Approximately 15 years ago, the Zdunic family, not happy with the meat they were consuming wondered “what if”. What if they raised their own cattle with their own grains, without any antibiotics or hormones? Like many of us, the Zdunic family wanted something they could be proud to give to their children: meat that was naturally aged a minimum of 21 days, healthy, and lean. So Agram Farms was born from necessity and began to grow from just a few cattle to over a hundred. The vision was born, to have naturally raised, drug free meats, that were grain fed and dry aged, available to the public without the premium price. Agram Meats slogan is “From our farm to you”, and is not just their slogan, it’s their philosophy.
We have a long history with Agram Meats. In 2011, we approached Agram Meats to manufacture our jerky with the hopes of us starting our own jerky brand. Agram Meats agreed provided that we could put forth a viable business plan. We never did manage to make that business plan, where we were stuck on distribution, plus our wives were totally against the idea. Six months later Agram Meats gave up on us and started selling their own jerky starting in 2012, and have been ever since. Agram Meats is manufactured and distributed under the same name Agram Meats, and they are located in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada.
The first review on Agram Meats will focus on a 6 ounce/170 gram bag of their original flavored beef jerky. This bag was purchased at the Agram Meats store in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada.
Ingredient Review
Beef, Salt, Sugar, Monosodium Glutamate, Hyd. Soy Protein, Spice, Garlic, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrate, Smoke Flavor, Caramel Colour, Canola Oil, Sodium Bicarbonate. Allergen Warnings: Soy
The beef that Agram Meats uses is sourced from their local farms, and is ethically raised, meaning no growth hormones or additional antibiotics are given to the cattle. The cows also have free range access to graze on grass. As a result, the ingredient rating starts at a Very Good (9/10) ingredient rating.
Apart from a tiny bit of canola oil, there is no liquid marinade used here. This can be referred to as old fashioned jerky, or a dry rub jerky.
There are some healthy ingredients added such as spices and garlic.
There is no nutrition facts table provided. As a result, the exact sugar and salt level are unknown. Based on the taste alone, this jerky absolutely exceeds our limit of 350mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky to lose a rating. Our apologies if we are wrong, but this jerky likely exceeds 450mg of salt.
This jerky uses sodium erythorbate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium nitrite as preservatives to lose a rating.
This jerky does not qualify to be MSG free as monosodium glutamate (MSG) is used outright to lose a rating. The cheap highly processed flavor enhancer hydrolyzed soy protein is used to lose another rating.
Average (5/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
AGRAM MEATS – ORIGINAL BEEF JERKY
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
The pieces are huge in size, almost like slabs of beef, but they are sliced rather thin. They are dry and chewy, I love the texture. There is no oily residue left on your fingers.
The first flavors I detect are salt, very little sweet (a very good thing), garlic, soy, onion, and copious amounts of natural beef. Both Mark & I know the original creator of this particular beef jerky, Ivan, who is/was very knowledgeable and passionate about his various food products. I don’t believe Ivan works there anymore, but the jerky still tastes the same, so the makers must still be using Ivan’s recipe.
First and foremost, I must admit that I also am an ardent fan/fanatic for Ivan’s recipe for his beef jerky, and when Mark informed me that we were going to officially review it, I told him in advance that I would be at a 10/10. And after ripping in to some of this jerky, which I haven’t had for quite a while, I am once again reminded how much I love both the taste and the texture of this particular jerky. I can find no faults gentlemen, so, true to my prior words, 10/10 it is. Two thumbs way up!!!👍👍”
Here is what Mark had to say about this original beef jerky flavor from Agram Meats: “Thanks Paul for the great taste review. In the end, I do agree with Paul here. Initially, after my first bite, this flavor comes across as rather salty tasting. However, this jerky has a certain characteristic of muting the saltiness as you chew more. In fact the more you chew, the better this flavor gets with a great deal of natural beef flavor.”
“This flavor was shared between ten people where there was not a single complaint, with a couple of 10/10 taste ratings. However, there is only so much jerky to share, where again, to truly appreciate this flavor you need more than just a small strip.”
This 6 ounce/170 gram bag of jerky cost $12.40. That works out to $1.62 an ounce, which rates as a considerably cheap price.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
This clear resealable bag has a label affixed to the front, and nothing on the back.
A slogan printed is this bag is “Fresh From Our Farm To You.” There are no facts printed on this bag.
Some bag categories are missing such as displaying the company web site, a nutrition facts table, distributor postal code, a blurb printed about Agram Meats or this original flavor, and no French translations. To the credit of Agram Meats, a phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
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