Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Co - Buffalo Jerky Sticks

Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Co - Buffalo Jerky SticksLast in this series on Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Co. are these "Buffalo Jerky Sticks". See my previous reviews of their Wild Times, Original, and Elk Jerky.

These Buffalo Jerky Sticks is a chopped & formed jerky, which the company describes as being "finest lean 100% Ground Buffalo".

Based in Jackson Hole, WY, the company has been around since 1947 supplying buffalo and elk meat products to consumers and retailers. Today it has a shop in Jackson Hole, WY, and sells its meat products through its catalog and website.


Ingredients

Buffalo meat, salt, corn syrup solids, spices, natural smoke flavoring, mustard seed, garlic powder, black pepper, sodium nitrite.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a thick oily/greasy flavor, followed by a salty flavor. There's a faint smokiness, and a light garlic flavor. Overall, it's a moderate flavor intensity.

The chewing flavor starts with a bit more smokiness, more saltiness, and a sausage-like meat flavor. I can sense some black pepper.

Overall, this stuff far from the company's other buffalo jerky products which gave off a strong natural meat flavor. This stuff has a meat flavor, but not a natural one. It's like the flavor of a meat stick, or something like a slightly spicy summer sausage. There's a fatty flavor in these sticks that provides some body to the overall flavor, and creates an oily film throughout my mouth. The meat flavor itself is not strong, just moderate in intensity.

It seems the saltiness is the strongest flavor I can detect. It's well noticed on the surface, and gets stronger in the chewing. I'd rate the salt intensity as high, but not too high for my tolerance.

The garlic is noticeable, but light.

The mustard seed listed in the ingredients is largely not noticed. But here and there I did encounter a burst of mustard flavor. It comes when I bite into a mustard seed. Every once in awhile, I feel and hear a crunch sound, which I assume is a mustard seed.

The black pepper is noticeable, but mostly as an aftertaste, or something slightly spicy in the background.

What you're going to taste in this is mostly the saltiness, followed by a moderately intense, sausage-like meat flavor. The oily film and flavor is rather significant as well.

Meat Consistency

This is a chopped & formed jerky, in strips of about 4 inches in length, and 1 inch wide.

It's a moist jerky, feeling very oily. They are very flexible; I can bend them all the way back on itself without cracking. They are easy to bite off, and easy to chew.

The chewing texture is very similar to that of a thick sliced salami, but starting out feeling more soft. It bites off with the same feeling as well, and feels just as oily too.

The meat seems to contain some crunchy bits, but as I said above I think they're just mustard seeds. But I did encounter some chunks of gristle, cartilage, or some kind of unchewable tissue.

In terms of clean eating, it's not. They're very greasy to the touch. Each time I handle a piece, I have to lick my fingers and wipe them on my jeans.




Snack Value

I bought these Jerky Sticks from Jackson Hole's website through a sampler package, consisting of 4oz each of their four jerky varieties. That's 16oz total, at a price of $46.00. When you add the $14.95 shipping, I paid a total of $60.95, or a per ounce price of $3.81.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $3.81 price per ounce, it's a poor weak. I'm getting a light amount of snackability. If you judge this as a jerky, you'll find it to be rather bad stuff. But if you compare this to salami, or summer sausage, I think you'll find some snack value in it. Still at the $3.81 price per ounce, you won't get an equal snackability in return.

Even as a buffalo jerky, at the same $3.81 price, it's a poor value. While I do get a meat flavor, it's not a natural meat flavor. It just tastes like sausage, or a meat stick to me. Hardly worth the $3.81 per ounce price.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair rating.

These Buffalo Jerky Sticks from Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Company just don't provide enough snackability to get to an average rating. They have a moderate level of flavor intensity, but they don't taste much different than a spicy meat stick, and is largely salty.

Plus they're very greasy. They require a lot of finger licking and wiping, and I even found myself wiping the grease off my lips. After finishing this stuff, I have a coating of grease inside my mouth.

I think this jerky's biggest positive is it's ease in eating. I found it very easy to bite off chunks, and it's easy to chew.

My recommended beer pairing for this, try a light bodied blonde ale or cream ale.

Rating: Fair

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