providing unparalleled flavor and tenderness. We can attest to their quality.

‘Grow and Behold’ works closely with farmers, processors, butchers, truck drivers, feed growers, and kosher supervisors. They use family-owned and operated facilities that ensure that the animals are treated properly.

KŌSH

Chef Yos Schwartz, chief product curator is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef and the face of KŌSH. Yos brings his knowledge and expertise to KŌSH as the co-founder of Hassid+Hipster popup restaurant and private chef to the stars. KŌSH was developed to provide the kosher consumer with high-caliber food available for purchase on Kosh.com. This is a gourmet kosher website that contains meats, fish, poultry, and dairy. In addition, you can order from their curated pantry stocked with a variety of boutique jams, spices, and condiments.

Simply put, KŌSH provides prime-grade products, sourced directly from the producer and delivered to your door. Their products are high quality and have a superior freshness, far better than supermarket shopping. In addition, you can get expert help directly from Yos or one of his trained chefs!

The number of items KŌSH offers seems to be limitless. Although it’s not, it is almost guaranteed that you will find a cut of meat that meets your needs. Their website is a fleshig dream, with an interesting array of high-quality hard-to-find kosher cheeses including camembert, makabi tome (semi-hard cheese), and raclette.

Traveling to You

KŌSH blast-freezes their meat at the point of origin and then maintains a constant temperature until it reaches your front door. It will arrive frozen in dry ice or ice packs maintaining a constant temperature and quality while it travels to your house which maintains a taste quality superior to any store-bought meat.

Supermarket or butcher store meat is often frozen over the course of many hours, then defrosted before you purchase it. From a taste perspective defrosting and refreezing are not recommended.

KŌSH ships only on Monday to Thursday to avoid weekend layovers and Friday deliveries. They deliver across the contiguous United States in either one, two, or three days based on your delivery address. Grow & Behold allows you to pick the date and they will deliver anywhere in the United States. To avoid weekend delays, they will not ship for deliveries arriving from Saturday to Monday.

Defrosting

Place the vacuumed-sealed package in the refrigerator to defrost. As a rule of thumb, it takes at least 24 hours to completely defrost 5 pounds. In my experience, it can take longer. To defrost meat more quickly, submerge the package in a cold-water bath allowing approximately 30 minutes per pound.

Meat that is left above 40F is at risk of growing harmful bacteria. This is why it is not recommended to rush the defrosting process by using warm water or leaving the meat to defrost on the counter. Some things just take time.

Defrost fish and cheese slowly in the fridge, and avoid the temptation to defrost them more quickly. This can cause changes in the composition and texture which are less desirable.

Packages with intact seals can be stored indefinitely in the back of the freezer, avoid storing them on the door, although it is recommended to use them within 6-12 months.

Eating Kosher Just Got Easier

Grow and Behold and KŌSH both offer kosher consumers a new level of convenience allowing you to order and receive high-quality kosher meat and cheeses delivered to your door. You can travel across the United States without bags of provisions all you need is a frying pan.  It’s easier than supermarket shopping, once you find the cut and amount you are looking for, hit order.

Prepare to be pampered by eliminating the fuss and guesswork of locating the correct meat, fish, or cheese. Your order will arrive on time as expected, leaving you free to search for the perfect recipe.

Happy eating!