I’m experiencing some kitchen burnout this year in a big way. That’s where the rotisserie chicken series came from. And I’ve been consuming an embarrassing amount of Fairlife chocolate milk and Siggi’s skyr over the last few months to hit my daily goal of 200+ grams of protein. But you can only get so far without warm, savory foods.

That’s where this new solution comes into play. There’s a new direct to your door food company called Just Meats, and I’ve been testing all their products over the past month.

They have multiple flavors of fully cooked chicken, smoked brisket and turkey, lean ground beef and turkey, tri tip, pulled pork, and lots more. The meats come vacuum sealed and include a sauce or marinade to reheat alongside the meat in about 5 minutes.

To be honest, I had low expectations and did not expect to like anything. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised and will definitely continue using some of the meats. I love that it’s just meat that can be easily paired with rice and veggies or repurposed like leftovers.

My plan is to start making some easy recipes with meats like fried rice and stir fry, mac and cheese, nachos, burritos and enchiladas, protein bowls, and you know my wheelhouse by now…

If you’re interested in trying Just Meats, they’ve given me a promo code that will take $15 off your order. Enter "MASONW15" at checkout on justmeats.com to use it.

You can also go with their subscription offer to save 25% off the first order AND combine that with my coupon code.

My Favorites & Recommendations

I’ve included my rankings below with a few thoughts about each type of protein and general tips for reheating.

Top Recommendations

Chicken breast (herb roasted, buffalo, diced roasted): I’ve loved all the chicken breast flavors. They’re tender and flavorful, easy to reheat in a pan, and are very versatile flavor wise in terms of pairings. They’re also the most budget friendly options.

One tip I have for reheating the chicken (and most of the proteins) is to reduce any sauces that are a bit slack before adding the protein. This runs counter to the instructions on the packaging, where you reheat the protein then add the sauce. I’ve found thickening the sauces on their own before adding the protein alleviates the need to cook longer and turn the proteins tough.

Side note: Some meats come with a "marinade" instead of a finishing sauce. See the carne asada below for an example of how you can use the marinade before reheating.

Chicken Thighs: If you’re a thighs fan and know to expect some dark meat and small amount of extra fat, the pollo asado and Hawaiian chicken are both really good.

Pulled Pork: I really like both the Texas and Hawaiian style. You still get a 2:1 protein to fat ratio, but the pork is nice and tender despite being fairly lean.

Recommend with Caveats

Carne Asada: I'm probably nitpicking, but they almost nailed this one. The flavor is nice and bright, but it's missing a little something. But the beef is super tender and the size of the slices are perfect. I actually used the marinade like a marinade and refrigerated the meat in the sauce for about an hour before reheating in a hot pan for 2 minutes or so.

Braised Shredded Beef: This reminds me of a leaner pot roast with round or bottom beef roast. The flavors are pretty muted, which I actually think is a positive since you could use it in a variety of dishes. Go classic pot roast or a shredded beef chili, toss with some fajita veggies and make quesadillas, make BBQ beef sliders or stuffed spuds… Lots of options!

Ground Beef Chuck: I’ve seen others use this in things like omelets or quick stir fry recipes, which is a great use case scenario. Otherwise, it’s easy enough to cook ground beef in 5-10 minutes or so. You also get more browning and flavor development when cooking from scratch. I’d recommend this if you find yourself needing cooked ground beef for other recipes or have an aversion to handling/cooking raw ground beef yourself.

Needs More Testing

Everyone seems to love the Texas smoked brisket, but I had the opposite experience. After talking to Matt from Cheat Day Design, it seems like air frying or baking might be the best way to reheat the brisket. (I used a pan.) I’ll try and report back.

I didn’t love the sliced beef and pork options like the Hawaiian Teriyaki Beef and Sweet and Spicy Pork. While the flavor profiles are two of the best in their lineup, the meat is a bit tough and harder to get just right when reheating. You need to make sure to separate any slices before hitting the pan and keep the reheat very brief. Still, the leaner cuts of red meat can be a little chewy even when they’re cooked perfectly.

Yet to Try

I’m still waiting to try some of their products, and I’m excited for some new meats and flavors that are coming very soon. In case you’re looking for my review, I’ve not tried the following:

• Chimichurri steak
• Texas rub chicken thighs
• Smoked Turkey breast
• Raspberry BBQ chicken

Let me know if you have any questions about any of the products or anything else!

And again, you can use the code MASONW15 to save $15 on your first order at justmeats.com