Thursday, July 23, 2009

Joey D's Jerky - Hot

Joey D's Jerky Next in the series on Joey D's Jerky is this Hot variety. See my previous reviews of their Original and Teriyaki.

This brand of beef jerky is owned by DiSalvo Enterprises, Inc. based out of Sanford, FL, run by Joseph DiSalvo, who got started making beef jerky at home back in 1999, and would challenge his friends at beef jerky making contests. His friends were quite impressed with his talents, and that spurned him on to making a business out of it. The brand officially went on the market in August 2008.

Joey's D's includes four varieties of jerky, this Hot, a Teriyaki, an Original, and Tangy. It also include three varieties of salsas.

Ingredients

Beef, marinade sauce (soy sauce, water, dehydrated garlic, spice, modified corn starch, sunflower oil], soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, flavorings.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light sweetness, followed by a bit of the soy sauce/worcestershire combo, and immediately following is a burn from the chile peppers. I can also taste black pepper. There's a strong flavor intensity on the surface.

The chewing flavor starts with some natural meat flavors, a bit of saltiness, and then a continuation of the surface flavors.

Well, for being dubbed a "Hot" jerky this does present a decent amount of burn. On my hot scale, I'd rank this a medium, at least on a single-piece basis. There's enough heat there to make a mark, but not too much that you have to pause in between pieces.

I also pick up a light amounts of chile pepper flavor, not just the heat. It's perhaps more noticeable as my teeth bite into the few seeds and flakes I see on these pieces. Overall, it's very light, perhaps faint. But after eating several pieces, I do notice it more.

The natural meat flavors in this are also light, but noticeable in each piece. It's better noticed after first sucking on a piece for several seconds, and then chewing.

The combination of soy sauce and worcestershire sauce is noticeable, mostly on the surface. It's not well defined, but I can detect hints of their unique flavors. Once I get into the chewing, the meat flavors jump in, and tends to cloud it over. Further into the chewing, the soy sauce & worcestershire seems to wear off.

There's also a noticeable garlic flavor, but also light. Perhaps more so in this Hot variety than in the other's I reviewed. Combined with the salt and chile pepper, it creates a very savory flavor.

And while it's not listed in the ingredients, it seems like I can taste black pepper in this. At least, I have that aftertaste.

Overall, this Hot variety seems to be very comparable to Joey D's Original variety, tasting like a marinated, peppered, grilled steak, but with the addition of chile pepper seasoning. It provides a moderate burn, with some faint chile pepper flavor.

Meat Consistency

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

This feels like a semi-moist jerky, but with a fair amount of stiffness to it, if that makes any sense. The pieces snap apart with the grain very easily, while chewing seems easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling stiff, but easily chewable, and quickly chews down to a soft mass. At that point, it tends to take on a crumbly texture, with a bit of mushiness to it. It doesn't really have a steak-like chew to it.

The jerky appears to be very lean, I don't find any visible pieces of fat, no tendon and no gristle, and no stringy sinews.

For the most part it's clean eating. My fingers pick up on scant bits of seasoning. The small bite sized pieces means no need to rip and tear this jerky.




Snack Value

Joey D's Jerky sells this Teriyaki variety from its website at a price of $6.00 for a 3.5oz package. If you bought four packages, it'll cost $24.00, plus shipping of $6.00, the total price runs $30.00. That works out to a per ounce price of $2.14.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.14 price per ounce, this jerky seems to provide a good value. I'm getting a good deal of snackability out of this for its good flavor, and ease in eating. Even though the $2.14 price is higher than the store-bought mass-market brands, I think this jerky provides a little more snackability than it's price.

As a Hot variety, at the same $2.14 price per ounce, it's also a good value. I'm certainly getting some burn at what I'd consider a "medium" level, but in addition I'm also picking up faint chile pepper flavor too.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Hot variety from Joey D's Jerky offers a pretty good flavor, one that made me think for awhile between "good" or "best". I would have sided with "best" had it offered a better chewing texture. This jerky, like with the other varieties I reviewed for Joey D's, ends up feeling both crumbly and mushy at the same time, and never really giving me that steak-like texture.

Perhaps I'm just nit-picking, but while I do think it offers a really good flavor, other brands were still able to give me that meaty, steak-like chewing texture. Perhaps wtih a stronger meat flavor I could have overlooked the chewing texture.

It stands up well as a "hot" beef jerky, mostly ranking medium on my hot scale, but definitely giving a decent amount of burn, and a slight bit of chile pepper flavor too. Otherwise, it's largely comparable to Joey D's Original variety, tasting like a peppery, marinated steak, but with the addition of the chile pepper seasoning.

For a good beer pairing, go with a smoky porter.

Rating: Good

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