In 1975, two hardworking immigrants named Guenter Lotzmann and Martin Gedja had a vision of opening a meat processing plant together. With Guenters’ skill at being a butcher and Martins’ ability to sell products and drive business, the two friends felt they had a winning formula for a successful business. Martin and Guenter worked hard selling their products from the various markets around Kitchener-Waterloo and even sold their products out of the back of their trucks to help fuel their business.
The plant has grown and changed over the years, but the hard work and attention to detail have not. Since 1975 they have grown and changed with industry needs purchasing more sophisticated machinery and hiring more employees. Today Finest Sausage And Meat is owned and operated by the Lotzmann family and is still located at 268 Trillium Drive in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
The first review on Finest Sausage And Meat will focus on a 2.8 ounce/80 gram bag of their honey pepper flavoured beef jerky. This bag was purchased at the Finest Sausage And Meat store in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Salt, Sugar, Spices (Includes Mustard), Dextrose, Caramel Color, Spice Extracts, Favour, Sodium Nitrite, Soy Protein Concentrate, Natural Smoke. Allergen Warnings: Soy
The beef used is not guaranteed to be free of growth hormones or additional antibiotics. Also, the beef is not guaranteed to have partial free range access to graze on grass. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
The only liquid marinade listed is water.
Some healthy ingredients added are spices, mustard, and spice extractives.
The sugar level is great at 0 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. The salt level is acceptable at 260mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does not qualify to have no sodium nitrite added as sodium nitrite is used outright as a preservative to lose a rating. Commendably, this jerky certainly does qualify to have no MSG added.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
FINEST SAUSAGE AND MEATS – HONEY PEPPER BEEF JERKY
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I cut open the bag, I smell intense sweet. The strips of jerky are medium in size, and they are sliced rather thin. The jerky is soft and chewy, and it leaves some oily residue on your fingers.
The first flavours I detect are intense salt, intense pepper, slight garlic, mild natural beef, and mildly sweet.
This jerky is very, very tasty, but I might be biased because I love salt and pepper. Some maybe most may find the intense salt just a bit too intense. But I love it. It is advertised as honey pepper, but the pepper is quite noticeable, not so much for the honey. So if I’m rating this jerky, I would have to go with a 9/10, only because the honey flavour is not quite apparent enough. Gentlemen?
Here is what Mark had to say about this honey pepper beef jerky flavor from Finest Sausage And Meat : “Thanks Paul for the honest taste review. No doubt that the saltiness is at an intense level. So much so that it overwhelms much of the black pepper flavour. There is a slight sweetness present. Nothing resembling honey jumps out at you.”
“Overall, apart from the intense saltiness, there is a mild pleasant blend of spices and a smoked flavour. There is even the odd hot chili pepper flake to give this flavour a little bite to it. This jerky is cut against the grain, which at times can be challenging for your teeth.”
“Due to COVID-19, we are down to just Paul and me from the Group of Seven for this review. This seems to be a common theme between butchers from Ontario, with salt the jerky’s main star. I was somewhat impressed but not wowed to be at a 7 taste rating. A Good (8/10) taste rating appears to be the logical choice.”
This 2.8 ounce/80 gram bag of jerky cost $5.00. That works out to $1.79 an ounce, which rates at a cheap price.
Bag Review
This non-resealable clear plastic bag has a label affixed to the front and nothing on the back. The bag is vacuum-sealed, the best way to keep jerky fresh tasting.
There are no slogans printed on this bag. Some facts published are “Naturally Smoked”, “No MSG”, “Product of Ontario”, and “Gluten Free”.
Some bag categories missing are a best before date, bar code, and a blurb about Finest Sausage And Meat or this flavour. To the credit of Finest Sausage And Meat, a phone number is provided for customer inquiries. As per Canadian law, French translations are provided.
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