In the 1950s, Noah S. Martin raised his family, operated a machine shop, and made summer sausage a hobby. Friends and neighbours sampled his product, discovered it was superior in flavour to their own homemade varieties, and the demand for Noah S. Martin summer sausage increased. Noah S. Martin bought his first smokehouse in 1962, and his hobby grew into a steady business. In the early 1990s, the business was flourishing, and Noah asked his granddaughter Rebecca Martin to get involved, who chose a derivative of her grandfather’s name and established N.S. Martin Processing.
In 2010, Jonathan and Marie Ropp purchased N.S. Martin Processing and continued the trade with the same principles and original recipes that have empowered its growth for more than half a century. Their business was later renamed to Atwood Heritage Processing Inc. This Real Game Meats is distributed under the name of Real Game Meats, and it is located in Atwood, Ontario, Canada.
The first review on Real Games Meat will focus on a 1.8 ounce/50 gram bag of their original flavoured camel pork beef stick. This bag was purchased at Bokkie’s Biltong in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Domestic Camel, Pork, Beef, Water, Maple Syrup, Sea Salt, Alternate Cure, Pepper, Garlic, Starter Culture, Olive Oil, Wood Smoke.
Camel meat is rich in proteins, fats, vitamins A and B, and minerals. Camel meat has been a big food source for the people in the Arab region for more than a 1,000 years. Beef and pork are added also. Being that camel is raised domestically, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Very Good (9/10) rating.
Some healthy ingredients added are black pepper and garlic.
The sugar level is great at only 1 gram of sugar per 30 grams of meat stick. The salt level is reasonable at 240mg of salt per 30 grams of jerky.
The meat stick does not qualify to have any sodium nitrite as an alternative cure is listed as an ingredient to lose a rating. A cure by definition contains sodium nitrite and salt. This meat stick does qualify to have no MSG added.
Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
REAL GAME MEATS – CAMEL PORK BEEF STICK
These meat sticks are uniform in size and similar to any pepperettes out there. The texture has a great ‘snap’ and is relatively easy to chew. There is no fat visible, and handling these strips leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
The first taste detected is a strong level of smokiness. Also present are good levels of salt and black pepper plus a light level of garlic. The sweetness is at a slight level that does not distract. Overall, the taste profile works well if smokiness is your thing. Olive oil is a welcome addition.
This is our first review of any camel product. While we have reviewed plenty of meat sticks with pork or beef added, I can only deduce that what tastes different is the taste of camel. Unfortunately, I can barely detect any difference in taste, largely because the smokiness level is so dominating. Whatever foreign camel taste I am detecting is subtle and non-descript. The taste of camel is supposedly similar to beef or lamb.
It is disappointing that beef and pork were added, but it is unclear if Real Game Meats was legally required to do so. Normally, Paul Rekker would have weighed in here, but unfortunately his dog Malakai ate the meat stick, c’est la vie. A Good (8/10) taste rating seems warranted.
This 1.8 ounce/50 gram bag of meat stick costs $13.91. That works out to $7.73 an ounce, which rates as an expensive price.
Bag Review
This non-resealable plastic bag has a label wrapped around the front and back.
A slogan printed on this bag is “Since 1962”. Some facts listed are “Meat Dried Sausage” and “Gluten Free”.
Some bag categories missing are French translations and a best before date. A lot number is provided, which could translate to a best before date.
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