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Carnivore Club, who sent me this box to review, is the exclusive meat of the month club for discerning individuals! Every month members of the Carnivore Club will receive 4 to 6 different selections of cured and smoked meats, charcuterie and jerky from across the planet. To say that B was excited about this box would be an understatement.
Carnivore Club ships via USPS Priority Mail. All the meat shipped is “ready to eat” so there is no need to worry about getting home quickly to pop it in the fridge or any of that.
I opened the package and could not wait to get a picture sent to B! I knew he was going to be so excited. This kind of box is so B!
This month Carnivore Club selected “Crusted Duck Charcuterie” as their artisan supplier. They were created by a small group of family and friends with a mission to create authentic old world charcuterie with an American twist. Carnivore Club sends an information card with product descriptions and some pairing ideas. We did receive a few differences between the box and the information card, however, since this was a review box I didn’t worry about it too much. Here is what we received:
~Crusted Duck Pancetta Americano ($12): This is described as a “hunk of pork belly” and undergoes an over 6 week process before it’s delicious enough to eat. When I originally opened the package I though, no, this is not safe to eat, how is this possible? But it is. It’s totally fine (thas how it’s made) t’d totally delicious. B loved it.
~Crested Duck Duck Jerky Sticks ($6): This was what B went for first in the box! He loves jerky and and I even enjoyed these myself. They are made form organic, muscovy duck thigh meat, minced several times and stuffed into lamb casing. The card says that they take only a weeks to age, but they are painstakingly made by hand.
~Crested Duck Moroccan Lamb Coppa ($7.25): We have not had a chance to try this one yet, but I think it’s going to happen tonight. To make this, they start with lamb shoulders, de-bone them, cure them for several weeks, rub them down with north African spices like turmeric, aleppo peppers, caraway and cumin and aged them for 3-4 months.
~Crested Duck Nduja ($5.25): The information card says that this is salami, but it’s not like any salami I have ever had. It’s consistency is spreadable. Like that of pate. It’s different for sure, but not awful by any means!
~Crusted Duck Mole ($5.75): I would try and describe this, but to me it tastes like meat. LOL. It has a similar consistency to the jerky, but I actually liked this better. This was the item that wasn’t on the information card (Dirty Martini Salami which I think is different), so I have no idea how it’s made. But we both liked it.
All totaled I came up with a value of about $40 for this box, however, I suspect my pricing is off because nothing is actually available for sale on-line. Other than actually going to “Crusted Duck Charcuterie” I don’t even know how you would you try any of these without Carnivore Club!
What do you think of Carnivore Club? B loved it and it might be something we need to add to our monthly box rotation! At least every once in a while! Carnivore Club is $50/month, but you can use the code “ramble10” to save $10 off your first month! Click here if you want to order or just check them out. I think this would make such a great gift for that guy in your life who has everything!
These pictures put my pregnancy hormones into over drive and kinda made me want to throw up! Lol… Food never grossed me out when I was pregnant with my son, but with this one, meat makes me want to run for the bathroom! Weird
Ha! Isn’t it so weird???
DON’T DO IT!
In theory, Carnivore Club is a fantastic idea. In execution it certain falls short of the mark. I signed up in November to start delivery in January. My order arrived in November. One product smelled “off” and actually had mold on it (and this was after being stored in a cold cellar until I contacted the company to determine shelf life). At that time I was told that a replacement order would be sent to me in January.
Our order arrived on a Friday and since we were not there to receive it was returned to Canada Post where it remained in an unrefrigerated warehouse until Monday evening.
I have requested a refund because I am certainly not comfortable ingesting meats stored at room temperature for three days when the package clearly advises consumers to refrigerate immediately.
The response has been inadequate and offensive. I was told we had received an order in December to rectify the early shipment in November (not true), that we were provided with a tracking number (not true) and that “many other companies would not have sent you another box due to an early delivery” (read: many other companies wouldn’t fix a mistake they made so why should we?).
They are not willing to offer a refund unless there is a problem with the quality (they are willing to risk food poisoning of customers) but “Spending an extra weekend at Canada Post will not ruin the quality of the product in the slightest, especially not in the winter”.
You are much, much better off taking the $50 a month and going to a local store and purchasing your cured meats there. Better, more personal service and a much higher quality of meat.
Okay so I bought a box in December, originally for my husband. We weren’t sure what to expect but our friend had tried it and loved it so we signed up impulsively. The December box was really good so we decided to sign up for the monthly boxes. Seriously every box has just gotten better and better. There were meats in there I had never thought of trying. I like that there are also meats that you can cook with. At first we thought everything needed to go on a charcuterie board but I’ve started making pizzas and salads and other things with the meats which make my typical meals a bit more interesting. Seriously such a great idea. I love the Carnivore Club!
The customer service here is atrocious. Save the headache and find a food subscription where the company actually values their clients. Trying to deal with them has been a nightmare and they are so incredibly rude.