Father’s Day Gift Guide 2024: Best Mail-Order Gourmet Meat And Seafood

Father’s Day coincides nicely with the start of outdoor summer grilling and backyard BBQ, so if Dad likes to show off his cooking skills at the grill, high-quality meat and seafood make a perfect gift. But even if Dad’s not a cook, he probably loves food, and these gifts are perfect for every Father, from the steakhouse aficionado to the sushi lover. These selections are the best of the best, a quality level you can’t find at supermarkets, including suppliers to some of the best fine dining restaurants in America. And all of these places do their own shipping and have dedicated mail order operations, which means better value and selection than those that go through food shipping aggregation sites.

If Dad loves golf, see my Father’s Day Golf Gift Guide here at Forbes, and if he is an active traveler, check out my Best Luggage for the Active Dad gift guide.

Japanese Wagyu And More

Meat n’ Bone is a full-service mail-order quality meat specialist, and they do it all, poultry, pork, seafood, lamb, even game meats. But when it comes to Japanese wagyu it’s hard to beat their selection. Most retailers are lucky if they can get any real Japanese wagyu at all, but Meat n’ Bone carries many regional varieties as well as specialty cuts you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else—even in Tokyo—like picanha steak, a popular South American cut, paper thin pre-sliced wagyu for shabu shabu, and “butcher’s cuts” including baseball steak and Denver steak. To top it all off, they even have hard to find large group dinner cuts such as whole tenderloin or striploin roast. They have lots of A5 graded options, regional selections from Miyazakigyu, Kobe, Kagoshima and rare Sanuki olive fed wagyu from Sodoshima Island.

But if you want to give Dad something really special, try the Hannari beef or F1 hybrid. In Japan the beef from female cattle is the most prized, and their Hannari beef comes from the best of the best of a very small herd in Kyoto. The F1 Hybrid is a fully Japanese blend of Kuroge and Holstein breeds, giving Dad the meatiness Americans are used to with the distinctive marbling only real Japanese wagyu has achieved. As an example, a 10-ounce New York Strip or boneless ribeye steak of A5 Japanese Wagyu runs $120.

Much Better Pork

If Dad loves grilling, smoking or just the other white meat, it’s time to elevate his game. The good news for backyard BBQ fans is that it’s gotten much easier to get higher-end beef, and now you can buy USDA Prime brisket in big box stores, unheard of a few years ago. But pork remains a largely industrial commodity product, and those racks of shrink-wrapped ribs at the supermarket are just never going to taste like a great barbecued sparerib should, and ribs are the most popular BBQ dish in the country. All great cuisines, Italian, Japanese, etc., are driven by the best ingredients, and if you smoke a rack of the rare breed Kurobuta ribs from True Story Foods you’ll never go back. Even before cooking they just look better, meatier, juicier—because they are.

Kurobuta is also known as Berkshire pork and nicknamed the “wagyu of pork,” even though it comes from England two centuries ago (but did become the choice of Japan’s emperor). But there’s more to the story than great genetics, because True Story is all about organic and pasture raised, and their pork comes from small family farms that do it right, with all-natural vegetarian food, outdoor living, no antibiotics, growth hormones, nitrates or artificial flavorings. Start Dad out with the True Story Foods Kurobuta Bundle, which includes a substantial 3-pound rack of pork spareribs (juicier and meatier than baby backs), a one-pound thick cut boneless pork chop, a one-pound thick cut bone-in chop, a one-pound tenderloin and a 2.5-pound shoulder, prefect for pulled pork or carnitas. That’s 8.5 pounds of amazing, natural heritage breed pork, enough for five or more delicious dinners, for a great price, just $130. Also check out True Story’s other products, organic deli meats, grass fed uncured hot dogs, organic chicken sausages, charcuterie and specialty bacon, including uncured Kurobuta bacon—try finding that at your fancy gourmet market.

Steak Lovers’ Trophy Cuts & Much More

If there’s one go-to spot for mail order meat and seafood across the board it would be Allen Brothers, a Chicago butcher and retailer that has been supplying many of the nation’s top restaurants and steakhouses for well over a century. Under “beef,” the categories in their catalog include USDA Prime, Dry Aged, Wagyu/Japanese, Grass-Fed, All-Natural, Wet Aged and Angus—and that’s just beef. They have the celebratory cuts for when you want to spoil the steak-loving Dad, showpieces like bone-in tomahawks, very hard to find bone-in filet mignon, bone-in standing full rib roasts (wagyu, grass fed, etc.) and one of my absolute favorites, a USDA Prime Porterhouse cut specifically for Italy’s great steak dish, Bistecca alla Fiorentina. If you’ve been to Tuscany, you’ve seen this signature dish, usually served for two or more, and Italian chefs will tell you the T-bone has to be “three to four fingers” thick. That’s a hard steak to find in this country but Allen Brothers has it, to the tune of three pounds and more than two and a quarter inches ($150).

But they also have a full array of lamb, pork, veal, poultry, bison, elk and tons of seafood, from wild Alaskan salmon to Spanish octopus to “Super Colossal Wild Caught Sea Scallops,” by which we are talking U10 size, meaning about ten to a pound. When it comes to sea scallops, bigger is better, they cook better and stay buttery tender inside, and scallops don’t get any bigger than these.

Don’t Wing It

Americans love chicken wings, but chicken—especially wings—is one of the toughest proteins to get right in terms of high quality. The vast majority of what is sold at grocery stores is an industrial mass-produced product, with issues ranging from adverse living conditions to a heavy dose of drugs. The “mainstream” poultry industry has been chasing bigger, blander over-medicated birds for decades, and that’s something I make great efforts to avoid. That’s why I like the poultry from Nashville boutique butcher shop Porter Road. Porter Road does a lot more than chicken, but since high quality poultry is harder to find than high-quality beef or pork, it’s something I turn to them for.

But Porter Road takes the same approach to all its meats, partnering with nearby family farms that have better practices and raise animals the right way, and they also represent one of the best value propositions in all of gourmet mail order meat, with very reasonable prices and low cost or free shipping over $125 (free to most of the eastern half of the country, flat rate elsewhere). For example, you can get a 2.5-pound dry aged Cowboy Cut ribeye for $81 or a dry aged three-quarter pound NY Strip for just $23. For chicken they have whole birds (4.5-5-pounds, $38) and whole wings (3-pounds, $12), and standout wings are really tricky to source. But I also turn to Porter Road for uncured, nitrate free, high-quality hot dogs and bacon they make themselves with good meat, great prices on high-end steaks, locally raised pork chops, and because they are actual butchers, they sell all the hard to find “Butcher’s Cuts” like picanha, inside skirt, tri tip, teres major and vacio, a classic Argentinean asado cut rarely seen in this country.

Crab Fest!

Cameron’s Maryland Seafood is one of my all-time mail-order faves, thanks to both excellent products and friendly, first-rate customer service. It’s a family business that has been the largest local retailer of Maryland’s world-famous blue crabs and crab cakes for four decades. The signature crab cakes are almost impossible to beat, better than most restaurants can do but at home, meaty, delicious, and they “travel” well, easy to cook, with detailed instructions and crowd-pleasing results. A half-dozen quarter pound crabcakes are $170 and they also come in giant half-pounders for $240. If you want Dad to get down and dirty with his food, they ship every imaginable permutation of whole blue crabs (male or female, three sizes) or crab claws, caught, seasoned, steamed and shipped all in the same day so they arrive ultra-fresh and ready to eat. They have delicious spiced shrimp, many choices for Alaskan crab legs (king, Dungeness and snow crabs), crab meat, crab dip, lobster meat and tails, and a variety of fresh fish and shellfish, including shucked oysters, crawfish, mussels and scallops. But my go-to specialties are the awesome jumbo lump crab cakes and the amazing, decadent, thick, seafood laden soups, such as crab bisque, crab gumbo, lobster bisque, and clam chowder.

America’s Famous Steakhouse At Home

What’s in a name? Well, if we’re talking red meat and the name is Peter Luger, it means one of the world’s most famous steakhouses. The Peter Luger story began in New York in 1887, the restaurant was reborn in its current form (same location) in 1950, and it has been the top-rated steakhouse (Zagat Guide) in the world’s most competitive steakhouse city for more than 30 years. It’s been named to the coveted World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (read more here in my recent World’s 50 Best story), earned a Michelin Star, won a James Beard Award, and was named the Best Steakhouse in the Country by an expert panel at USA Today. A second New York location was added on Long Island, and much more recently a third opened in Las Vegas inside Caesars Palace.

But while Peter Luger the restaurant is undoubtably famous in the food world, not nearly as many people know they have an online butcher shop and sell their most famous steaks mail order. Along with a handful of the oldest generation New York steakhouses like Keens, Peter Luger still gets to personally pick its sides of beef at the market and does its dry ageing and butchering in house, something rare even at the best steakhouses. It is this hands-on red meat quality control that helps set it apart, and while the overall menu is quite limited compared to many steakhouses, it’s the signature cuts—most famously the Porterhouse for two to four—that have earned so many accolades. At the online store, choices are succinct, and you can get a 2-pack of the legendary Porterhouse (T-bones), USDA Prime and dry aged, 36-38-ounces each, with Luger steak sauce and its classic chocolate “gold” coins ($292).

Other options are similar 2-packs of bone-in Rib steaks (30-32-ounces, $292), 4-packs of bone-in New York Strip steaks (24-26-ounces, $362) or a combo pack with two each of the Strips and Porterhouse ($430) or a bigger 6-pack that adds two Rib steaks ($588). Luger also makes a great burger local regulars love, and you can send Dad 18 of these jumbo half-pound patties, each a signature blend of USDA Prime ground chuck, dry-aged sirloin and tenderloin ($176). Finally, Luger is famous for its signature appetizer, slabs of extra thick cut bacon, plain, simple and delicious, and in all likelihood, they pioneered the bacon as its own dish trend. Each 12-ounce package has 5 really meaty slices, and they sell these on their own only in 6-packs ($60), but you can add a 2 or 4-pack to any steak order.

Aloha! Bringing Hawaii Home

When I want to make sushi at home, Honolulu Fish Company is who I order from, and I’m not alone—restaurants and chefs all across the country use them, and if Dad loves seafood, especially sushi or sashimi, you should follow our lead. Plus, it’s a feel-good company I am happy to patronize because they care and do it right. HFC was founded in 1995 by Wayne Samiere, a marine biologist, and they offer many varieties of eco-friendly Pacific fish and are known for exceptional quality products. The company is committed to the environment and to promoting sustainability in fishing practices, and notably does not condone net fishing, as this destroys the natural habitat—all fish are exclusively hook-caught, and the company does not allow its buyers to purchase fish that have not reached reproductive maturity. Early each morning buyers go to the Honolulu fish seafood market and personally inspect and hand-select fish that meet the company’s high standards.

Daily catch varies and can include Hawaiian specialties such as kanpachi, but almost always includes local Ono, ultra-premium sushi tuna found only in these waters, and Ahi (Hawaiian big eye tuna). These are sold individually or in combo packs, fresh not frozen (chilled) and minimally processed into ready to cut or cook 2–5-pound filets. Unlike just about every mail order food purveyor, all orders ship free. A great pick for the sushi-loving Dad is the Chiisai Sahsimi Pak, with two 2-pound sashimi cut filets, one Ultra Ahi and one King salmon ($387). New for Father’s Day this year are combo crudo packs, bite sized pieces fish ready to eat with little to no preparation. The Ahi & Kanpachi Crudo Kit features top sashimi-grade Ahi and fresh Kanpachi, while the Ahi & Ono Kit subs tuna for the kanpachi, and includes a unique Crudo olive oil and Japanese Togarashi spice seaweed, matched seasonings to highlight the rich flavor of fresh sashimi (available after May 23, $89-$144)

Domestic Wagyu

I have been writing about wagyu for a decade, have been to Kobe, have eaten lots of Japanese beef, and while I love it, it’s not for everyone. It is very fatty and very rich, and some people find it too much—especially fans of the best domestic beef, folks who patronize top steakhouses and go for USDA Prime and dry aged beef. Because of this, in Japan, the average portion is just four ounces! That’s where domestic wagyu comes in, as it tends a little more towards the leaner “beefy” taste and denser texture many Americans love, and even the best breeders who do 100% Japanese bloodlines (most domestic wagyu out there is lower cost hybrid and you often can’t tell from the labeling due to lax USDA rules) offer products better suited to a U.S. steak lover’s appetite.

But there’s one other big advantage to gifting Dad domestic wagyu, in addition to a lower price point—you can get it with bones. It is illegal to import any beef with bones from Japan, but you can get awesome bone-in cuts from Booth Creek Wagyu in Kansas. Booth Creek doesn’t just raise great quality cattle, they also sell things you can’t get from Japan, like racks of beef ribs, short ribs, plate ribs, bone-in rib “Cowboy” steaks, Tomahawks and a bone-in shank called Thor’s Hammer. Booth Creek is easily one of the very best domestic producers, and several key things set them apart. First, they raise both 100% Japanese bloodline wagyu and American wagyu hybrid, labelling them separately so you can get exactly what you like and what you want. Secondly, they sell their steaks by intramuscular fat parentage, something I have not seen anyplace else, so for example, you can buy a 10–12-ounce NY Strip steak at four levels of marbling (10-19%, 20-29%, 30-39%, 04 40%+), from $40-$85. Thirdly, they have their own USDA approved processing facility in Kansas, which allows them to do lots of different cuts and styles and sell direct, with both retail stores in Kansas and a substantial mail order business.

The Taste of Spain

Campo Grande is a specialty distributor focused on the best of Spanish meats—which means some of the best meat on earth. For pork, Spain’s claim to fame is the 100% Iberian Pata Negra (black paw) breed, generally considered the world’s best. It’s great as pork chops, roasts or butcher’s cuts like very hard-to-find “secreto,” a strip adjacent to the belly, combining the fatty rich deliciousness of pork belly with a meatier, steak-like texture. They also have beef, like Basque country’s famous thick rib steak, chuleton, and specialize in curated assorted gift boxes, making shopping easy.

But where Spain really shines is cured meats, and even proud Italian chefs I’ve spoken to begrudgingly accept that Jamon Iberico is the world’s best ham, superior even to the famous Prosciutto di Parma. Campo Grande has a lot of options for the finest cured meats from Spain, shelf stable and vacuum packed for months of freshness without refrigeration, making this a great gift for the non-cooking Dad who loves delicious food. The Ultimate Charcuterie Sampler box, with two pre-sliced sealed packages each of Iberico Chorizo, Salchichon, Coppa and Paleta, different takes on dry ham and salami, eight in total, is just $99. If Dad does cook, an Iberico Pork box with secreto, pork belly, a 4-rib rack and a boneless presa roast is $169.

Alaskan Salmon and Black Cod

Salmon and other seafood from Alaska is always wild-caught—the state forbids farm raising of fish—and is justifiably the most famous salmon on earth, from one of the cleanest and most sustainable fisheries. But don’t overlook the less well-known Alaskan black cod (sablefish), one of the most rich and delicious fish in the sea. If you have ever eaten at a Nobu or Matsuhisa restaurant, you’ve probably tried Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s famous signature dish, Miso Black Cod. It’s unbelievable, and the Chef has been generous enough to put his recipe online so Dad can make this at home. But while the cooking is easy, sourcing quality Black Cod is tougher, so I suggest ordering from Alaskan Salmon Company, aka “Your Personal Fisherman.” Founded by native Alaskan fisherman Kyle Lyle, the company removes middlemen to connect consumers directly to local fishermen, and is focused solely on sustainable wild Alaskan seafood, especially prized Copper River sockeye and coho salmon, along with Black Cod, halibut and king crab. They sell all the fish in user-friendly precut portions, 6–8-ounce skin-on filets, by the box, one time or subscription, one fish or mix and match. (12 filets $189, 24 filets $340)

Fishing season in Alaksa just started, and the company tends to sell out every year (and sold out last year) so the new catch is getting underway and Alaskan Salmon Company will begin shipping orders the first week of June, to arrive before Father’s Day, but you may have to wait until later in the month to place orders.