Carnivore Club Subscription Box Review + Coupon – April 2017

Carnivore Club is a subscription box that sends a curated package of artisanal cured meats from around the world.

Each month’s box is themed around a different producer that specializes in a particular style of cured meat. Boxes feature everything from French charcuterie and Italian salumi to Spanish chorizo and South African biltong.

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Carnivore Club

The Cost: $50 per month with a recurring subscription. (Single boxes can be purchased for $55.)

The Products: Artisanal cured meats from around the world.

Ships to: U.S. (Note that Carnivore Club also operates clubs in Canada, Europe, and the UK.)

Good to know: Carnivore Club says that all of the meats they send are cured and shelf stable for at least a month; however, they recommend refrigerating everything immediately after receipt to maintain quality and increase shelf life.

Check out all of our Carnivore Club Reviews and visit the Food Subscription Box Directory to find other meat-centric subscription boxes!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

This is my first time reviewing Carnivore Club. I love food/cooking but I don’t have a specific interest in meat per se; I am a former vegetarian who takes more of an “everything in moderation, use the best quality ingredients you can get” approach to my diet these days. We rarely indulge in cured meats so this box is definitely a bit of a treat to experience.

Carnivore Club includes a brochure that lists the shipment’s featured producers and details what’s inside the box, with some ideas about pairings and more. This month features two brands, Vermont Salumi and Daniele Fine Foods.

This box includes all pork products: two salamis, a chorizo, and two sliced meats, a prosciutto and a sopressata.

There’s also a historical anecdote about “The Famed Butchers of Umbria” on the back. It’s a little corny but I genuinely like reading these kinds of things in subscription boxes – it’s like the grown up version of reading the back of the breakfast cereal box.

There was also a coupon for Vermont Salumi. I rarely end up using these because I’m more likely to look for these brands in the supermarket instead, but I’m always happy to see them nonetheless.

Red Wine & Garlic Salami – Value $11.60 (You can buy a bundle of all three salamis in this box from Vermont Salumi for $35)

The day we opened this box, my husband and I treated ourselves to a simple fresh garden salad for dinner, with some beer, cheese, and Carnivore Club on the side. I wanted to start with the least interesting product in the box and work my way up, so we picked this out first.

All of the three salamis are from Vermont Salumi. The owner of this company grew up on an organic farm and went on to apprentice with the butchers of Umbria mentioned on the brochure before starting this company. I am always happy to support sustainable brands, particularly farms and food companies, so I loved to read this.

My husband and I definitely had a bit of a debate over whether or not you should eat the casing. (He did; I did not. We both survived. Feel free to weigh-in in the comments, because now I’m super curious how most people do it!)

As promised, this salami was very buttery and melt-in-your-mouth good. I didn’t really get any red wine, but there was definitely a bit of garlic at the end. Overall this was very mildly spiced – very good, but also not especially remarkable.

Fennel Salami – Value $11.60 (You can buy a bundle of all three salamis in this box from Vermont Salumi for $35)

I *love* fennel so I was excited to try this one next:

The fennel flavor was more pronounced than the red wine/garlic, but it wasn’t overpowering. Since fennel is a common sausage seasoning, as my husband and I exchanged tasting notes I found myself saying: “It’s like a sausage and a salami had a baby!”

This one was my favorite of all the products we sampled, even though it was also less buttery than the first. The seasoning was just perfect.

Chorizo Salami – Value $11.60 (You can buy a bundle of all three salamis in this box from Vermont Salumi for $35)

We’re both chorizo fans, so we were both really curious to try this next one!

This was my husband’s favorite and a close second for me. I’ve actually only ever had soft, semi-cured chorizo before so this was a treat! The traditional paprika flavor was great, and it had a little bit of heat too, and all the chewiness of a salami. The flavors were really well rounded and there was no single overwhelming taste.

Carnivore Club actually recommends using this in a stew or another dish where you’d normally use chorizo, so we set aside the rest to mix with beans and veggies for taco night this week.

Del Duca Prosciutto, 3 oz – Value ? (I couldn’t find this product online)

We pretty much only buy prosciutto around the holidays, so this was a great treat!

Daniele Foods is a Rhode Island based company, family owned and operated since 1945. I love that Carnivore Club is supporting two New England brands this month.

This was so good but so hard to explain! It tasted more “mature” than another prosciutto I have tried, and less salty. I would definitely buy this brand over other brands if I saw it in the store.

We use prosciutto when we make Beef Wellington (my husband’s signature holiday dish). Carnivore Club says nothing is needed to enjoy this, and while I agree, I also think prosciutto makes an excellent pizza topping, and pairs really well with pasta and pea pesto.

Uncured Sopressata, 3 oz – Value ? (I couldn’t find this product online)

I’m not 100% sure that I’ve actually had sopressata before this box.

Carnivore Club recommends eating this with a piece of good bread and butter. That recommendation is spot on! (I’d also probably add some pickles, but that’s just me.)

This sopressata was very buttery. I couldn’t really put my finger on the right way to describe the overall flavor. There are visible whole peppercorns, but the flavor wasn’t peppery – maybe it was picking up on the more herbal/floral notes from the pepper? One thing is for sure: This was really, really good.

Verdict: We really enjoyed this box (our first) from Carnivore Club and thought all the meats included were delicious – there’s not a single product that we disliked. This month did seem a little tame compared to some I’ve seen in past reviews: although the sopressata was new to me, the other styles and flavors are fairly common, so I was left wishing there was just one item included that was just a bit more out of the box.

The $50/month price of the box breaks down to $10/item, which is pricy but on par with similar artisanal products I’ve seen in our local grocery stores. This seems fair to me for interesting products from sustainable companies that I might not otherwise get to try!

What do you think of Carnivore Club? Have you tried any of the products in this month’s box yourself?