Friday, August 21, 2009

Old Wisconsin Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Old Wisconsin Beef JerkyNext in the series on Old Wisconsin Beef Jerky is this Teriyaki variety. See my previous review of their Original variety.

Old Wisconsin is a brand name of Old Wisconsin Sausage, Inc. based out of Sheboygan, WI. They've been around since 1942. In the 1980s, it was purchased by Carl Buddig and Co.

I'm not exactly sure when Old Wisconsin began selling jerky, but I want to say that it's not part of their original product line going back into the 1940s, and more likely a recent addition since being purchased by Carl Buddig.

Ingredients

Beef, teriyaki sauce, water, sugar, teriyaki mix, sodium nitrite.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a good deal of sweetness, followed by a light smoky flavor. With some sucking there's a little bit of saltiness. Overall, a light surface flavor intensity.

The chewing flavor starts with a more defined teriyaki flavor, a bit more saltiness, and a continuation of the sweet.

For being labeled a Teriyaki variety of beef jerky, I do pick up a teriyaki flavor comparable to real teriyaki sauce. There's a slight bit of a tanginess, as well as a light amount of ginger flavor. It's moderately sweet, and not as heavily sweet as I'd prefer teriyaki sauce to be, and the soy sauce is slightly noticeable.

Aside from the teriyaki flavoring, there's little else in this jerky to taste. The saltiness is at a moderate intensity, and I don't taste any natural meat flavors. There's just a little bit of smokiness.

Meat Consistency

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

This is a dry jerky, with a dry surface feel, but with a light bit of flexibility. It seems easy enough to tear a piece apart with my fingers, and chewing seems easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling soft and tender, with just a tad bit of rubbery resistance. It seems to break apart under some light biting and sucking, and chews down to a soft mass without much effort. At that point, it seems to have a steak-like chewing texture comparable to one cooked medium-well.

A few pieces of jerky appear to have some small streaks of fat, but overall it largely lean. I found no tendon or gristle, and encountered only scant amounts of stringy sinews.

It's pretty clean eating also, leaving no residue on my fingers, while the bite-sized pieces meant not having any meat fragments fly off on to my lap or desk.

beef jerky

beef jerky
Snack Value

I paid $5.99 for this 3oz package at a Ralph's grocery store in Menifee, CA. That works out to a price of $2.00 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.00 price per ounce, it seems to provide a weak value. I'm getting an average amount of snackability for a satisfactory flavor, good meat consistency and good chewing texture. The $2.00 price per ounce is higher than mass-market jerky brands found at the grocery store, but I'm not getting any better snackability.

As a Teriyaki beef jerky, at the same $2.00 price per ounce, it's a fair value. I do get a good deal of teriyaki flavor, and it does seem to have a flavor more closer to real teriyaki sauce than compared to other mass-market brands.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Teriyaki beef jerky from Old Wisconsin provides a decent teriyaki flavor, at a good level of intensity, and even tastes more closer to real teriyaki sauce than many other mass-market brands. I get an average amount of snackability from it for that reason.

However, it comes off as a very simple tasting jerky. I taste the teriyaki sauce, but don't really taste much else, no natural meat flavors, or anything else to make this more interesting. I do get some smoky flavor, but that's it.

It actually provides a good meat consistency, being easy to eat, without sticking me with anything chewy or stringy, and providing a good chewing texture.

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

Rating: Average

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