The Great Canadian Meat Company shortened their brand name to Great Canadian Meat, and they were founded in 1992 as a two-man operation. With their deli line and jerky, Great Canadian Meat has grown to become one of Canada’s most extensive lines of meat snacks. It is a fairly common sight to see Great Canadian Meat beef jerky for sale in Ontario convenience stores.
Great Canadian Meat has continually strived to create one of Canada’s premier snack food experiences, and they pride themselves on being a Canadian company using the finest Canadian ingredients whenever possible. They source their pork from Quebec and their beef from Western Canada – ensuring the purest of meats from within our borders. They pride themselves on processing through a federally inspected, HACCP-approved, state-of-the-art facility. They’re solidifying their role as a truly Canadian company producing high-quality, tasty meat snacks for their valued customers. This jerky is distributed by The Great Canadian Meat Company and is located in Whitby, Ontario, Canada.
The next jerky review will focus on a 2.3 ounce/65 gram bag of Kentucky Bourbon beef jerky as part of their Road Trip jerky line from Great Canadian Meat. This jerky was graciously submitted for review by Director of Marketing Nicholas Gerald.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Salt, Spices, Brown Sugar, Apple Juice, Bourbon, Apple Cider Vinegar, Molasses, Garlic, Yeast Extract, Cultured Celery Powder, Smoke.
The beef sourced from Alberta used is not guaranteed to be free of growth hormones or additional antibiotics. Also, the beef is not guaranteed to have at least 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 liquid marinade is comprised of water, healthy apple juice, super healthy apple cider vinegar, and not so healthy but expensive bourbon.
There are some healthy ingredients added, such as spices and garlic.
The sugar level is high at 7 grams of sugar per 20 grams of jerky to lose a rating. Our preference is 4 grams of sugar or under per 28 grams of jerky for a bourbon based flavour as we have here. The salt level is sort of high at 340mg of salt per 20 grams of jerky to lose another rating. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite as sodium nitrite is used outright. Admirably, this jerky qualifies to have no MSG added.
Alright (6/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Great Canadian Meat – Kentucky Bourbon Beef Jerky
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
The Great Canadian Meat – Road Trip Kentucky Bourbon beef jerky is tasty, and it keeps getting better each time I take another bite. It has a great aroma of fruitiness and bourbon, which is a nice display of what is about to be coming up. Its taste is complex with notes of fruits, sweetness, bourbon, a slight spiciness, and smokiness. The flavour profile really works, and the taste keeps getting better and more addictive with each and every bite. I appreciate the light spiciness; it wakes up the taste buds and adds another layer of flavour to this jerky. The texture is dry and a little leathery in a pleasant way. These little meat strips add a quality feels and taste to this jerky experience.
I can only state good things, as there are no cons in my own opinion with The Great Canadian Meat – Road Trip Beef Jerky. The Bourbon flavour is subtle without feeling or tasting boozy. I am sure this little meaty treat will be enjoyed by most people who enjoy great flavours in a jerky.
I’d rate this jerky an easy 10/10 Taste Rating.
Here is what Mark had to say about this Kentucky Bourbon beef jerky flavour from Great Canadian Meat: “Thanks Stéphane for the enthusiastic taste review. We are not on the same page here. First, the natural beef flavour does not come across all that well, tasting sort of processed tasting. The taste of bourbon is subtle at best, where whiskey based flavours are difficult to achieve. My last issue is that sweetness is arguably too high, but that is debatable.”
“The most dominant taste is apple, which is not a bag thing and adds an interesting aspect to the overall flavour. There is faint smokiness present, along with a mild flavour of garlic. Once again, Paul’s puppy ate his jerky bag. C’est la vie, but it is getting tiring saying this again. Overall, while an interesting taste profile is present that is somewhat addictive, nothing is memorable with this Kentucky Bourbon flavour. With Stéphane at a 10 rating and myself at a 7 rating, a Good (8/10) taste rating will be awarded.”
This 2.3 ounce/65 gram bag of jerky sells online for cost $6.29. That works out to $2.73 an ounce, which rates as an average price.
Bag Review
This clear resealable plastic bag has a label affixed to both on the front and back. Being part of the Road Trip jerky line where a van is displayed on the front. The Great Canadian Meat logo has a maple leaf.
There are no slogans or facts printed on this bag.
The only missing bag category is a blurb printed about this flavour or Great Canadian Meat. Under Canadian law, there are French translations provided.
Decent (7/10) – Bag Rating
Order their jerky online: www.greatcanadianmeat.com
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