Back in 2002, husband and wife Ray and Nina-Maria Cattaneo opened up a USDA facility from scratch. Ray handled the beef jerky aspect of the production process, and Nina-Marie was tasked with sales. This Ray’s Own Brand of jerky was officially launched in 2003. Within five years of very hard work and effort, sales were robust with Ray’s Own Brand being sold in countless stores. Ray’s Own Brand has since teamed up with several international brands who are taking their jerky all over the world.
Ray’s Own Brand all hand sliced jerky is advertised as sugar free, has no added nitrates, MSG free, gluten-free, preservative free, and made with sea salt. This is the true Steak N A Bag!! Ray Cattaneo’s style! Ray’s Own Brand has an adorable gift shop on the property with their USDA building, and lots of animals for the kids to enjoy! Ray’s Own Brand is distributed under the same name of Ray’s Own Brand, and they are based out of San Luis Obispo, California.
The next review on Ray’s Own Brand will focus on a 4 ounce/113 gram bag of their hot flavored beef jerky. This flavor is described as as being just plain – HOT, but the most important part is that it is not so hot that you lose the flavor of the beef. The bag was graciously submitted for review by co-owner Nina-Marie Cattaneo.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Cider Vinegar, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Garlic, Celery Powder.
The cattle used are confirmed to have about 85% free range access to graze on grass, and roam about. Based on the information provided from the fine folks at Harris Ranch, the cattle qualify enough to be ethically raised. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Very Good (9/10) rating.
The liquid marinade consists of only water, and super healthy apple cider vinegar.
There are some healthy ingredients added such as black pepper and garlic. The heat is achieved from using red peppers, where hot peppers are healthy if eaten in moderation.
Admirably, there is no sugar added. The salt level is somewhat high at 450mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. However, the salt level is ignored because healthy minimally processed sea salt is used as opposed to heavily processed table salt.
This jerky is confirmed as having no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, sea salt is the main preservative, and apple cider vinegar to a lesser degree. Celery powder is also used as a preservative with its naturally occurring nitrates. Commendably, this jerky has no MSG added.
Very Good (9/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
As I open the bag, I believe I am smelling soy and natural beef. The pieces are medium in size, and they are sliced extremely thick. The jerky is soft and dry, and it is easy to chew. There is a red hue on the inside of the jerky. There is no oily residue left on your fingers.
As I bite into the jerky, I am met with various flavors. I taste salt, pepper, garlic, little sweet, and a decent kick, along with the natural beef. Wow, this jerky is some kind of tasty. Every time I take a bite, it feels as if I’m taking a bite out of a spicy prime rib.
The jerky almost melts in your mouth, it’s a ‘loins-stirring’ flavor, arousing my pubescent taste buds, causing me to writhe and grind, until I ‘explode’ from the sultry juices flowing from the aphrodisiac otherwise known as Ray’s Own Brand Hot beef jerky. A most definite 10/10 gentlemen, I have finished and made a mess. ‘Cleanup in aisle 6 please…’
Here is what Mark had to say about this hot beef jerky flavor from Ray’s Own Brand: “Thanks Paul for a most entertaining adult taste review. I fully agree here, Ray’s Own Brand simply makes fantastic tasting jerky. Each jerky strip is hand sliced thickly to retain a great amount of natural beef flavor. You get the feeling that a great deal of TLC was put into each jerky strip, or steak strip. Ray’s Own Brand has moved into my top 25 personal list of favorite jerky makers after reviewing 4 of their 5 beef jerky flavors.
“This hot beef jerky flavor jerky from Ray’s Own Brand was shared between 8 people. There was not a single complaint, only praise. Mention of steak was commonly repeated. The heat level is generally mild for a hot based flavor, but the heat level slowly builds as you consume more strips. Ray’s Own Brand jerky is addictive and tastes like more being memorable, as experienced by Paul.”
“Here are the official taste ratings between the Group of Seven on this hot flavor from Ray’s Own Brand, which happens to be the highest ratings to date (Nolan and Sid have not awarded a single 10 taste rating to date since we started this Group of Seven). (Mark – 10, Paul – 10, Stéphane – 10, Nolan – 9, Mark M. – 10, Sid – 9, Ava (Guest Bill) – 9.5)”.
This 4 ounce/113 gram bag sells online for $9.00, which works out to $2.25 an ounce. That rates as a cheap price.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This non-resealable plastic bag has a label affixed to the front, and nothing on the back.
A slogan printed on this bag is “Ray’s Hand Cut, All Natural”. Some facts printed on this bag are “High Protein”, “No MSG, Gluten and No Sugar Added”, “No Nitrates or Nitrites added except those naturally occurring in Sea Salt & Celery Powder”, “Minimally Processed, No Artificial Ingredients”, and “Our Beef Is Raised, Harvested & Processed in the U.S.A.”.
The only bag categories missing are the plastic bag being not being resealable, and no blurb printed about Ray’s Own Brand, or this hot flavor. To the credit of Ray’s Own Brand, a toll free phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
Order their jerky online: www.raysownbrand.com
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