Big Bull Jerky - Sweet Onion

Next in the series on Big Bull Jerky is this Sweet Onion variety. See my previous reviews of their Original and Habanero.

Big Bull Jerky is a brand of Joes Beef Jerky Enterprises, based out of St. Paul Park, MN, and run by a guy named Joe Hinz. The brand has been around for several years, at least as far back as 2003 according to one reference I found. Joe makes jerky in his own USDA approved facility.

This Sweet Onion is just one of 15 varieties of beef jerky they offer, and they also have another 4 varieties of grass-fed beef jerky. This is the last of the Big Bull Jerky I have left to review.

Ingredients

Beef, water, AuJus Mix [Seasoning (hydrolyzed corn gluten, wheat protein and soy protein, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil), hydrolyzed corn protein, salt, shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean oil & cottonseed oil, TBHQ and citric acid), habanero peppers, onion powder, yeast powder, sugar, caramel color, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, natural flavorings], contains less than 2% of garlic, spices, salt, paprika (color), dehydrated onion, red pepper, chili pepper, dehydrated onion, dehydrated red & green bell peppers, citric acid, spice extractives, natural flavor, sodium nitrite, red #40 lake.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light saltiness, and a light meaty aroma. Overall, a very simple flavor, and a low surface flavor intensity.

The chewing flavor starts with a light natural meat flavor, a light sweetness, and I do taste a moderate onion flavor.

Well, for being billed as a "Sweet Onion" variety, I think this does live up to that billing. I do taste a moderately intense onion flavor, more so in some pieces than others. It's the more moist pieces that have the extra flavor, whereas the drier pieces have little. The sweetness is easily noticed, but not necessarily a strong or moderate intensity, it's just light.

When I reviewed Big Bull Jerky's Original and Habanero varieties, I reported a "saucy" flavor, perhaps from the AuJus ingredient. I find that same flavor in here as well, but less so. I think it's still there in the same level, but that sweet onion flavors compete against it, pushing it towards the back.

There's also a light, or very light, natural meat flavor. It's just barely strong enough to contribute to the overall flavor, but not quite strong enough that you can enjoy it. It tends to have a cooked meat flavor.

The level of saltiness seems light.

Overall, it's the onion flavor that provides the bulk of this jerky's flavor, the sweetness is easily noticed, but still light, and is still a dominant flavor only because there's little other flavor in this jerky. You'll notice a light natural meat flavor. It's a light tasting jerky in general.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced medium to thick thickess, and in small to medium sized pieces.

I'd classify this as a dry jerky, but there's several pieces that could qualify as "semi-moist". The dry pieces vary from somewhat brittle, to just plain brittle. The semi-moist pieces have a lot of flexibility. Overall, tearing pieces apart with my fingers seems easy, while chewing varies from easy to quite labored.

The chewing texture starts off feeling stiff and woody, but is breaks apart very easily with just a light amount of biting. It chews down to a soft mass quickly, but only feels crumbly, never steak-like. The softer, more moist pieces was not as crumbly, and had a more steak-like texture, but was still a little bit crumbly.

I don't see any chunks of fat on this jerky, but I do see gristle on just about every piece. However, the gristle didn't seem to show up in the chewing, that is I didn't really feel it. Breaking pieces apart with my fingers reveals quite a bit of stringy sinews, but they too didn't show up much in the chewing.

In terms of clean eating, I'm not seeing any residue on my fingers, and no fragments falling on my lap or desk.




Snack Value

Big Bull Jerky sells this Sweet Onion variety at a price of $8.92 for an 8oz package. I bought 3 packages, each a different variety. Add to that shipping of $6.00, and that's a total of $32.76. That works out to $1.37 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $1.37 price per ounce, it's a fair value. I'm getting some snackability, perhaps slightly below average. It has a decent flavor with the sweet onion, but the meat consistency and chewing texture is subpar. However, the price of $1.37 per ounce is lower than store-bought mass-market jerky, yet overall you're getting an equivalent jerky.

As a Sweet Onion variety, also at the $1.37 price per ounce, it's a good value. I'm getting a fair amount of sweet, and a better amount of onion flavor. If that sweet onion flavor is what you particularly crave, I think you'll get a good deal of bang for your buck, considering the price is lower than average.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Sweet Onion variety from Big Bull Jerky gave me just enough snackability to get it up to an average rating. That's thanks in part for actually providing a decent amount of sweet onion flavor, more so with the onion, and less so with the sweet. There's also a light bit of natural meat flavor, and a light bit of that "saucy" flavor that I reported on Big Bull Jerky's other varieties.

The chewing texture of this stuff is not all up to snuff, being largely crumbly, and not really providing the satisfying chew that beef is supposed to provide. Some pieces in this bag were semi-moist and those pieces gave off a stronger flavor.

Overall however, this jerky is still rather light on taste. I want a jerky to pound out its advertised flavor and make me open my eyes wide and say, "Wow!". So I'd like to see a thicker sweet, and a sharper onion flavor. I'd also like to get a stronger natural meat flavor, and a better chewing texture.

I think a good beer for this is a brown ale.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

• http://bigbulljerky.com/

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Famous Dave's Beef Jerky - Apricot Bourbon

Next in the series on Famous Dave's Beef Jerky is this Apricot Bourbon variety. See my previous of their Original.

Famous Dave's is a brand of Famous Products, Inc., based out of Eden Prairie, MN. Famous Dave's is known mostly for its line of award winning BBQ sauces and its chain of 170+ restaurants. Their jerky is manufactured by Jerky Snack Brands, of Mankato, MN.

This Apricot Bourbon jerky is made from Famous Dave's Apricot Bourbon Marinade, which is said to contain apricots blended with chipotle peppers and finished a "hint" of bourbon flavor.

Ingredients

Beef, water, seasoning (sugar, salt, brown sugar, natural & artificial flavors (bourbon & apricot with maltodextrin, sugar) chili powder [chili pepper, spices, salt, dehydrated garlic], spices, molasses powder (refinery syrup, cane molasses, cane caramel color), onion powder, garlic powder, torula yeast, honey powder, with less than 2% silicon dioxide [anti-caking]), sodium nitrite.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a distinct apricot flavor, with a slight sweetness, and a faint saltiness with some sucking. Overall, it's a light surface flavor.

The chewing flavor starts with about the same level of apricot flavor, maybe a little bit more sweet, and a little bit more saltiness. I can also pick up a light chili pepper flavor, more similar to cayenne pepper seasoning. I can feel a faint spicy tingle in the back of my mouth.

Well, for being advertised as "Apricot Bourbon", I do indeed taste a fair amount of apricot flavor, mostly on the surface. The surface flavor does continue into the chewing, but wears off a little towards the latter end of chewing. As for the bourbon, I don't taste anything like bourbon, whiskey, or alcohol. I don't get any of the oak barrel flavor, or anything that resembles spirits.

It's not at all sweet like I wondered it would be. There's indeed a light sweetness, but no more than what you'd find in a package of Jack Link's regular. It's more of the apricot essence, and less of the sweet.

I can also pick up light bit of chili pepper seasoning, like I said more similar to cayenne pepper. But it varies from piece to piece, some pieces have a fair amount of this seasoning visible, while others have none. There's no heat coming from this seasoning, it's quite mild to me.

I taste no natural meat flavors.

The level of saltiness seems light, despite the higher content noted on the nutrition facts.

Overall, the component that provides much of this jerky's flavor is the apricot in a moderate intensity. Beyond that, you'll notice a light amounts of cayenne-pepper flavor, a light saltiness, and that's it.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced to a medium thickness, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky, with some flexibility. Some pieces are more on the brittle side, while some others are little bit more semi-moist. Overall, I found it easy to tear pieces apart with my fingers, and chewing varies from somewhat labored, to easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling stiff, but has some rubbery chewing resistance. The stiffer pieces tend to crumble apart, and take on a crumbly chewing texture. The softer pieces are kinda mushy when chewed down. Whereas the pieces in between, they seem to have something of a steak-like texture, but still feeling every bit like mass-market jerky.

For the most part, this jerky seems lean, with the exception of one piece that had a nice chunk of fat. I found no tendon or gristle. But I do encounter several pieces with a fair amount of stringy sinews, but they didn't offer much distraction.

It's also pretty clean eating, no residue picking up on my fingertips, and no tiny fragments falling on my lap or desk.




Snack Value

Famous Dave's sells this Apricot Bourbon variety from its website at a price of $5.49 for a 3.5oz package. I bought 3 packages, each a different flavor. Add to that shipping costs of $8.29, and it brings a total of $24.76. That works out to a per ounce price of $2.36.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.36 price per ounce, it's seems to provide a weak value. I get a low degree of snackability, largely due to an overall light flavor, and a rather one-side flavor, mostly just apricot. That $2.36 price is higher than what you'd pay in a grocery store for mass-market jerky, and I think you'll get a little bit better snackability from the mass-market stuff.

As an Apricot Bourbon variety, at the same $2.36 price per ounce, it's a fair value. I do get a well-noticed apricot flavor, but as expected, absolutely nothing tasting like bourbon. If you're thinking of buying this because the word "bourbon" intrigues you, there's really nothing bourbon about this. Buy it instead because you like apricot.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair rating.

This Apricot Bourbon variety from Famous Dave's provides an well-noticed apricot flavor starting from the moment you put a piece into your mouth, and lasting to just about when you swallow it down. It doesn't have a strong sweetness as you might expect with fruity jerky, though there is a light sweetness. Rather, it's more of the apricot essence, and less of the sweet.

But this jerky is largely one-sided, in that it's the apricot flavor that I largely taste. There's a light saltiness, and a light cayenne pepper flavor, but they're light, and don't really add much to the overall flavor.

The meat consistency is rather inconsistent. Some pieces are hard, others are semi-moist, some have a crumbly texture, others are mushy. I did find a few pieces with a decent steak-like texture, but overall I didn't come away thinking this is quality jerky.

There's also no hint of bourbon flavor, and no natural meat flavors to enjoy.

As a result of the one-sided flavor, inconsistent meat consistency, and lackluster chewing texture, I just couldn't find much snackability in this.

For my beer recommendation, I'd go with a wheat beer, or hefeweizen.

Rating: Fair

Buy this online:

• http://www.famousbbq.com/

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Ed's Roadhouse Jerky - Sweet Black Pepper

Next in the series on Ed's Roadhouse Jerky is this Sweet Black Pepper variety. See my previous reviews of their Lil Sweet Jalapeno Habanero and Devil's Tongue varieties.

Ed's Roadhouse Jerky is a family run business based out of Buffalo Grove, IL. It's run by Ed Herman, a long time BBQ fanatic, who found inspiration for great tasting meat after visiting a restaurant in Chicago called "Talbots".

About 20 years ago, he started "Ed's Roadhouse Jerky", making his own jerky, spices, and sauces, focusing specifically on a balance of sweet and hot. The package label comes with a freshness guarantee that all the jerky he makes is made to order (as opposed to sending you something off the shelf I presume). It comes without preservatives, and advises that as soon as you receive it, you refrigerate it.

Ingredients

Angus beef eye of round, fresh black pepper blend, water, garlic salt, sugar, soybean, wheat salt, natural flavoring spices, molasses.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a sweet flavor, a salty flavor with hints of soy sauce, and a moderate black pepper flavor. I can also feel a spicy bite from the black pepper, and I can pick up traces of garlic.

The chewing flavor starts with a light natural meat flavor, a slightly stronger saltiness, a stronger black pepper, with a bit more soy sauce flavor at the end.

Well for being dubbed "Sweet Black Pepper", this jerky definitely holds up well to that claim. I certainly do pick up the sweetness, mostly on the surface, and particularly at the first few seconds of putting a piece into my mouth. After that, the other flavor components swarm in and the sweetness gets pushed to the background.

But the black pepper is much more dominant than the sweet. On an individual piece, I still get a strong flavor, while over several pieces it builds up an intense aftertaste and a light burn.

Also, after eating several pieces the intense black pepper tends to numb my tongue somewhat, making it more difficult to taste the other flavors, mostly the surface flavors. I find with this jerky that by taking a drink, and then pausing about 10 minutes, and then eating another piece, I can taste the flavors better.

The natural meat flavors in this are still very noticeable despite the strong black pepper, though they too tend to lose their flavor due to the numbing effect of the black pepper. But otherwise, they have that same marbilized beef flavor that I found in Ed's other varieties.

The salt flavor intensity in this seems moderate.

There's also a soy sauce flavor in this, that's slightly noticeable on the surface, but more noticeable towards the latter end of chewing, as the other flavors wear off.

Overall what you're going to taste in this the most is the black pepper, in a strong intensity. You'll also notice the natural meat flavors very well. The sweetness is primarily noticed in the first few seconds of putting a piece into your mouth. You'll also notice a moderate saltiness throughout, but manifesting itself into a more defined soy sauce flavor towards the end of chewing.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in bite sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky, but with a good deal of flexibility. Tearing a piece apart with my fingers is very easy, but due to its bite sized piece you won't need to tear these. Chewing is very easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling soft, with a slight bit of rubbery chewing resistance, that easily gives way to a little bit of sucking and light biting. It chews down to a soft mass quickly enough, and at that point it takes on a steak-like chewing texture, but more like soft steak, perhaps comparable to the outer portion of a rib eye cooked medium-rare.

In terms of fat content, I see a fair amount of fat marbilization on these pieces, enough so that it contributes to the overall flavor, but in a good way. But I don't find any gristle, tendon, or any stringy sinews.

It's also clean eating, my fingers don't pick up much residue, except for an occasional pepper chunk. The bite sized pieces means not having tear pieces apart, and not getting any flying fragments.




Snack Value

Ed's Roadhouse Jerky sells all of their jerky varieties from its website at a price of $3.75 for a 2oz package. They also tack on $5.75 for shipping. If you can buy one pound of their jerky, in different varieties, it'll cost you $35.75. That works out to a price of $2.24 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.24 price per ounce, it presents a good value. I'm getting a lot of snackability for its great overall flavor, good meat consistency and chewing texture. Even though the $2.24 price is higher than store-bought mass-market jerky, you're getting a far better jerky with more snackability.

As a Sweet Black Pepper jerky, at the same $2.24 price per ounce, it presents a good value. You're actually getting a lighter amount of sweet compared to other jerky brands that advertise themselves as "sweet", but you're also getting a ton of black pepper. So maybe it all balances out somehow.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Sweet Black Pepper variety from Ed's Roadhouse Jerky has a very pleasing base flavor with its natural meat flavors, soy sauce, and a touch of garlic, and then adds some sweetness on the surface, with a great deal of black pepper.

It's more for the folks who love black peppered jerky than those who love sweet jerky. The sweet lasts only a few seconds initially until the other flavors floods in. The black pepper is quite strong, which perhaps is a boon if you love black pepper. Except I found the black pepper intensity to be high enough to where my tongue suffered from some numbness, requiring me to take a 10 minute break and a drink, just to be able to taste the full flavor again.

Still, I felt compelled to keep eating more because it offers a good chewing texture, is easy to chew, and the bite sized pieces seem to encourage eating more.

Like with the other varieties of Ed's Roadhouse Jerky that I reviewed, this Sweet Black Pepper largely wins with its well-noticed natural meat flavors, one that resembles marbilized beef. The addition of soy sauce, garlic, sugar, and black pepper does a great job of enhancing that flavor, and giving it a good "pop".

My recommended beer pairing for this, go with a stout.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.edsroadhousejerky.com/

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Pan's Mushroom Jerky

Pan's Mushroom Jerky is a product of Panco Foods, LLC, based out of West Dundee, IL. It's run by a guy named Michael Pan who launched the company in October 2008.

His family hails from the island of Borneo in Malaysia, and several years ago he took a trip there to spend time with them. He discovered they had been making this mushroom jerky, and decided it tasted pretty darn good.

Mushroom Jerky is made from the stems of mushrooms, mixed with egg whites, sugar, palm oil, and spices, and is eaten as a snack.

Today, Pan's Mushroom Jerky is still made by his family in Malaysia, and exported the USA. It's touted as being "100% Meatless", with no preservatives and no artificial ingredients.

Ingredients

Mushroom stalk, egg whites, sugar, palm oil, salt, spices.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a sweet flavor, followed by a fried flavor. I think the egg whites contribute towards that fried flavor. About 10 seconds into this, I can taste the mushroom quite well. There's a slight bit of saltiness.

The chewing flavor tastes much like the surface flavor in the same intensity.

Well, for being dubbed "mushroom jerky" there's indeed a well-noticed mushroom flavor, almost similar to shiitake. That flavor is more noticed sucking on a piece rather than chewing. But that flavor doesn't come on until several seconds into sucking a piece.

Initially, the first flavor that comes on is the sweetness. It's not a strong sweetness, I'd rate it as moderate.

That "fried" flavor is there all the way through eating a piece, and I'm guessing what I'm actually tasting is fried egg whites, mixed into the mushroom stems.

As far as the spices are concerned, I can taste hints of spice. They're in a low level, to where they don't overpower. I can't quite tell what spices are used.

Overall, it's the mushroom flavor that provides most of this jerky's flavor. That fried (egg white) flavor seems to have the second strongest flavor, with the sweet coming in third.

Meat Consistency

Like the packaging says, these appear to be whole mushroom stems, but they seem to have been flattened, or pounded, at least they don't appear to be in their natural rounded state. Some pieces are actually shredded stems.

It's a dry jerky. Each piece is quite stiff, similar to thick strips of dry jerky. But they're quite easy to chew.

The chewing texture starts out feeling stiff and woody, but chews down fairly easily and quickly. There's perhaps a slight sponge-like chewing resistance, but is only there for a few chews. There's also a some crunchiness to this in the initial chews. Once it chews down to a soft mass, it feels very similar to beef jerky, but more like mushy beef jerky. However, I can still feel some of the mushroom stem fibers.

Otherwise, these pieces seem to be all mushroom, I don't see or feel anything else, like maybe dirt, or steer manure, or whatever else they grow mushrooms in.

It's also pretty clean eating. The bite-sized pieces means not having to tear or rip pieces apart, and I'm not getting any residue on my fingers.




Snack Value

Panco Foods sells this jerky from its website at a price of $3.99 for a 2.5oz package. I purchased two bags, and paid $5.00 for shipping, which comes to a total of $12.98. That works out to a per ounce price of $2.60.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.60 price per ounce, I think it offers a fair value. I'm getting a decent amount of snackability for its overall good flavor, and easy eating. Compared to all jerky in general, the $2.60 price per ounce is considerably higher than most brands, and I think you'll get some snack value in return for your dollar, but less than an equal value.

If you can find this in stores, which it is selling in some places, and not have to pay shipping, it's a good value I think.

But specifically as a mushroom jerky, at the $2.60 price per ounce, I think it's a good value. I'm getting a good deal of mushroom flavor, and some sense of mushroom stem chewing texture. If you love mushrooms, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this, and find it worth the money.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

If you love mushrooms, and I certainly do, you'll find a good deal of mushroom flavor in this jerky. At first, what you'll taste is some sweetness, and then a "fried" flavor, perhaps from the egg whites, but then that mushroom flavor kicks in.

As far as being called "jerky", I think it holds up. It definitely has a chewy, dry texture that you come to expect with beef jerky, and once it chews down to a soft mass, it even feels like beef jerky, albeit a little more mushy. But there's also a nice little crunchiness to it that I think adds to the overall snackability.

I think it's has a little bit of a bland taste to it, however. It didn't have that "wow" factor, or that eye-opening "pop" that I look for in a best-rated jerky. I actually found a great deal of snackability in this initially, where I kept wanting to eat more and more, but eventually that slight bit of blandness kicked in to where I started losing my interest about half-way through the package.

I think Pan's Mushroom Jerky is just itching for new varieties in the asian theme, like a chili-sauce variety, or a fish-sauce variety, or Japanese-style katsu sauce. That might provide that "pop" I'm looking for.

For my recommended beer pairing, I'd go with a cherry or raspberry lambic.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.pansmushroomjerky.com/

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Hickory Hollow Jerky - Hot Shot

Next in the series on Hickory Hollow Jerky is this Hot Shot variety. See my previous reviews of their Original and Teriyaki varieties.

Hickory Hollow Jerky is a brand of Hickory Hollow Jekry, LLC, based out of Eufaula, AL, run by a Baptist Minister named Russ Robbins. Russ makes jerky through his own USDA inspected facility. While Russ has been making jerky for over 30 years, Hickory Hollow Jerky has only been around since November 2008.

This "Hot Shot" jerky is Russ' spicy hot jerky entrant, described on the company's website as "cajun".

Ingredients

Beef round, soy sauce, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, water, corn syrup, potassium sorbate, garlic powder, blended peppers, smoke flavoring added, spices, worcestershire sauce, distilled vinegar, molasses, onion, sugar, natural flavor, tamarind.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a smoky flavor, followed by a soy sauce flavor, and a light bit of chile pepper flavor. There's a light spicy burn building up. With some sucking, I get more saltiness. Overall, the surface flavor has a good deal of intensity.

In the chewing, the first I notice is more definition from the soy sauce, and I can pick out the worcestershire more. The saltiness is a bit increased, and there's a light bit of natural meat flavors.

Considering this jerky is dubbed "hot shot", it certainly does have some spicy heat. On an individual piece, it registers on my hot scale as about "medium". Over several pieces, it's hard to say if it's still "medium" or slightly higher at "medium hot". I'm going to go with just "medium".

While the ingredients list shows "blended peppers", I only get a light taste of the flavor. Even though there's plenty of red seasoning visible on these pieces, they don't necessarily have an equal amount of flavor. I get more peppery burn than I do peppery flavor.

The flavor that seems to provide much of this jerky's flavor is a combination of the soy sauce and worcestershire. It's well noticed on the surface, but it becomes more defined in the chewing.

There's a fair amount of smoky flavor on this quite noticeable on the surface, as well as into the chewing.

The natural meat flavors are very light, but just noticeable. I think that through general jerky snacking, they won't be noticed much; it's something you have to think about as you're chewing.

There's also a faint bit of garlic noticeable.

Overall, what you're going to taste in this is a dominant blend of soy sauce and worcstershire, with a well noticed smokiness particularly off the surface. You'll taste a little bit of the red peppery seasoning, but mostly you'll experience its burn.

Meat Consistency

These are strips of whole meat, sliced to a medium thickness, and in small pieces.

This is a dry jerky, with a soft flexible feel. Biting a chunk off of a strip requires a bit of effort, and chewing seems a bit labored, and somewhat chewy. Not that bad, though.

The chewing texture starts out feeling stiff with a fair amount of rubbery resistance, almost like soft plastic. With some sucking and light biting, it breaks apart. Once it's chewed down to a soft mass, it's somewhat of a steak-like chewing texture, similar to a medium-cooked steak, though still a bit of a crumbly texture.

These pieces seem pretty lean, I don't find any visible chunks of fat, no gristle, and no tendon. I do find a fair amount of stringy sinews, but overall they don't provide much distraction.

Handling these pieces do leave behind plenty of red pepper seasoning on my fingertips. Biting off chunks also spreads a little bit of that pepper on my lap.




Snack Value

Hickory Hollow Jerky sells this Original variety from its website at a price of $4.00 for a 3oz bag. They'll tack on $1.00 for shipping. That's a total of $5.00 per bag, or a per ounce price of $1.67.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $1.67 price per ounce, this offers a good value. I'm getting a good deal of snackability for its overall good flavor, and good chewing texture. The $1.67 price per ounce is about the same as mass-market brands found in grocery stores, but you're getting better flavor and a little better chewing texture.

As a hot variety of jerky, at the same $1.67 price per ounce, it's also a good value. I'm getting a decent amount of spicy heat. It's clearly more heat than what you'd get from the hot varieties of mass-market brands, but at a similar price.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Hot Shot variety from Hickory Hollow Jerky has a flavor dominated by a combination of soy sauce and worcestershire, with a well noticed smokiness from the surface. In fact, it's very much the same flavor found in Hickory Hollow's Original variety, except with the addition of the chile pepper blend.

That chile pepper blend does provide a decent amount of heat, but doesn't really provide all that much flavor. I do pick up a very light amount of chile flavor. But considering Hickory Hollow didn't advertise this as a "red chile" or "chile pepper" variety, then it seems to live up to its advertised billing as "Hot Shot".

But otherwise, that leaves this jerky largely the same jerky as the Original, which I rated as "good", but with some spicy heat added in. It has a similar meat consistency, slightly tough, a little chewy, but still a decent chewing texture. Overall, it's a very flavorful jerky, but I had hoped the addition of chile pepper seasoning would add that extra "burst" of flavor I was looking for. It didn't.

For my recommended beer pairing, go with a porter.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.hickoryhollowjerky.com/

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Holston Mountain Beef Jerky - BBQ

Next in the series on Holston Mountain Beef Jerky is this BBQ variety. See my previous reviews of their Original and Hawaiian varieties.

This BBQ variety is the brand's newest, described as a "robust blend of spices [that] creates a terrific mesquite-grilled flavor that must be tried to be believed." I didn't purchase this BBQ variety, it was sent to me as a freebie, after purchasing the Original and Hawaiian varieties. What I have here is a small bag, about 1.5 or 2.0 ounces.

Holston Mountain is run by a guy named Gary Graybeal, based out of Bluff City, TN. The company has been around for the past six years now. His jerky is made from Black Canyon Angus, using top inside round, marinated for 24 hours.

Ingredients

Beef, salt, brown sugar, dehydrated tomato, garlic powder, chili pepper, and other spices.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a sweet, tangy, BBQ sauce flavor. I can taste the pasty tomato flavor mentioned in the ingredients, and a good deal of garlic. I can also sense a tad of the chile pepper. Overall, there's a quite bit of surface flavor here.

In the chewing, the first flavors that come out is a bit more saltiness, and a bit more tanginess, and I can also sense a light amount of natural meat flavors.

For being advertised as a BBQ variety, I'd say this does indeed have a strong BBQ flavor. It's more of the BBQ sauce flavor, than the BBQ seasoning flavor. It has that pasty, tomato-like base, with a good deal of tangy flavor and a well noticed garlic flavor, and plenty of sweet. There's a light amount of chile pepper flavor, more similar to cayenne pepper, but not hot at all, and still quite mild.

Overall, it's a very bold flavor that reaches out and grabs me.

The natural meat flavors are light, and only seem to be noticed towards the tail end of chewing. For the most part, the BBQ flavors are very dominant, and make the meat flavors fall to the background.

There's also a slight smokiness noticeable.

The salt flavor intensity seems moderate in this.

To sum up the taste, it's largely dominated by the BBQ sauce flavor, with a sweet, tomatoey, tangy, garlic, and cayenne pepper mixture. You'll notice a light natural meat flavor towards the end.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced to a medium thickness, and in bite-sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky, with a semi-moist feel on the surface. There's a bit of flexibility, but any significant amount of bending will cause it crack open. Tearing pieces apart with my fingers seems easy, while chewing seems easy as well.

The chewing texture starts with a semi-moist feel, and slightly chewy. But the pieces seems to break down easily enough with some sucking and light biting. Once it gets down to a soft mass, it has something of a steak-like texture, perhaps similar to a steak cooked medium. Though, there's a bit of mushy texture to it also.

The pieces seem quite lean, I didn't encounter any chunks or streaks of fat. I did find gristle on one piece, however. No tendon, and not much in the way of stringy sinews.

It's pretty clean eating, my fingers don't pick up residue, and I found no fragments falling on my lap or desk.




Snack Value

Holston Mountain sells this BBQ variety from its website at a price of $6.00 for a 4oz package. I bought two packages, each a different variety. Add to that shipping costs of $4.20, and it brings a total of $16.20. That works out to a price of $2.03 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.03 price per ounce, this provides a good value. I'm getting a lot of snackability for its great flavor, easy easting, and decent chewing texture. The $2.03 price per ounce is higher than mass-market jerky found in grocery stores, but I think you'll get plenty of snackability for your dollar.

As a BBQ variety, also at the $2.03 price per ounce, this offers a good value as well. Again, I'm getting a lot of BBQ flavor, more comparable to BBQ sauce than BBQ seasoning, and I find it to be good tasting sauce, very tangy, sweet, spicy, with a good deal of garlic. That $2.03 price seems to be a good deal considering how tasty this is.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This BBQ variety from Holston Mountain Beef Jerky offers a bold tasting BBQ sauce flavor, packed with sweet, tangy, peppery, and tomatoey flavor, highlighted with a good deal of garlic. You'll experience that combination of flavors right off the bat, and lasts most of the way through the chewing.

Towards the end of chewing, the BBQ sauce wears off, but the garlic continues with a strong aftertaste, and by this time, you'll notice a light amount of natural meat flavors, a little bit stronger saltiness, plus a faint bit of smokiness.

The meat consistency seems quite good, being easy to eat, clean eating, with a decent chewing texture. The one piece I found with gristle was a turn off for me, but I think overall, the great taste, and easy eating makes that streak of gristle seem like much ado about nothing.

For my recommended beer pairing, I'd go with something fruity, like an apricot flavored ale.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.holstonmountainbeefjerky.com/

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Rocky Mountain Organic Meats - Peppered Honey

Rocky Mountain Organic Meats is a brand of Rocky Mountain Custom Cuts, Inc., based out of Powell, WY. The company focuses on offering only grass-fed beef products, certified USDA Organic.

All the cattle used in their products are raised in the Rocky Mountain region of the USA, and roam free on certified organic pastures. The animals receive no hormones, no antibiotics, and no steroids. The company adds no MSG, and no nitrites to their jerky, and is gluten free.

This Honey Peppered Jerky is one of two varieties they offer. The other is just Honey (without the pepper).

Ingredients

Beef, honey, water, sugar, seasalt, black pepper, red pepper, celery juice powder, garlic, lactic starter culture.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a fair amount of sweet, a light smoky aroma, and a bit of saltiness. Overall, it's a moderate surface flavor intensity.

The chewing flavor starts with some natural meat flavors, an increased saltiness, and a light bit of black pepper.

For being advertised as "Peppered Honey", this jerky provides a light sense of those flavors. I taste a clear sweetness, in a light intensity, while the unique honey flavor is at a light level. The black pepper is more noticeable than the honey, but still light on an individual piece basis. Over several pieces, the black pepper tends to build its intensity, and provides a moderate flavor.

There's also red pepper listed in the ingredients, and I do see a few chile pepper seeds, but I don't really taste any of the flavor. There's a very weak spicy burn in the back of my mouth, but still only registers as "mild" on my hot scale.

Otherwise, the component that seems to provide the bulk of this jerky's flavor is the natural meat flavors. It's not a strong flavor, but still strong enough to easily notice.

The level of saltiness seems to be moderate.

Overall, what you're going to notice in this jerky is mostly the natural meat flavors in a moderate intensity. You'll notice a light bit sweet, honey, and black pepper flavor.

Meat Consistency

These are strips of whole meat, cut into lengths ranging from 2-4 inches, and in widths and thicknesses.

This is a semi-moist jerky, with a lot of flexibility. It's easy to bite off chunks, and easy to chew.

The chewing texture starts off feeling soft and tender. With a just little bit of sucking and light biting, it breaks apart, and takes on a steak-like chewing texture. I don't notice any crumbly, mushy, or gummy texture.

For the most part, I don't see any streaks of fat, except for one piece I found that had a small bit, which provided some additional fatty flavor. Otherwise, I found no tendon, gristle, and no stringy sinews.

It's also pretty clean eating, leaving no residue on my fingers, and no small fragments flying off to my lap or desk.




Snack Value

Rocky Mountain Organic Meats sells this Peppered Honey variety from its website at a price of $6.99 for a 3oz package. They had a flat rate shipping fee of $24.00, regardless of how many packages you order, or to where it ships to. So, if you buy 10 packages of this stuff, it'll work out to a per ounce price of $3.13.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $3.13 price per ounce, it's a weak value. I do get a good deal of snackability from this, due to a moderate, but good natural meat flavor, good meat consistency and chewing texture. But that's a steep price to pay if you just want an all-purpose jerky to snack on, and while I think it's good jerky, I'm not getting enough "heaven" from this to justify that price.

It's really as a certified USDA Organic jerky, from grass fed beef, that you'll find a good value in this. If that's important to you, you'll get that, plus some good natural meat flavors. You'll still need to buy this in bulk to drive down that shipping cost, and make it cheaper per ounce.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Peppered Honey variety from Rocky Mountain Organic Meats is defined by a good tasting natural meat flavor, in a moderate intensity, and then lightly colored with some sweet, honey, black pepper, and salt.

It's also easy to eat, in a semi-moist consistency, and has a good, steak-like chewing texture. What keeps me back from assigning the higher "best" rating is that the flavor intensity overall is just one notch low from where I'd like it to be. Perhaps adding some more smokiness, to bring out that meat flavor, is all that's needed.

But among all the certified USDA Organic jerky brands I've had, this is the first that actually provides a good deal of natural meat flavors. Other brands just don't seem to offer that. You'd think that by offering beef free of hormones, steroids, antibiotics, and grass-fed, using all organic ingredients, you'd could taste beef they way Mother Nature intended. But no, those other brands gave me zip, which made me wonder why I would ever bother spending the extra money to get USDA Organic jerky. So, hats off to Rocky Mountain Organic Meats for giving me a reason.

My recommended beer pairing for this, try a brown ale.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.rockymtncuts.com/

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Big Bull Jerky - Habanero

Next in the series on Big Bull Jerky is this Habanero variety. See my previous review of their Regular.

Big Bull Jerky is a brand of Joes Beef Jerky Enterprises, based out of St. Paul Park, MN, and run by a guy named Joe Hinz. The brand has been around for several years, at least as far back as 2003 according to one reference I found.

This Habanero variety, I presume, is their hottest variety. It actually comes in two styles "Hot 50" and "Hot 100", where the 50 refers to 50 habanero chile peppers in the batch, and the other had 100. Their website doesn't mention the Hot 50 and Hot 100, but you might want to contact Joe and ask about it.

Ingredients

Beef, water, AuJus Mix, [Seasoning (hydrolyzed corn gluten, wheat protein and soy protein, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil), hydrolyzed corn protein, salt, shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean oil & cottonseed oil, TBHQ and citric acid), habanero peppers, onion powder, yeast powder, sugar, caramel color, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, natural flavorings], contains less than 2% of garlic, spices, salt, paprika (color), dehydrated onion, red pepper, chili pepper, dehydrated onion, dehydrated red & green bell peppers, citric acid, spice extractives, natural flavor, sodium nitrite, red #40 lake.

Taste

I'm starting with the Hot 50 variety.

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light saltiness, an fried oily flavor (if that makes any sense), and that's about it. Overall a very light tasting surface flavor.

The chewing flavor starts with little else, a slightly stronger saltiness, a bit of that "saucy" flavor that I described in the Regular variety. There's a faint natural meat flavor. I can start to feel a bit of spicy burn brewing in the back of my mouth.

For being dubbed a Habanero variety, this jerky does pack a good deal of heat. It seems to vary from piece to piece, some pieces offer only a light burn, while others dish out moderate amount. On my hot scale, I'd rate this as "mild medium" on an individual piece, and maybe building up to a "medium" over several consecutive pieces. Others with less tolerance might see it as one notch higher.

I don't really find much habanero chile flavor. Here and there, I do pick up faint traces of flavor. These pieces have bits of dried peppers on the surface, and I want to say that the slight bit of flavor comes when I chew down on a dried chunk of habanero.

Moving on to the Hot 100 variety, it seems like it has the same level of heat, at least on an individual piece basis. But as I sit here eating more of this, it seems to build up heat more intensely. Overall, I want to say that it has a "medium" level of heat my hot scale, and will build to a "medium hot" level. It's still largely devoid of habanero chile flavor.

Like with the Regular variety, the flavor that seems to dominate this jerky is that "saucy" flavor, which perhaps stems from that AuJus ingredient. It has a flavor very much like that little cup of salty brown water you get with a prime rib, or a french dip sandwich, except not quite as salty. It's not a strong flavor, it's actually rather light, but it's enough that it provides most of this jerky's flavor.

The natural meat flavors are very light in this. It has a "cooked" flavor, like a well-done cooked steak, or maybe well-well-done. Either way, it's light enough that you may not notice it during general snacking.

The level of saltiness seems light.

Overall, what you're going to taste in this is pretty much the same as the Regular variety, but with some chile pepper burn added in. It's a light "saucy" flavor, with light touches of meat flavor and saltiness.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced medium to thick, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky, dry enough that it's somewhat brittle. I can bend a piece slightly, and break chunks off. Chewing is quite labored however, and can be rather tiring.

The chewing texture starts out feeling hard, but brittle. It breaks apart easily enough with some biting, but it still provides a lot of hard chewing to get it down to soft mass. But even at a soft mass, it doesn't really feel like steak. It's more crumbly than anything else.

For the most part, there's little fat to be seen on these pieces. They do, however, contain quite a few stringy sinews, but they don't seem to get in the way. I didn't encounter any gristle or tendon.

In terms of clean eating, it's pretty much so. Because it's brittle, you don't really have to rip smaller chunks off, just bend back and forth, and they break off.




Snack Value

Big Bull Jerky sells this Habanero variety at a price of $8.92 for an 8oz package. I bought 3 packages, each a different variety. Add to that shipping of $6.00, and that's a total of $32.76. That works out to $1.37 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $1.37 price per ounce, it's a fair value. I'm getting only a little bit of snackability from this; it just doesn't provide much flavor, and is rather tiring to eat. But the $1.37 per ounce price is lower than store-bought mass-market jerky. So, I think you're still getting the baseline snack value for this lower price.

As a Habanero variety, at the $1.37 price per ounce, I think it's a decent value. You'll get a good deal of habanero heat eating this, but you won't get much of any habanero flavor. You'll get more burn from this than compared to Oberto's Habanero variety, while getting less flavor, but will still pay less.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair value.

This Habanero variety from Big Bull Jerky seems very comparable to their Regular variety, except with plenty of habanero heat added in. Unfortunately, I still couldn't pick up much habanero flavor, either in the Hot 50 or Hot 100 batches. While I do like hot jerky, I particularly want to taste the chile pepper flavor.

For that matter, this Habanero variety gets the same rating as the Regular, which I also rated as "fair". To me, they both have an overall light flavor, consisting largely of a light "saucy" flavor, a light saltiness, and a very light amount of meat flavor, and they're both brittle, stringy, and have a crumbly chew.

The good deal of spicy burn in this habanero variety is nice, but just the burn alone doesn't do much for me, I prefer to the taste the habanero flavors instead.

My recommended beer pairing for this, go for a smooth creamy stout.

Rating: Fair

Buy this online:

• http://bigbulljerky.com/

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Chip's American Jerky - Spicy Southwest

Next in the series on Chip's American Jerky is this Spicy Southwest variety. See my previous review of their Mild Midwest.

Chip's American Jerky is a brand of Chip's American Jerky Co, LLC, of Pikesville, MD. The company has been around since 2003, but didn't get it's first product on the market until 2008.

Chip Forward, the founder of the company, is a retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant, who started making jerky in the service back in the 1980s. Thus far, the two varieties he offers under his new company is geographically themed, "Spicy Southwest", "Mild Midwest", which makes me wonder what's in store for Northwest, or New England, etc.

Ingredients

Sliced beef round, water, spices, soy sauce powder, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onion, salt, brown sugar, natural hickory smoke flavor.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light smoky flavor, and a light spicy tingle building on my tongue. Several more seconds, I can taste some chile pepper, something like cayenne. I can taste some saltiness through a little bit of sucking. Overall, it's light tasting surface flavor, with a light spicy bite.

The chewing flavor starts with a little bit heavier cayenne pepper flavor, some natural meat flavors, and a stronger spicy burn, and a bit stronger saltiness. I can also detect a slight bit of garlic in the background.

For being dubbed "Spicy Southwest", there's indeed a spicy burn to this. I'd rate it as "medium hot" on my hot scale, which could be considered "hot" to some others. However, after eating several pieces, that burn builds up to "hot" on my scale. If you're not into hot foods, you'll probably find this very hot. But it seems to vary with some pieces having less burn. The "medium hot" rating I gave is based on the hottest pieces I found.

In terms of spicy flavor, it's similar to that of cayenne pepper seasoning. At least, that's the flavor that seems to stand out the most. I do taste some saltiness and some garlic, but I don't necessarily classify that as "spicy". Overall, I think Chip's use of the word "Spicy" refers more to the degree of heat, as opposed to the degree of spices used for seasoning.

The natural meat flavors are easily noticed, though not strong. I think the cayenne seasoning is still a bit more dominant. But the meat flavors are not necessarily light either. It's a dominant flavor, but still sits behind the cayenne. It has a "cooked" flavor, similar to that of pot roast.

The level of saltiness seems light overall. The burn from the cayenne might make the saltiness seem higher.

The garlic flavor I noted above remains light but noticeable over several pieces.

There's also black pepper on this jerky, but it's not detectable, perhaps because the cayenne pepper is much stronger.

Overall, what you're going to taste in this initially is a light smokiness. Soon you'll taste the cayenne pepper flavor, and experience a strong cayenne pepper burn. You'll notice the natural meat flavors, and a weak garlic flavor. That initial light smokiness is only there in that first piece, after that the stronger cayenne pepper will make it hard to find again.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced to a medium thickness, and in small pieces.

This is a dry jerky that seems to get more dry as I sit here writing this review. It started out being somewhat easy to chew, to where just an hour later it's rather tough. At this point it requires a fair amount of effort to tear a chunk off, and to chew.

The chewing texture starts out feeling dry and woody, but it seems to break apart rather easily due to a brittle consistency. It still takes a fair amount of labored chewing, however, before it gets to a soft mass. At that point, it doesn't really feel like steak at all, it's more like dried out pot roast, more crumbly than anything else.

There's also quite a bit of stringy sinews in this meat, which leaves behind some small wads of unchewable tissue in my mouth. I don't see any chunks of fat on this jerky, and no tendon or gristle.

My fingers don't pick up any residue handling these pieces, but tearing a chunk off does cause tiny fragments to fly off on my lap.




Snack Value

Chip's American Jerky sells this Spicy Southwest variety from its website at a price of $9.00 for a 4oz package. I bought two packages, each a different variety. Add to that shipping costs of $6.00, and it brings a total of $24.00. That works out to a per ounce price of $3.00.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $3.00 per ounce price, it's a weak value. I get a good amout of snackability for its good overall flavor, though that gets tempered by the dry tough meat consistency. But $3.00 per ounce is a very high price for jerky, and as such a jerky has to be REALLY good to provide a good snack value.

As a Spicy Southwest jerky, at the same $3.00 per ounce price, it's a fair value. It certainly does pack a lot of spicy burn, which could make this a worthy buy if you want a jerky that packs a good deal of heat. But, you'd have to buy at least a couple pounds of this stuff to water down the shipping costs, and get the price per ounce down.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Spicy Southwest variety from Chip's American Jerky is very much like their Mild Mild Midwest variety, with some natural meat flavors, and a light garlic taste, but with the addition of cayenne pepper. The cayenne adds a fair amount of flavor, but also packs a lot of heat. Depending on your tolerance for hot foods, you could see this as "medium hot" to "very hot".

But unlike the Mild Midwest variety, the meat consistency in this Spicy Southwest jerky much more dry, and more tough. That may be due to variances from one batch of jerky to another, as opposed to being a characteristic of this particular flavor.

I think the flavor of this Spicy Southwest is good enough to earn a "good" rating, instead of the "average" rating I gave it. The addition of the cayenne pepper gives it enough extra flavor interest beyond the Mild Midwest I reviewed previously. It's just the tough eating, and crumbly chewing texture that kept me from assigning that higher rating.

For my recommended beer pairing, try a brown ale.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

• http://www.chipsamericanjerky.com/

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Choppin' Block Beef Jerky - Hot

Next in the series on Choppin' Block beef jerky is this Hot variety. See my previous review of their Mesquite Smoked variety.

Choppin' Block is a brand name of Robertson's Hams of Salado, TX. Robertson's Hams is an outlet store for a brand of smoked meats called "Robertson's Hams". Robertson's Hams has six outlets across Texas and Oklahoma. Refer to my above linked review of the Mesquite Smoked variety for a detailed explanation between the two entities.

This Hot variety along with the Mesquite Smoked are the only two beef jerky varieties the Salado, TX outlet offers; they also have a turkey jerky which I didn't purchase. This Hot variety is also labeled as mesquite smoked.

Ingredients

Beef, water, brown sugar, salt, worcestershire sauce, red pepper, black pepper, crused red pepper, sugar, maple sugar, granulated garlic, sodium nitrite.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light smoky flavor, a light sweet, and with some sucking I get a light saltiness. I can also detect a faint garlic flavor. Overall, it's a light surface flavor intensity.

The chewing flavor starts with a smoky, natural meat flavor, followed by a stronger saltiness. I can detect a light spicy burn building in the back of my mouth. I can also pick up some black pepper.

For being advertised as a Hot variety, I don't see this as "hot". It does have a little bit of heat burning in the back of my mouth, but it's so light that it's more like a tease for me. I'd rate this as "mild-medium" on my hot scale. Maybe others with a lower tolerance for hot foods will see this as "medium".

Considering the ingredients lists red pepper, I don't really taste it at all. I do get the light burn, but no red pepper flavor. There are a few chile pepper seeds scattered around, but very scant. Those don't seem to add any flavor.

But I do taste the black pepper in a light amount. It mostly comes in the chewing, and is varied in intensity. Some pieces give off a strong taste, others just a slight taste.

The natural meat flavors are well noticed in the chewing, but not necessarily in a strong amount. There's a good deal of smokiness mixed in.

The salt flavor intensity seems moderate.

There's also a faint garlic flavor noticeable.

Overall, what you're going to taste in this jerky is that mesquite smoke initially, with a bit of sweet, salty, and light spicy burn. Then the natural meat flavors come on as soon as you start chewing, with moderate amount of saltiness, and some black pepper. You'll notice a light-to-moderate spicy burn over several pieces.

Meat Consistency

These are strips of whole meat, cut thin to medium, and in lengths ranging from 6 to 12 inches.

This is a dry jerky, with a just a little bit of flexibility. The strips are cut with the grain, and as a result, require a little effort biting off chunks. Chewing is also rather chewy, and labored, but not to where I'd call it tough.

The chewing texture starts out feeling like stiff rubber. With some sucking and light biting, it eventually softens up and starts chewing down. Once down to a soft mass, it has a steak-like feel, more comparable to a steak cooked medium-rare. There's still some rubbery feel, however.

I do see some small chunks of fat on a few strips, otherwise most of this jerky is very lean. No gristle, tendon, or other chewy connective tissues.

It's also very clean eating, no residue on the fingertips, and no fragments flying off.




Snack Value

Robertson's Hams of Salado, TX sells their Choppin' Block jerky at a price of $12.95 for an 8oz bag. I bought three bags, each a different variety. Add to that shipping costs of $11.50, and it comes to a total of $50.35. That works out to a per ounce price of $2.10.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.10 price per ounce, this jerky seems to offer a decent value. I'm getting a good amount of snackability for it's good overall flavor and good chewing texture. The $2.10 price per ounce is higher than store-bought jerky, but I think you'll get a little bit better jerky overall from this.

As a Hot variety, at the same $2.10 price per ounce, it's a weak value. I don't see this as being "hot" at all. It does have some spicy burn to it, but considering you're paying a higher price than store-bought jerky, you're not getting something any hotter.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Hot variety from Choppin' Block is very comparable to their regular Mesquite Smoked variety, but with just a little bit of heat added in. The addition of red pepper seasoning doesn't add any flavor, just a little bit of spicy burn. Otherwise, it's the same jerky as the Mesquite Smoked variety.

For the most part, you're tasting a fair amount of smokiness, some natural meat flavors, saltiness, and some black pepper. Initially, the chewing is a little tough, like stiff rubber, but eventually you'll get a decent chewing texture, similar to medium-rare steak, though still a bit rubbery.

Overall, it's a good flavor and a good chew if you like dry chewy jerky. But aside from the light burn, this jerky has a light overall flavor. As a hot jerky, I'd prefer more red pepper seasoning, just because I want that chile pepper flavor.

For my recommended beer pairing, I'd go with a red ale.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

• http://www.robertsonshams.com/

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Datil Daddy's Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Next in the series on Datil Daddy's Beef Jerky is this Teriyaki variety. See my previous review of their Datil Pepper.

Datil Daddy's is a brand of St. Augustine Originals, LLC, based out of Saint Augustine, FL. The brand has been around for a little more than a year. The brand specializes in the Datil Pepper, a chile pepper comparable to the habanero in terms of heat, but is said to be more sweet and fruity.

This Teriyaki variety, along with all of their varieties, include datil pepper sauce as an ingredient. The company sent was to send me each of their three varieties for review, but sent me one package of their Datil Pepper, and two packages of Teriyaki instead. So unless they can send me their Datil Hickory, there won't be any further reviews.

Ingredients

Beef, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, hickory smoked seasoning, datil sauce, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, cure (salt, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate).

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light smokiness, followed by a faint sweet. I can pick up that datil sauce like I did in the Datil Pepper variety, though in a lighter amount. There's also a tanginess in there. I can also taste the soy sauce in a light amount too. Overall, the surface flavors provide a moderate amount of intensity.

The chewing flavors start with a light natural meat flavor, a slight increase in saltiness, and a slight increase in tanginess. There's indeed a teriyaki flavor in this, but it's light. The datil sauce seems to have a bit more definition, and I can identify a faint chile pepper flavor.

Well, for being advertised as a Teriyaki variety, I don't think this jerky stands up well to that claim. I mean, I do taste some teriyaki flavor in there, but it's light, and it just doesn't step up front. It seems to sit in the background, or competes against, the datil pepper sauce, the smokiness, and the tanginess.

In fact, none of these flavors really step up and dominates this jerky. It's like a hodge-podge of flavors competing for my attention.

If I had to pick a dominant flavor of this jerky I'd give it to that datil sauce. I'm not sure that it's stronger than the other flavors, but it just contrasts nicely against the others. It has a tanginess to it, perhaps from a vinegar component, as well as a tomatoey flavor, and a light chile pepper flavor. Unlike the Datil Pepper variety I reviewed earlier, this Teriyaki variety has very little burn.

The natural meat flavors are light overall, but still easily noticeable. There's a smokiness in that meat flavor, and a flavor similar to a steak cooked medium-rare. I also pick up some fatty flavor, more like an "aged" fatty flavor, due to the visible streaks of fat and connective tissues in this jerky.

The soy sauce flavor, aside from the teriyaki, becomes more noticeable towards the latter end of chewing, as I extract out the juices.

The saltiness seems to have a moderate flavor intensity.

Overall, what you'll taste in this are several flavors competing against each other, the datil sauce, with its tomato, vinegar, and chile pepper flavors, a light teriyaki flavor, a light meat flavor with some smokiness, and a soy sauce flavor towards the end.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced medium to thick, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a semi-moist jerky, very flexible, but still cracking open easily. Tearing pieces apart with my fingers require some effort due to a lot of stringy sinews holding the meat together. Chewing is actually easy, though still encountering a lot of unchewable wads of tissue.

The chewing texture starts out feeling very soft and tender, and easily chews down to a soft mass. At that point, it has a very steak-like chewing texture, similar to a steak cooked medium. There's a little bit of mushiness here and there.

Most of these pieces have some visible streaks of fat, and there's also a fair amout of chewy connective tissues that create a rubbery chew. I also find a good deal of other stringy tissues that remain in mouth as unchewable wads.

Otherwise, it's pretty clean eating, no residue picking up on my fingertips, and no fragments flying off as I tear pieces apart.




Snack Value

Datil Daddy's sells this Teriyaki variety from its website at a price of $7.29 for a 4oz package. If you bought 3 packages, plus $4.90 for shipping, it comes out to $26.77 total. That's a price of $2.23 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.23 price per ounce, this seems to provide a good value. I'm getting a lot of snackability for its great flavor, and good chewing texture, and easy chewing. Even though the $2.23 price per ounce is higher than store-bought jerky, I'm enjoying this jerky a lot.

As a Teriyaki variety, at the same $2.23 price per ounce, it's a weak value. I'm just not getting much teriyaki flavor out of this. It's there, but it's light, and it's overshadowed by the datil sauce. I think you'll still get more teriyaki flavor from the mass-market brands at your local grocery store.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Teriyaki variety from Datil Daddy's provides a great overall flavor, is easy to eat, and has a good chewing texture. It just doesn't hold up well to its teriyaki advertisement. I can taste some teriyaki flavor in this, but it's just light, and it tends to get lost in the datil sauce flavor.

That datil sauce flavor, I think, is still the marquee flavor of this jerky, with its tangy vinegar, its chile pepper and tomatoey flavor. Add to that a light smoky meat flavor, and soy sauce flavor towards the end, and it makes for a jerky with a lot of taste complexity.

The semi-moist chew also makes this a nice jerky, being easy to chew, though there a fair amount of stringy sinews that can make it difficult to tear apart. In fact, the good deal of chewy tissues in this meat that left behind these unchewable wads in my mouth, is primarily why I kept this jerky from getting a "best" rating.

I think the datil sauce used in Datil Daddy's jerky is an excellent jerky ingredient. But for this Teriyaki variety, I would have preferred to get a thicker, sweeter, teriyaki flavor, that used the datil chiles to provide some good heat.

For my recommended beer pairing, the tangy vinegar flavor in this has me wanting something fruity, like a cherry lambic.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.datildaddys.com/

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Hickory Hollow Jerky - Teriyaki

Next in the series on Hickory Hollow Jerky is this Teriyaki variety. See my previous review of their Original.

Hickory Hollow Jerky is a brand of Hickory Hollow Jekry, LLC, based out of Eufaula, AL. It's run by a guy named Russ Robbins, who by day is a full time Baptist Minister, but at night runs Hickory Hollow, making and selling beef jerky through his own USDA inspected facility.

While Russ has been making jerky for over 30 years, Hickory Hollow Jerky has only been around since November 2008. Russ hand cuts every piece of jerky in the ancient tradition of his forebearers, random in shape in size, but consistent overall. He says he trims off all the excessive sinews and fat.

Ingredients

Beef round, teriyaki sauce, hydrolyzed soy protein, water, corn syrup, potassium sorbate, garlic powder, black pepper, smoke flavoring added, spices, onion, worcestershire sauce, distilled vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, natural flavor, tamarind.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a soy sauce flavor, with a light bit of sweet. Overall, it's a light-to-moderate surface flavor intensity.

In the chewing, what I taste right away is a more defined soy sauce flavor. I can sort of taste the worcestershire better in the chewing. There's also a faint garlic flavor noticeable, and a faint bit of smoky flavor.

For being billed as a Teriyaki variety, I don't really taste teriyaki sauce in this. What I taste is soy sauce, and a light bit of worcestershire. To me, teriyaki should have a thick sweet flavor, along with a combination of tangy and pungent notes from sake/mirin wine and ginger. I don't pick up any of those, just the soy sauce component.

I don't pick up the natural meat flavors like I did in the Original variety. Albeit the Original variety offered only a light meat flavor, it was still an element that I could enjoy. I think in this Teriyaki variety, the soy sauce flavor is strong enough that it masks over what light meat flavor is in this.

The level of saltiness seems moderate.

There's a bit of smoky flavor found in the chewing, and becomes more noticeable towards the latter end of chewing.

I can also find a light black pepper aftertaste building up over several pieces.

Overall, the primary flavor you're going to get out of this is a soy sauce flavor, not really a teriyaki flavor. In the chewing, that soy sauce flavor becomes more defined, and you may even notice a faint worcestershire flavor too. Throw in some light garlic, and some light black pepper.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced medium thickness, and in strips of about 3-4 inches in length.

This is a dry jerky, but with enough moisture that you could argue that it's semi-moist. Biting chunks off seems relatively easy, while chewing is somewhat chewy, not really easy, but not necessarily tough.

The chewing texture starts out feeling stiff, and a little rubbery. It takes several seconds of biting and sucking until it softens up enough to chew. Once it chews down to a soft mass, it takes on a steak-like texture, similar to being cooked medium-well.

Just about every piece contains some visible bits and streaks of fat. Where they're in higher volumes, they contribute an oily flavor to the meat. I'm also finding a fair amount of unchewable wads in this jerky.

But it's pretty clean eating, with no residue picking up on my fingers, and nary anything flying off on to my lap.




Snack Value

Hickory Hollow Jerky sells this Original variety from its website at a price of $4.00 for a 3oz bag. They'll tack on $1.00 for shipping. That's a total of $5.00 per bag, or a per ounce price of $1.67.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $1.67 price per ounce, this jerky offers a good value. I'm picking up a decent amount of snackability for its good flavor, and good chewing texture. And that price of $1.67 per ounce is right in the ballpark with store bought jerky, but I think you're getting a better product than the mass-market brands.

As a teriyaki variety, at the same $1.67 price per ounce, it's a fair value. I don't think this teriyaki flavor is any better or worse than the teriyaki flavor you'd get from the mass-market brands. And since the price is already competitive with store bought jerky, it's neither a good buy or a bad one.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Teriyaki variety from Hickory Hollow Jerky doesn't really taste like teriyaki beef jerky, it tastes more like just soy sauce. I'm getting only a little bit sweet, and I think a jerky advertised as "Teriyaki" ought to have a heavy sweetness. Or at least, that's what my expectation is.

But on its own merits, it's a still good tasting jerky, with a good chewing texture. Aside from a soy sauce flavor, I can pick up a light bit of worcestershire, and light bits of garlic, black pepper, and some smokiness.

While the chewing texture is quite steak-like, it's still rather chewy, and somewhat tough. What helps is that this jerky has enough surface flavor that you can suck on a piece for awhile to let it soften up before chewing.

Even with the shipping costs added in, it's still priced the same as store-bought jerky, but you're getting a better jerky than the mass-market brands.

My recommended beer pairing for this, go with a lightly flavored cream ale.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.hickoryhollowjerky.com/

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Wild Bill's Beef Jerky - Sweet 'N Smokin'

Next in the series on Wild Bill's is this Sweet 'N Smokin' variety. See my previous review of their Hickory Smoked.

Wild Bill's is a brand of Wild Bill's Foods, Inc., based out of Lancaster, PA. The company has been around since 1955, starting out as "Balwell's Butcher Shop". Balwell's started offering meat snacks in 1983. By 1988, the company changed its name to Wild Bill's Foods, Inc.

The brand offers several lines of jerky, including a Premium line, as well as Tender Tips, and shredded jerky. What I'm reviewing here is from their "Tender Tips" line.

Ingredients

Beef, seasoning (dextrose, jalapeno, salt, onion and garlic powder, hydrolyzed corn protein, spices, mustard, artificial flavor, not more than 2% calcium silicate and soybean oil to prevent caking), brown sugar, sodium nitrite. (sprayed with potassium sorbate to help protect quality).

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light sweetness, a faint jalapeno flavor, a light spicy tingle in the back of my mouth. With some sucking I get a light saltiness.

In the chewing, I first taste a little more salt, the same level of sweet, the same level of jalapeno flavor, and the spicy burn heats up a little more.

For being labeled, "Sweet 'N Smokin'", I'd say that it does have a sweet and hot quality, and perhaps does live up to that description. The sweetness seems to be medium in intensity. And as far as being hot is concerned, I'd actually rate it as medium on my hot scale. But overall, I think it still has enough of the sweet and hot to warrant the "Sweet 'N Smokin'" description.

That jalapeno flavor I described above remains a light flavor after eating several pieces. It's the flavor of raw jalapenos, not the pickled flavor.

The level of saltiness seems low, though the spicy burn can make it seem more saltier than it is.

There's a light garlic flavor noticeable in this.

Overall, the primary flavor you're going to taste in this is the sweetness, which lasts from the surface, and runs all the way through the chewing. You'll get a fair amount of heat, and a light taste of raw jalapeno flavor.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced medium to thick, and in strips ranging from 2 to 5 inches.

Some pieces are dry, while others are semi-moist. The dry pieces tend to be tougher and chewier, and require a bit of effort to bite off. The semi-moist pieces are easy to chew.

The chewing texture for the soft pieces starts out feeling tender, and chews down fairly easily enough. Once its down to a soft mass, it tends to feel a bit mushy, though still a little bit fibrous. Whereas the dry pieces tend to feel stiff, and require some labored chewing. Once down to a soft mass, it feels crumbly. Overall, neither types of pieces have a steak-like quality.

For the most part, this jerky seems lean, though here and there I encountered some chewy and stringy tissues. Otherwise, I don't really see any pieces of fat, or feel any crunchy gristle.

It's also fairly clean eating, no residue picking up on my fingers, and no meat fragments flying off.




Snack Value

Wild Bill's sells this Hickory Smoked variety from its website at a price of $5.25 for a 3.25oz package. I bought two packages, each a different flavor. Add to that shipping costs of $6.50, and it came out to a price of $17.00. That's a per ounce price of $2.62.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.62 price per ounce, it's a weak value. I get a low level of snackability from this, due to an "ok" flavor, and subpar chewing texture. That $2.62 price per ounce is considerably high compared to mass-market brands at the grocery store. If you can find this in the store, and not have to pay shipping, it's a fair value at best.

As a "Sweet 'N Smokin'" variety, at the same $2.62 price per ounce, it's a weak value as well. Even though I do pick up the sweet & hot qualities, they're in moderate levels, and not worth this higher price. Maybe if you bought this at the store, and didn't have to pay shipping, it might be worth the expense just to try something new.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair rating.

This "Sweet 'N Smokin'" variety seems to do a satisfactory job of providing some sweet and some heat, but at moderate levels. If anything, the heat may be more intense than the sweet. Folks not used to eating hot foods may definitely see this as "hot".

Otherwise, it's largely dominated by two flavors, the sweet and a light raw jalapeno flavor, which is backed up by a light saltiness and faint garlic. I think it's a satisfactory flavor in general, but I just didn't find it exciting.

While I think it's easy to eat, I didn't find the chewing texture to be all that great. Some pieces are mushy, while others are crumbly. I never got anything that provided a steak-like chew.

I think a good beer to pair up with this is any kind of wheat beer.

Rating: Fair

Buy this online:

• http://www.wildbillsfoods.com/

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Famous Dave's Beef Jerky - Original

Famous Dave's is a brand of Famous Products, Inc., based out of Eden Prairie, MN. Famous Dave's is known mostly for its line of award winning BBQ sauces and its chain of 170+ restaurants.

Dave Anderson started the well known restaurant chain in 1994, and just a year later, took first place for his BBQ sauce at the American Royal International Barbecue Contest. Since then, award after award has been bestowed on him for his sauces and food.

This particular Original variety is said to contain Famous Dave's "Steak & Burger" seasoning. The actual manufacturer of this jerky is Jerky Snack Brands, of Mankato, MN.

Ingredients

Beef, water, seasoning (salt, sugar, garlic powder, maltodextrin, onion powder, hydrolyzed soy protein, corn starch, soybean oil, citric acid, natural flavors, corn syrup solids, dehydrated lemon juice, natural smoke flavor, caramel color, with less than 2% calcium silicate), sodium nitrite.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light smoky flavor, followed quickly by a strong seasoning flavor. I can pick up a good deal of garlic in that seasoning, and some saltiness.

In the chewing, what I notice first is more of that seasoning flavor, in a stronger definition.

For being described as made from Famous Dave's "Steak & Burger" seasoning, this jerky definitely has that flavor. It's almost like taking a shaker bottle of that seasoning, and sprinkling it on my tongue. I can taste the garlic and onion quite well, and I can even pick up a wee bit of sweet.

The saltiness seems moderate in terms of flavor intensity.

I can't find any natural meat flavors, however.

Overall, the flavor you're going to taste the most is Famous Dave's "Steak & Burger" seasoning, starting from the surface flavors, and becoming more defined in the chewing flavors. But that's about all you're going to taste.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced to a medium thickness, and in small to medium sized pieces. There's also about a half-ounce of crumbled pieces in the bottom of the bag.

This seems to be a dry jerky mostly, but I do find some pieces being more close to semi-moist. Some pieces seem easy to tear apart with my fingers, but I noted some that require some effort. Chewing, however, seems relatively easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling somewhat soft and tender, and seems to chew down to a soft mass fairly easily. At that point, it's similar to a steak-like chewing texture, but not quite. Some pieces have slighly crumbly nature, while others are a little mushy.

I didn't find any pieces of fat on this jerky, nor did I find any gristle or tendon. I do note, however, some pieces with some stringy sinews. Overall however, it seems rather lean jerky.

It's also rather clean eating as well. My fingers didn't pick up any residue, with only scant bits of meat flying off as I tore pieces apart.




Snack Value

Famous Dave's sells this Original variety from its website at a price of $5.49 for a 3.5oz package. I bought 3 packages, each a different flavor. Add to that shipping costs of $8.29, and it brings a total of $24.76. That works out to a per ounce price of $2.36.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.36 price per ounce, it's seems to provide a fair value. I get a good deal of snackability for that good tasting "Steak & Burger" seasoning, along for a fairly easy to eat jerky. That $2.36 price is higher than what you'd pay in a grocery store for mass-market jerky, but I'm getting enough good flavor to where I think it offers enough snack value to make it worth buying at least once, though I don't know about a repeat buy.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Original variety from Famous Dave's is made from their "Steak & Burger" seasoning, and that's exactly what you'll taste in this. I got a good doseage of that seasoning, with an emphasis on the garlic & onion components, along with saltiness, and wee bit of sweet.

But that's largely all I'm tasting in this. I didn't pick up any natural meat flavors, though I could pick up a slight bit of smokiness, mostly from the surface of these pieces.

The meat consistency is easy to tear apart and chew, but the chewing texture is not exactly like chewing a piece of steak. Most pieces tend to feel more crumbly, and others a bit mushy. It tends to chew and feel very much like mass-market jerky.

If you're a big fan of Famous Dave's, or you just love steak & burger seasoning, then I think you'll enjoy this jerky. If you can buy this in a store or restaurant, it's worth buying again. But if I had to pay the shipping, I wouldn't buy it again.

My recommended beer pairing for this, go with a red ale.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

• http://www.famousbbq.com/

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Joe's Beef Jerky - Hot

Next in the series on Joe's Beef Jerky is this Hot variety. See my previous review of their Regular variety.

Joe's Beef Jerky is a brand of Joe's Beef Jerky, Inc., based out of Statesville, NC. It's a small, family run business in operation for several years, at least as far back as 1996. They make jerky in their own USDA inspected facility, and is a member of the "Goodness Grows in NC", where all of the ingredients must be grown in North Carolina.

Joe's uses top round, cut to 3/16" thick, and marinated for 24 hours. They use no additives, preservatives, or nitrates.

Ingredients

Beef, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, Texas Pete (peppers, vinegar, salt, xantham gum), salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper, cayenne pepper.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light cayenne pepper flavor, followed by a light saltiness, and then a burn starting to build. I can also taste that same "saucy" flavor I noted in the Regular variety. Overall, the surface flavors have a strong intensity due to the hot spices.

The chewing flavors start out with that saucy flavor in a slightly stronger intensity, perhaps giving the worcestershire and soy sauce enough definition to where I can recognize them. The chile pepper seasonings continue from the surface; they don't get any more intense in the chewing.

For being labeled as a "Hot" variety, I'd say it holds up to that claim, though for me personally I see it more as "medium-hot" on my hot scale. But I think general audiences will certainly see this as hot. It's also varied, some pieces have a thick coating of red pepper seasoning and these get up to "hot" my hot scale. The pieces with a light coating, are just "medium".

It actually does provide some chile pepper flavor, I think mostly through the cayenne seasoning. But not a lot of flavor, it's still struggling to compete against the "saucy" flavor. If anything, it's the burn that dominates, not necessarily the chile pepper flavor.

And that "saucy" flavor, I believe, still provides the dominant flavor overall. I taste it more than any other flavor component. It's not really well defined as soy sauce and worcestershire, but I think there's enough definition in the chewing flavor that I can taste some resemblance of those two. It's more like watered down versions of soy sauce and worcestershire.

Actually, I think the "saucy" flavor in this Hot variety is more flavorful than in the Regular variety. Perhaps the seasonings mix into that flavor better, or perhaps it's a slightly different marinade. But I want to say that it's a bit more intense.

As for the saltiness, it seems to have a low intensity. Though the burn from the peppers can be easily mistaken for a salt burn.

The natural meat flavors are hard to find in this, compared to Joe's Regular variety. The Regular variety had a light meat flavor, and when you factor in the spiciness of this Hot variety, it's as if there's no meat flavor at all.

Overall, what you're going to get from this jerky is primarily that "saucy" flavor, much like with the Regular variety, though in a slightly more intense flavor. You'll get a light taste of cayenne pepper, but a good deal of peppery burn.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced to a medium thickness, and in medium to large pieces.

This is a dry jerky, but still very flexible, cracking with a fair amount of bending. Tearing pieces apart with my fingers is easy if torn with the grain, while chewing is moderately labored, quite chewy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling stiff, with a good deal of rubbery resistance, but breaking down with several hard chews. Once it gets down to a soft mass, it has a steak-like chewing texture, but not totally. It still retains some rubbery resistance.

I do see some significant streaks of fat on some pieces. In fact, of what fat I do see, I also see splotches of white bubbly residue, like foam that had dried but, collected only next to the fat. I also found a piece with thick streak of gristle that provided a nice crunchy rubbery feel. But I didn't encounter much stringy sinews.

In terms of clean eating, it's not. The red pepper seasoning tends to pick up on my fingertips as I pinch down to tear these pieces apart. Looking at my lap, I have pepper seeds and seasoning all over.




Snack Value

Joe's Beef Jerky sells this Hot variety at a price of $13.00 for an 8oz package. I bought two packages, each a different variety. Add to that shipping costs of $7.00, and it brought the total to $33.00. That works out to a price of $2.06 per ounce

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.06 price per ounce, this provides a fair value. I'm getting an average amount of snackability overall, with a stronger snackability on the flavor, but a lower snackability on the meat consistency. The $2.06 price per ounce is higher than the mass-market brands, but if you can overlook the chewy, tough texture, you'll find the flavor to be better than average.

As a Hot variety, at the same $2.06 price per ounce, it's a good value. It's definitely hot, at least for general audiences. Even for someone who eats a lot of hot spicy foods, I find this providing a good deal of burn. If all you want is a hot jerky, you'll find this to be a worthy buy.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Hot variety from Joe's Beef Jerky stands up well to its billing, providing a good deal of heat, though with only a light amount of chile pepper flavor. Otherwise, this jerky dishes out the same "saucy" flavor as with the Regular variety, with a low level of saltiness, and nary any meat flavors.

Compared to the Regular variety, this offers that additional light chile pepper flavor, a lot of burn, and I think even a slightly more flavorful saucy flavor. Interestingly, this jerky is more flexible, though rubbery, whereas the Regular was more brittle and crumbly.

While the flavor is perhaps good enough for me to rate as "good", the tough, chewy texture of this Hot variety made for some tiring eating, and caused me to take it down to "average".

My recommended beer pairing for this, a smooth creamy stout.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

• http://www.joesbeefjerky.com/

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