Pig of the Month BBQ

Mail-order barbecue, cooked and ready to reheat

Pig of the Month BBQ smokes ribs, pulled pork, brisket, bacon and holiday roasts, packs them on dry ice and ships them across the US. Everything is fully cooked; you reheat on the grill, in the oven, in the microwave or in a slow cooker, following the reheating booklet that comes with each order. It's a barbecue shop and gift business rather than a weekly meal plan, and it sits in this directory because much of what it sells is dinner in a box.

The company is based in Dayton, Ohio, at a smokehouse it says isn't open to the public, and there are no retail stores or local pickups. The founder, Lea, who goes by "Head Hog", tells the origin story on the About page: family vacations spent hunting for barbecue, then a disappointing mail-order rack of ribs bought as a Father's Day gift that convinced the family they could do better. The site lists praise from the Wall St. Journal ("#1 Mail Order BBQ"), Iron Chef Michael Symon and Oprah Magazine, and has an Oprah's Favorite Things section.

How ordering works

You buy one-time orders or a monthly club. The FAQ is emphatic about billing: "Every purchase is a one-time order with no auto billing." Clubs, it says, are paid in full up front and then ship each month. The clubs are BBQ of the Month, Bacon of the Month and Sauce of the Month. The Bacon of the Month page adds that you can pause, skip or cancel from your account and that boxes ship around the 15th of each month, and it describes plans of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months plus a quarterly option. Each bacon box holds 2 lbs, one pound each of 2 monthly flavors, roughly 32 slices, and the flavor calendar runs from Apple Butter and Mulled Cranberry in January to Bloody Mary and Everything Bagel in April and Citrus Sugar and White Pepper Parm in September. All the bacon flavors are gluten-free, according to the club page.

At checkout you choose ship ASAP or a future delivery week. Orders are delivered Wednesday to Saturday (Sunday in some areas), and you can only pick a specific day with overnight shipping. With ship ASAP, the FAQ says orders take 2-3 business days to process and 2-3 days to arrive. Changes are possible until an order is processed for shipping, by chat or email during office hours.

What it costs

Prices are listed on product pages. Examples:

• Ribs, Ribs, Ribs, a 3 rib sampler pack with a choice of sauces, $125.00.
• Family Dinner Delivered: Meats For 6, with 2 slabs of baby back ribs (2lbs per rack), 1 pound of pulled pork, 1 pound of brisket and a 12 oz bottle of sauce, $149.00.
• Bacon of the Month Club, 2 lbs of bacon a month: 3 months $165.00, quarterly (4 boxes total) $199.00, 6 months $325.00, 9 months $495.00, 12 months $625.00.

Shipping is flat rate. The FAQ lists Standard at $11.95, Expedited at $15.00, Second Day at $55.00 and Overnight at $75.00 nationwide, and says Alaska and Hawaii must use Second Day or Overnight and don't qualify for free shipping. The free-shipping threshold is inconsistent: the site banner says free shipping on orders $150+, while the FAQ says orders over $175. Several bacon club terms include free shipping. There's a Give $10 Get $10 referral program, Sezzle financing, and a 100% money-back guarantee for quality or shipping problems.

The food

The core menu is ribs in several sauces (Tangy Memphis, Sweet & Smokey Texas, Key West, Peach Sriracha, Bourbon Barrel, Candied Orange or a sauce-free dry style), pulled pork, brisket and burnt ends, smoked chicken, sausages, hot dogs and brats, corned beef and pastrami, and bacon. Holiday specials include a maple-glazed spiral-sliced ham (8–10 lbs), a whole smoked turkey (10–13 lbs), a grass-fed prime rib roast, beef Wellington, and sides like cornbread stuffing, candied sweet potato casserole and homemade turkey gravy.

The FAQ gives portion guidance: 1 rack of ribs normally feeds 2 people, and a pound of other meats feeds 3-4 people. It says the meats come from local farms in the Midwest and are grass-fed, free range and humanely raised. On allergens, 99% of items are gluten free and marked on each product page, most items avoid the Top 8 allergens, and nutrition information is on most product pages under a tab.

Storage is generous: up to 3 weeks in the fridge or up to 3 months frozen. For turkeys and hams, the company recommends thawing first, allowing at least 24 hours in the fridge.

Where it delivers

The FAQ and shipping page say Pig of the Month ships to all 50 states, but not to Canada or to APO or FPO addresses, and not internationally. The Bacon of the Month page, though, says that club ships only within the contiguous US and not to Alaska or Hawaii. Orders travel in an insulated cooler with dry ice; they ship fresh but often arrive frozen. There's a signature release, so you don't need to be home, but the company warns that meat left in the box overnight will likely spoil. On P.O. boxes the pages disagree: the FAQ says it can't ship to them, while the shipping page says it can by USPS priority mail at your own risk.

What's left open, and who it suits

The mixed messages on free-shipping thresholds, P.O. boxes and whether the bacon club reaches Alaska and Hawaii are worth settling at checkout. Otherwise the site is unusually complete, with prices, shipping rates, portion guidance and storage rules all published.

Pig of the Month suits barbecue lovers who want smoked meat without a smoker, families who want a ready-to-reheat feast or holiday dinner, and gift-givers, which is clearly its biggest market. The prepaid clubs make easy presents, and a gift note can be added at checkout. It's less suited to everyday budget dinners, vegetarians, or anyone in Alaska or Hawaii who wants to avoid expensive expedited shipping.