Beef jerky is my favorite snack food, and it's been that way since my childhood.

So I created this blog as a way to share my thoughts on the various brands and varieties of beef jerky. And not just beef, but flesh from other critters too, like pigs, turkeys, deer, buffalo, clams, etc. Yup, you can actually get clam jerky.

Best Beef Jerky is a property of Clear Digital Media, Inc., a website publishing business that I run.

Ratings Defined

Dog Treats () - A jerky that's taste bad enough that I can't handle eating it.

Fair () - A jerky that doesn't have much snackability. It still has a decent taste, it's just not great, and is still ok enough that I can handle eating.

Average () - A jerky that has a good deal of snackability. It doesn't necessarily have an outstanding taste, but good enough that I find myself reaching for more and more. For the most part, it's good enough to satisfy a snacking urge.

Good () - A jerky that has a good deal of snackability, but has some qualities that seem to set it above average. It doesn't necessarily have an outstanding taste, but it could have one or more of the following: an excellent meat consistency, or an excellent chewing texture, or a strong natural meat flavor, a strong flavor intensity, or a strong flavor complexity.

Best () - A jerky that has a good deal of snackability, but has an excellent taste, one that gives off a "wow" factor. It could also have a less-than-excellent taste, but does really well with meat consistency, chewing texture, flavor intensity, flavor complexity, strong meat flavors.

Snackability

Snackability is a term I use to identify how well a jerky satisfies your urge to snack. Snackability is actually the product of several characteristics, it has the largest weight towards the ratings I assign.

A jerky with a moderate to high level of snackability will get no worse than an average rating.

To sum it up, if I find a jerky difficult to resist eating more and more of, it has a good deal of snackability.

A good flavor contributes towards snackability, as does ease in tearing apart a piece, ease in chewing, and even how "clean" a jerky eats.

Clean eating refers to how messy a jerky gets when eating, such as sticky or powdery residue on your fingers and hands, and how many fragments of meat and seasonings fall on your lap. It could also be how much smell remains on your hands. A messy jerky could take some enjoyment away from your snacking.

Finding a lot of chewy connective tissues and sinews in the meat pieces will take some snackability away from a jerky. It subtracts from the chewing enjoyment. Tendon and gristle ruins a lot of chewing enjoyment for me.

A high salt intensity will ruin snackability for me. After so many pieces, my tongue and mouth will feel scorched and I just can't handle eating any more.

Standing Up to an Advertised Flavor

I take into consideration how well a jerky represents its advertised flavor. That is if a package is labeled as "teriyaki", then I expect to get a good deal of teriyaki flavor, as well as something close to true teriyaki flavor.

A jerky that doesn't live up to its advertised flavor tends to lose some snackability because it doesn't satisfy the particular flavor that you had hoped to enjoy.

Spicy Versus Hot - when I see a jerky advertised as "spicy" I don't necessarily expect it to be "hot". I only expect it to have a strong flavor intensity of other than salty or sweet. But "hot" on the other hand, I do expect to have a strong burn on the mouth.

So Who Writes This Blog?

I'm Steve Johnson, someone who specializes in writing blogs, publishing websites, and affiliate marketing.

Because I spend a lot of time on the computer, I eat a lot of snacks and junk food. Beef jerky has become my favorite fuel of choice. I simply married my love for jerky with my skills at website publishing.

When I'm not working, I ride motorcycles. I write two motorcycle blogs, "Biker News Online", where I react to current events, and "Motorcycle Philosophy", which is my deep thoughts on biker life. I'm also one of the founders of a motorcycle riding club, "HeatWave Riding Club".

Let Me Review Your Jerky!

If you represent a jerky manufacturer, then please send us some samples for our review. Visit our "Media Inquiries" page.