Saturday, February 28, 2009

Caveman Jerky - Teriyaki

Caveman Jerky - TeriyakiThis teriyaki variety represents the final review in this series on Caveman Jerky. See my previous reviews of their Original Black Pepper and Crushed Red Pepper varieties.

Caveman Jerky is a brand of Caveman Jerky, Inc., based in Oakview, CA. It was started by Noah Staggs, who launched the company just a few years ago up in Grants Pass, OR, where his family is originally from. He uses an old family recipe that dates back to 1908.

Since then, he moved the company south to Oakview, and makes all the jerky himself, using beef he buys from People's Sausage Company, the maker of People's Choice Beef Jerky. Staggs describes his jerky as the "old-fashioned rip and tear style slab jerky", and uses no MSG, although it does include hydrolyzed soy protein, which bonds with the sodium, and creates MSG naturally.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Jawbone Beef Jerky - Original

Jawbone Beef Jerky - OriginalJawbone Beef Jerky is a product of Jawbone Canyon Store, a small general store located in the middle of California's Mojave Desert, along Hwy 14, just south of the junction with Redrock Randsburg Rd. Having been around since the 1950s, it serves the campers of Redrock State Park, and offroaders all around the area.

Owner Scott Spencer had been selling a variety of brands of jerky to customers when he decided to develop his own recipe and help market the brand of his store. He got in touch with KMB Foods of Arcadia, CA, the makers of Cactus Jacks Beef Jerky, to produce it. Spencer put a lot of emphasis in that KMB Foods uses fresh never frozen US beef.

In addition to this original variety, Jawbone Beef Jerky also includes teriyaki, hot, and peppered varieties, all of which I'll be reviewing later.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Rives Quality Meats Beef Jerky - Regular

Rives Quality Meats Beef Jerky - RegularRives Quality Meats has been a fixture in the small town of Rives Junction, MI since 1973. It originally started in the basement of Rives Grocery Store, and then a few years later it opened its own store in downtown.

Owned and operated by Tom Hosler, Rives Quality Meats is a full service butcher shop serving local farmers and hunters. They'll turn your deer into a line of chops, steaks, roasts, burger, as well as jerky and salami sticks. And like with most other small town meat shops, they have a deli serving up sandwiches and soups.

Their jerky was one of the first products they offered. All of their jerky is made at their shop. And just last year, they launched a website where you can buy their jerky online.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Bruce's Jerky - Smoked Hot Beef

Bruce's Jerky - Smoked Hot BeefLast week posted a review of "Smoked Colorado Beef" from Bruce's Jerky. I wanted to follow up with this review of their Smoked Hot Beef.

Bruce's Jerky is actually a smoked fish shop located in Tawas City, MI, but they seem to sell a lot of beef jerky. Their jerky is actually a private labeled product manufactured by Michigan Brands, Inc., out of Bay City, MI. Michigan Brands focuses on a private labeling program through several small outlets across the country, similar to Bruce's Jerky. They marinate their beef for a full 24 hours before hanging them up for smoking.

On Bruce's Jerky's website, this hot beef jerky is actually pictured as a strip-style jerky with large pepper corns. However, the package I received is a slab-style sprinkled with fine ground pepper. The photo on Bruce's Jerky's website looks far more appetizing, making this slab-style jerky something of a disappointment. I'll have to reserve judgement until I actually eat this.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Jim Beam Beef Jerky - Original

Jim Beam Beef Jerky - OriginalJim Beam Beef Jerky is a product of Thanasi Foods, LLC, of Boulder, CO. It's produced under license by Jim Beam Brands Co. The product literature says that this jerky is "soaked in genuine Beam whiskey".

Jim Beam Beef Jerky first hit convenience store shelves in late 2004, following the success of Jim Beam Sunflower Seeds, another product of Thanasi Foods. In 2005, Jim Beam Beef Jerky won an award from CSP Magazine, as the best new product in the meat snack category. CSP Magazine serves the convenience store and gas station industries.

It wasn't until 2006 that Thanasi extended the beef jerky line by adding the Peppered and Barbeque varieties. Thanasi Foods also owns Stubb's Beef Jerky, and Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky.

The jerky itself is manufactured by Monogram Meat Snacks of Chandler, MN. Keep in mind that the Barbecue variety of Jim Beam Beef Jerky that I reviewed last year was manufactured by Jerky Snack Brands of Mankato, MN. More than likely, this change in meat processors will affect the taste and consistency.

Ingredients

Beef, water, brown sugar, contains 2% or less of sugar, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, spices, garlic powder, worcetershire sauce, soy sauce, genuine Jim Beam bourbon, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.

Taste

The flavors I pick up from the surface of these pieces starts with a medium level smokiness, with some sucking I'm getting some saltiness, and a faint sweetness. In the chewing, I first taste the natural meat flavors, which contains some more sweetness, and maybe a tad more salt.

For being soaked in Jim Beam whiskey, and branded as Jim Beam jerky, this doesn't taste like whiskey. In analyzing the flavors carefully, and taking my time to dissect the taste components, I can't find anything whiskey-like, or liquor-like at all. It's just plain ol' jerky.

The taste that seems to dominate this jerky is the natural meat flavors. Although, I'm not sure there's anything "natural" in this meat flavor. It has a processed flavor, that seems to resemble something like summer sausage, something I'm finding more of with jerky made by Monogram Meat Snacks. It's still a pleasing flavor, and still something recognizable as a meat flavor.

Inside that meat flavor is a sweetness, and a saltiness. The sweetness is stronger than the saltiness, and the saltiness is light in intensity.

Again, it starts with the surface flavors, which is a clearly identifiable smokiness. There's also a fine layer of oil on the surface in which I can pick up a fatty flavor, and that mixes in with the smokiness. As you start sucking on the pieces, you'll find a light saltiness. As soon as you start chewing, that summer sausage-like meat flavor comes out in a medium-level strength, and that's all you'll taste from there on out.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be medium to thick slices of whole meat, cut into medium to large sized pieces.

This is more of a dry jerky, but clearly one with some degree of moisture. Actually, I think that moisture is more of an oiliness. They'll bend about 20-30 degrees before they start cracking. Tearing a piece apart with my fingers is moderately easy, and chewing is also moderately easy.

The chewing texture is meaty, and fibrous, much like a steak cooked medium-well. But there's also a definite rubber-like quality in the first several chews that resists chewing. It'll take about 30 seconds of chewing before it feels like meat. Some of these pieces are even borderline gummy, but still far enough away from feeling like a fruit roll-up.

In terms of clean eating, my fingers pick up small amounts of oil from this jerky which causes me to wipe on my jeans. But I don't see any fragments falling off as I tear these pieces apart.

I did find one piece with a significant amount of fat, otherwise the rest seem pretty lean. I found no tendon or gristle. A couple pieces left behind small wads of unchewable sinews or membranous tissue in my mouth.




Snack Value

Thanasi Foods has a suggested retail price of $5.99 for this 3.15oz bag of Jim Beam Beef Jerky. That works out to a price of $1.90 per ounce, putting this into the average price range, at the higher end.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $1.90 per ounce price, it seems to provide a fair value. I'm getting a good deal of snackability for its meat flavor and smokiness. I think it's priced a little high for what you're getting. If you can buy this below $1.50 per ounce, it's a good value.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

I think this original variety of Jim Beam Beef Jerky has improved substantially now that it's manufactured by Monogram Meat Snacks compared to that previously made by Jerky Snack Brands. It has more meat flavor (albeit a summer sausge flavor), and more snackability.

But it's still seems to be an average jerky. The overall taste is pleasing and snackable, but is still clearly in the realm of mass-market jerky. It has that "mass-market" taste, consistency and texture. I think it's actually just above the likes of Jack Link's, Bridgford, et al, for its stronger smokiness and meat flavors.

Even though the meat flavors resemble something like summer sausage, it's still a good flavor. I mean, I love chomping down summer sausage. It's just not necessarily something you expect in a beef jerky. Though, at least this jerky offers some kind of meat flavor.

But I am disappointed that I can't taste anything resembling Jim Beam whiskey.

My beer recommendation for this jerky? A barley wine ale.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

Monday, February 23, 2009

Ajay's Montana Bananas - Sweet Teriyaki

Ajay's Montana Bananas - Sweet TeriyakiAjay's Montana Bananas is brand of beef jerky based out of Alta Sierra, CA. It was launched back in 1979 by a singer and songwriter named Ajay Avery.

The business launched with the "Cowboy Dry" variety, which today Ajay markets as "Original Peppered". He said he came up with the name Montana Bananas only because the recipe for Cowboy Dry came from a Montana butcher shop, and that "banana" rhymes with Montana. He says as a songwriter he tends to think of stuff like that.

Today, Montana Bananas comprises of six total varieties. Three of them are described as "slab-style thin cut", which are sold in 5oz packages, and others are "traditional thicker cut", sold in 4oz packages. This particular "Sweet Teriyaki" I'm reviewing here is the former.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Butler's Smokehouse - Peppered

Butler's Smokehouse - PepperedBeing the fourth and final review in this series on Butler's Smokehouse is this Peppered variety. See my earlier reviews of their Habanero, Dr. Pepper, and Original varieties.

Butler's Smokehouse is a family run business based in Stephenville, TX. Both Micah and Lacy Butler launched it in 1999, focusing not only beef jerky, but also on smoked cheeses, hams, and turkeys. They make beef jerky at their own USDA inspected facility.

The couple also have a world-wide contract to supply jerky to "Operation Beef-Up Our Troops", a program ran by the USO to provide jerky to American soldiers.

Ingredients

Beef, worcestershire sauce, water, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, sodium nitrite.

Taste

The tastes I pick up from the surface of these pieces starts with a light salty flavor with some clearly defined garlic/onion flavor. A faint black pepper comes in later on. In the chewing, I pick up a stronger salty flavor, some light red chile flavor, and that's about it.

When you see a jerky advertised as "peppered" you often think of black pepper. In this case, I don't get a whole lot of black pepper flavor, I get some but not a lot. I do get some red chile pepper flavor, however. Since Butler's Smokehouse simply said "peppered" without any clarification, I think it does live up to this billing for the light black pepper and light red pepper flavors.

There's even a faint red pepper burn in this, but it's faint enough that I'd still consider this jerky mild. I did find one piece that seemed to be mild-medium in strength. Otherwise, the bulk of this jerky is still mild.

The natural meat flavors in this are hardly noticeable. After a lot of searching and analyzing, I can sense traces of it. But for general jerky snacking purposes, you won't taste any of the meat flavors in this. In fact, I can't find much smoky flavor either, considering the brand name Butler's Smokehouse.

The overall taste of this jerky is largely a salty flavor, about a moderate intensity. Imagine that saltiness, but with a fair amount of black pepper, red pepper, garlic/onion seasoning mixed in. That's mostly what I taste all throughout the chewing. Here and there, my teeth bite into a red pepper seed, and I get a burst of red chile flavor. No meat flavor, no smokiness, no sweet.

Meat Consistency

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

This is a dry jerky. Once you get it to bend, it cracks. It's similarly dry as the Habanero variety I reviewed for Butler's. For the most part, tearing apart with my fingers is easy, but the chewing is moderately tough.

The chewing texture is quite steak-like. Once it softens up it breaks down quite easily, and chews just like a steak cooked well-done, but dry. It's not mushy, crumbly, or gummy at all. Initially, this jerky feels rather dry and hard, almost like sticking a piece of balsa wood in your mouth. You can lightly chew it a few times, suck out some flavor, then repeat, and it will break down easily. But it's still hard and dry enough that it'll tire out your jaws. It'll take a few 15-20 minute breaks to finish the whole 4oz package.

But it seems to be pretty clean eating. Tearing pieces apart doesn't seem to drop any small fragments, and my fingers don't pick up any residue.

It's also pretty lean. I found no pieces of fat, no tendon or gristle, and I'm not getting any unchewable wads of membranous tissue remaining in my mouth.




Snack Value

Butler's Smokehouse sells this habanero variety at a price of $8.00 for a 4 ounce package. I bought four packages, one each of Butler's four varieties, for a total of $32.00. They tacked on a shipping fee of $8.56, for grand total of $40.56. All in all, it works out to a per ounce price of $2.54, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.54 per ounce price, it presents a fair value. I'm getting a decent snackability from its good flavor, and good chewing texture. But I don't think it's good enough to justify the high $2.54 per ounce price. The toughness eventually wears me out and ruins the snackability. It's a lot better if you only plan to snack on a few pieces.

As a peppered jerky variety, at the $2.54 per ounce price, it's the same fair value. I do get a good deal of peppery flavor as a combination of black pepper and red pepper, but again, for the high price of $2.54 per ounce, I'd expect more peppery flavor. If anything, I'm getting more salt than any other flavor.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Peppered variety from Butler's Smokehouse gives you a moderate amount of peppery flavor, mostly as a combination of black pepper and red chile. I get just enough of the two that I think it does live up to its billing as "Peppered". But overall, it's not the dominant flavor; that belongs to the saltiness.

Without any natural meat flavors, all I'm really getting out of this is the saltiness plus the pepper combination, and then garlic/onion seasoning as a touch. It's a very well-known flavor to jerky enthusiasts, and as such is not necessarily above average as far as jerky goes. Had it been able to preserve a light-to-moderate natural meat flavor, it would have been enough to get a "good" rating.

The toughness also detracts from its overall enjoyment. While I could eat this more slowly by chewing lightly, and sucking out flavor in between, it still became tiresome over several pieces, and required a 15-20 minute pause.

I also think the dryness of this jerky hurts its flavor. I'll note that the Original variety from Butler's contained a bit more moisture, and I had reported a light natural meat flavor. Perhaps it's just a "hit or miss" issue, and that your package of Butler's Peppered could be more moist than mine.

I think a good beer to pair up with this is a wheat beer, hefeweizen.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Caveman Jerky - Crushed Red Pepper

Caveman Jerky - Crushed Red PepperThe second in my series on Caveman Jerky is this Crushed Red Pepper variety. See my previous review of their Original Black Pepper variety.

Caveman Jerky is a brand of Caveman Jerky, Inc., based in Oakview, CA. It was started by Noah Staggs, who launched the company just a few years ago up in Grants Pass, OR, where his family is originally from. He uses an old family recipe that dates back to 1908.

Since then, he moved the company south to Oakview, and makes all the jerky himself. He buys his beef from People's Sausage Company, of Los Angeles, CA, who makes the "People's Choice" brand of jerky. His wife does the packing, package design, order fulfillment, and website.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Mr. Z Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Mr. Z Beef Jerky - TeriyakiContinuing with my third review in this four-part series on Mr. Z Beef Jerky, is this teriyaki variety. The Mr. Z brand is owned by International Food Company, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The jerky is manufactured completely in Brazil, and distributed through IFC's USA-based affiliate, International Food Company, USA, LLC.

This brand of jerky has been around since 1998, but it didn't show up on US store shelves until around January 2008.

IFC is putting a lot of effort into branding Mr. Z as an energy snack, and touting it as being made from grass-fed beef instead of grain-fed. They also note it being free of hormones. It is not, however, an organic product.

Thus far, it seems much of their sales comes from discount stores like Dollar Tree, where you can find it for as cheap as $0.25 per ounce.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Bruce's Jerky - Smoked Colorado Beef

Bruce's Jerky - Smoked Colorado BeefBruce's Jerky is a small smoked meat shop in Tawas City, MI, located on Lake Huron, at the mouth of Saginaw Bay. The shop actually has a large sign reading, "Bruce's Smoked Fish", but apparently sells a lot of beef jerky. The brand was recommended to me by one of my readers.

This "Smoked Colorado Beef" was actually labeled simply as "Beef Jerky" when I purchased it from Bruce's Jerky's website.

Bruce's Jerky doesn't actually make jerky, they only make smoked fish. The jerky they sell is private labeled through Michigan Brands, Inc., a meat processor in Bay City, MI. Michigan Brands distributes their jerky primarily this way, by private labeling through small retailers across the country.

Michigan Brands offers several varieties of jerky, far more than what Bruce's Jerky offers under its own label. All of their varieties can be purchased through a chain of jerky retailers called "The Jerky Outlet" with seven locations throughout Michigan, as well as through their website.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Stubb's Beef Jerky - Texas Teriyaki

Stubb's Beef Jerky - Texas TeriyakiStubb's Beef Jerky is actually an extension of Stubb's Bar-B-Q, a famous restaurant in Austin, TX, and a popular line of BBQ sauces found in most grocery stores. This beef jerky is a new product, having launched in September 2008. The Stubb's line of jerky is marinated in Stubb's sauces.

The jerky line itself is the product of Thanasi Foods, LLC, a company that focuses on extending popular food brands into snack foods. They're also the company that brought Jim Beam Beef Jerky, Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky, as well as Vlasic Pickles Sunflower Seeds. Thanasi Foods outsourced the production of this jerky to Monogram Meat Snacks, the same processor that makes the Trails Best line of jerky, the NASCAR line of meat snacks, Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky, and Winchester Beef Jerky.

I talked to the VP of Operations at Thanasi Foods to find out what stores are carrying this jerky, and was told Exxon-Mobil stations, 7-Eleven, and Circle K stores. You can also get it online from Stubb's Bar-B-Q Sauce website. This particular review sample was provided to me by Thanasi Foods.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Ajay's Montana Bananas - Original Peppered

Ajay's Montana Bananas - Original PepperedAjay's Montana Bananas is the name of a beef jerky brand based out of Alta Sierra, CA. It's been around since 1979. It was started by Ajay Avery, a singer in a country-rock band that toured the western states between 1973 and 1978. Ajay was also big jerky lover.

He was in Missoula, MT, getting some gasoline, when he walked into a nearby butcher shop owned by Henry Wilkinson. He saw some beef jerky that Wilkinson had made, and bought some, and discovered what he felt was the best beef jerky there had ever been. Ajay would return to Wilkinson's butcher shop, and buy up several bags of this stuff, and sell them at concert venues where his band played. Eventually, he earned more money selling the jerky than he did from the band.

That lead him to buying the recipe from Wilkinson, and launching the "Montana Bananas" brand name. Today, Ajay's jerky is distributed through BevMo! a chain of liquor stores throughout California, as well as tool trucks like Snap-on and Matco, and through his website.

This particular "Original Peppered" is also known as "Cowboy Dry", and is the same recipe that Ajay bought from Wilkinson. In addition to this, Ajay offers five other varieties, which I'll be reviewing separately over the next several weeks.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Butler's Smokehouse Beef Jerky - Habanero

Butler's Smokehouse Beef Jerky - HabaneroContinuing on with my four-part series on Butler's Smokehouse, is this habanero variety. The small, family run smokehouse located in Stephenville, TX is headed by Micah and Lacy Butler, who got this started in 1999.

In addition to jerky, they offer smoked hams, turkeys, and cheeses. All of their jerky is made at their own USDA inspected facility, using USA-raised cattle.

Butler's Smokehouse has a world-wide contract to supply jerky to Operation Beef-Up Our Troops, a program ran by the USO to provide jerky to American soldiers.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Caveman Jerky - Original Black Pepper

Caveman Jerky - Original Black PepperCaveman Jerky is the brand name of Caveman Jerky, Inc., of Oakview, CA. The business was started about 3 years ago by a guy named Noah Staggs. He actually started the business up in Grants Pass, OR where his family is from. He uses an old family recipe that dates back to 1908.

The name "Caveman Jerky" originates from the Oregon Caves National Monument, located just outside of Grants Pass. Back during the early 20th century, local businessmen tried to promote tourism to Grants Pass by dressing up as cavemen and performing zany antics. You could even do caveman-themed weddings. The town received so much publicity through newsreels and magazines that several local businesses tried to capitalize by adding the word "caveman" to their name (Caveman Hotel, Caveman Market, etc...) The name "Caveman Jerky" is an homage to that time.

The company makes jerky at their own in-house facility, with Noah doing all the manufacturing, and his wife doing the packing, package design, order fulfillment, and website.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Lowrey's Big Beef - Cattleman's Cut - Peppered

Lowrey's Big Beef - Cattleman's Cut - PepperedLowrey's Big Beef is a brand belonging to Oh Boy! Oberto, having purchased it from Curtice Burns Foods in 1995. I'm not sure how long the Lowrey's brand has been around, but it seems like it's been around forever.

This "Cattleman's Cut" appears to be a whole muscle jerky, quite different from the chopped & formed stuff that comes in a can which Lowrey's is known for.

Looking at this jerky, it appears to be exactly the same as the peppered variety from Oh Boy! Oberto, the same meat consistency and the same aroma. The ingredients are exactly the same as the Oberto peppered, though the nutrition facts are slightly different. My guess is that this Cattleman's Cut is a cheap way for Oberto to extend the Lowrey's Big Beef line by relabeling its Oberto jerky. No doubt that if you've already had Oberto jerky, you've already had this Cattleman's Cut.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Dr. Pepper Beef Jerky

Dr. Pepper Beef JerkyDr. Pepper Beef Jerky is not actually a product of Dr. Pepper at all, it's made by Butler's Smokehouse of Stephenville, TX, under a license from Dr. Pepper. It uses the original Dr. Pepper syrup, made from cane sugar, as a marinade.

While the concept of "Dr. Pepper Beef Jerky" may sound strange, there's actually loyal base of Dr. Pepper fanatics using the original cane syrup-based soda to flavor their favorite foods. Dr. Pepper soda was originally born in Texas, and today the town of Dublin, TX is home to the original cane sugar sweetened recipe. Fans from all over the country still get their "true" Dr. Pepper there.

It's most popular as a meat marinade, including barbecue sauces. It's also popular in peanut brittle, and baked beans.

Butler's Smokehouse is located only 12 miles away from Dublin, TX, making it convenient for them to produce Dr. Pepper Beef Jerky. In fact the package label says, "Marinated in Dublin Dr. Pepper"

Thursday, February 12, 2009

North Prairie Signature Bison Jerky - Peppered

North Prairie Signature Bison Jerky - PepperedNorth Prairie Signature is a brand belonging to North Prairie Signature, LLP, based out of Leeds, ND. The business was formed in January 2008 as an extension of North Prairie Bison Ranch, LLP, in the same town.

North Prairie Bison Ranch focuses on raising bison naturally, free of antibiotics and growth hormones. North Prairie Signature focuses on distributing shelf-stable meat products made from the same bison raised by its parent company.

The line of jerky offered by North Prairie Signature is actually the same jerky once offered by Natural Premium Meats International, Inc. (NPMI). North Prairie Signature purchased their shelf-stable line of meat products in January 2008, which effectively launched the new company. NPMI's products were all made using bison meat from North Prairie Bison Ranch.

In addition to offering bison jerky, North Prairie Signature offer summer sausage, salami, and meat sticks, all made from bison.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Target Market Pantry Beef Jerky - Original

Target Market Pantry Beef Jerky - OriginalMarket Pantry is a brand name belonging to Target Corporation, the chain of department stores. They use this brand, along with others, for their line of store-branded foods.

But Target doesn't make its own jerky, in this case it's made by Jack Link's. And after looking at the nutrition facts and the ingredients list, it appears to be the same stuff.

"Target Beef Jerky" comes in other varieties, including teriyaki, and peppered. This package has a "Best By" date of May 29 2010, so I'm assuming it pretty fresh stuff.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

KC's Old Style Beef Jerky - Hot & Spicy

KC's Old Style Beef Jerky - Hot & SpicyKC's Old Style Beef Jerky is produced by KC's Old Style, Inc., out of Vancouver, WA. According to the brand's website, it's staffed by a small four-person business headed by a guy named KC Mittleider.

The best I can tell it's made by KC Mittleider himself, but it's not clear to me that it's made in a USDA inspected facility. When I reviewed their teriyaki variety, I had placed a phone call KC's but haven't yet received a response.

It appears that all the flavors offered by KC's Old Style Beef Jerky are based on the application of special glazes, and not so much on different marinades. That is, all varieties are the same jerky and same marinade, it's just the outer glaze that provides the teriyaki versus the peach BBQ versus hot & spicy, etc.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Mr. Z Beef Jerky - Sweet & Hot

Mr. Z Beef Jerky - Sweet & HotMr. Z is a brand of beef jerky owned by International Food Company, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The jerky is manufactured completely in Brazil, and distributed through IFC's USA-based affiliate, International Food Company, USA, LLC.

This brand of jerky has been around since 1998, but it didn't show up on US store shelves until around January 2008.

IFC is putting a lot of effort into branding Mr. Z as an energy snack, and touting it as being made from grass-fed beef instead of grain-fed. They also note it being free of hormones. It is not, however, an organic product.

Interestngly today, I had posted a note on our Facebook page that I had planned to write a second review of Mr. Z. Then about 10 minutes later, my doorbell rang and I found a box full of jerky from Mr. Z! There was no letter, no explanation. It's like Mr. Z is this mysterious person who watches us, listens to us, picking up our thought signals, and dropping packages of jerky at our doorstep.

One word of note: the following review is from this mysterious box placed at my doorstep, which has a "Best Before" date of Apr 15 2010. My previous review of Mr. Z. Original, was due to expire in just over a month. That may very well produce sharply different reviews.

Ingredients

Beef, water, sugar, salt, smoke flavoring, garlic powder, onion powder, soybean oil, monosodium glutamate, polysorbate 80, silicon dioxide, glycol propylene, flavoring and sodium nitrite.

Taste

The tastes I get from the surface of these pieces is some smokiness, and a slight sweetness. The tastes I get from chewing a piece is more sweetness, some natural meat flavors, some saltiness, and a slight burn building up in the back of my mouth.

Right off the bat, this review sample, which doesn't expire for over another year, is far better than the review sample I had in my earlier review, which was due to expire in just over a month. The coloration is redder in this sample, it's softer, more moist, and it actually has some natural meat flavors.

The overall dominant flavor I taste in this sweet & hot variety is the sweet & hot flavor. The sweet is at a moderate level, not strong, not weak, just in between. I don't necessarily consider "hot" to be a flavor, but it's something that does make itself known in this jerky. But it's quite tolerable in terms of burn, I'd rate it as mild-medium on my hot scale.

The second strongest flavor I get from this is the combination of salty and smoky flavors. Both seem to be of equal strength. The smokiness is stronger in the surface flavors, and drops to a lower level in the chew. The saltiness is weak on the surface, but increases in strength in the chewing. The salt intensity seems moderate.

There's a slight garlic aftertaste noticeable.

The natural meat flavors are very light. Actually, I don't really notice this flavor if I were to chew a piece immediately. I only notice it if I suck on a piece first for about 10-15 seconds, and then start chewing. And it's still light enough that I can't consider it a dominant flavor of any degree.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced to an average thickness, and in small to medium sized pieces. There's also a full ounce of crumbled jerky bits in the bottom of the bag, possibly closer to 1.5 ounces.

It's mostly a dry jerky, but with a bit of moisture. The pieces are pretty flexible when bent against the grain. When bent with the grain, they'll crack open, but won't break apart. It's easy to tear apart with fingers, and somewhat easy to chew.

The surface of these pieces seem to have a thin waxy feel. I wonder if this might be the glycol propylene in the ingredients list?

The chewing texture overall has a fibrous, meat-like quality. It does seem to feel like a piece of steak, cooked well-done. In the first several chews it has a rubbery quality, but breaks down easily.

My fingers don't pick up any residue off of this jerky, but I do see a few fragments of meat that fell on my lap and desk.

I found some small bits of fat on a few pieces, but overall it was sparingly. I found only one piece that offered some kind of chewy tendon, but otherwise no gristle to be found.




Snack Value

Mr. Z. sells this 4 oz package of sweet & hot variety through it's Amazon.com store at a price of $27.12 for a quantity of 6 packages. That price includes the shipping. So it works out to a price of $1.13 per ounce, putting this into the average price range, but towards the cheaper end.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at that $1.13 per ounce price, it presents a good value. I get a decent amount of snackability from this, through it's decent taste, a good deal of flavor intensity, good chewing texture and ease in eating. But it's mostly that low price Mr. Z. offers through its Amazon.com store site that gives you some good value for your dollar.

As a sweet & hot jerky, at the same $1.13 price per ounce, it's also a good value. I do in fact get a decent amount of sweet & hot flavor, but not lots. If this gave me thicker helpings of sweet & hot I'd have considered it an excellent value. And again, it's the low price that keeps this reasonable.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This sweet & hot variety from Mr. Z. is mostly a snackable jerky, providing some decent flavor, a good chewing texture, and some ease in eating. In trying to decide if it's above average, I couldn't find anything. It's overall flavor is enjoyable, but still largely average.

While it does live up to being a sweet & hot variety, it doesn't really punch that flavor out of the ballpark. It's just moderately sweet, and maybe mild-medium in terms of being hot. You're getting a low level of hot that 80% of the people in the world can tolerate. When I evaluate a sweet & hot variety, I want something so sweet that it brightens up my day, and then socks me in the gut with some burning hot flames. It just doesn't do this.

And the overall flavor is not really that exciting. It's just the moderate level sweet & hot, some saltiness, and traces of garlic and natural meat flavors. It's rather plain, but still snackable.

Compared to Oberto, Jack Link's, Bridgford, and other mass-market brands, it's right on par. If Mr. Z. can keep its prices low, and stick with the 4oz package size, compared to the 3.5oz sizes the other brands are using, I think it's poised to grab some market share.

My recommended beer pairing, a wheat beer or hefeweizen, I think will compliment this well.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Butler's Smokehouse Beef Jerky - Original

Butler's Smokehouse Beef Jerky - OriginalButler's Smokehouse is a small, family run smokehouse in Stephenville, TX that makes smoked hams, turkeys, cheeses, and beef jerky. It's owned by Micah and Lacy Butler, who started the business back in 1999.

All of their jerky is made at their own USDA inspected facility, using USA-raised cattle. In addition to this original variety, they also offer a Peppered, Habanero, and "Dr. Pepper" varieties.

Butler's Smokehouse has a world-wide contract to supply jerky to Operation Beef-Up Our Troops, a program ran by the USO to provide jerky to American soldiers.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

North Prairie Signature Bison Jerky - Original

North Prairie Signature Bison Jerky - OriginalNorth Prairie Signature is a brand belonging to North Prairie Signature, LLP, based out of Leeds, ND. The business was formed in January 2008 as an extension of North Prairie Bison Ranch, LLP, in the same town.

North Prairie Bison Ranch focuses on raising bison naturally, free of antibiotics and growth hormones. North Prairie Signature focuses on distributing shelf-stable meat products made from the same bison raised by its parent company.

Interestingly, North Prairie Signature uses the word "bison" instead of the word "buffalo" which most jerky makers use. The proper word is, of course, bison. "Buffalo" is a species that never actually existed in North America.

In addition to offering bison jerky, North Prairie Signature offer summer sausage, salami, and meat sticks, all made from bison.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky - Original

Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky - OriginalFrank's Redhot Beef Jerky is a product of Thanasi Foods, LLC, out of Boulder, CO. Thanasi specializes in extending popular food brands into other markets. This beef jerky is an example, taking the popular Frank's Redhot cayenne pepper sauce and extending it into beef jerky. Thanasi was also the company behind Jim Beam Beef Jerky, Vlasic Dill Pickle Sunflower Seeds, and Stubb's Bar-B-Q Sauce Beef Brisket Strips.

In addition to this original variety of Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky, Thanasi also offers a "Chile 'n Lime" variety.

This particular review sample I have was manufactured by Jerky Snack Brands, out of their Mankato, MN facility.

Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky is difficult to find. It's official website shows a list of gas stations carrying this, but when I visited the few in my area, none was carrying it. Amazon.com only had a few left when I placed an order.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

KC's Old Style Beef Jerky - Peach BBQ

KC's Old Style Beef Jerky - Peach BBQKC's Old Style Beef Jerky is produced by KC's Old Style, Inc., out of Vancouver, WA. The brand's website claims it's a small four-person business headed by a guy named KC Mittleider.

As I explained in my previous review of their teriyaki variety, the package doesn't come with an inspection mark, something I thought was a requirement on all meat products. It only says that it was packaged in Orchards, WA, and the ingredients list says it's made with USDA beef. I had called the phone number on the package, left a message, but never got an answer.

As I returned to their website today, I see it has been taken offline with just a message that they are moving to another location and will be back soon.

According to the company literature, they smoke their jerky with a blend of Hickory and Northwest Alder, and then run it through a flavor tumbler.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Snack Patrol - Cheese Jerky

Snack Patrol - Cheese JerkyCheese Jerky is a new snack product that combines string cheese with bits of beef jerky. It's a product of Snack Patrol, LLC, a family-run business based out of Glendale, WI. Snack Patrol has only been around for about 8 months.

It's the brainchild of Ross Segel, a fan of both string cheese and beef jerky, who wondered if anyone tried to combine the two into one. The idea came to him to take the unique flavors of beef jerky, and leach them into the cheese. He uses a secret process to incorporate the beef jerky bits into the string cheese that allows it to maintain it's stringy consistency, and still maintain the unique flavors of mozzarella cheese and beef jerky. According to Segel, Cheese Jerky is about 93% cheese, 7% jerky.

Cheese Jerky is available in two flavors, Original and Peppered. There's also a third flavor, Zesty which is going back to the drawing board to make it more spicy hot. Segel has plans for other flavors like pepperoni, habanero, chipotle, jamaican, etc.

Each flavor uses the same mozzarella-based string cheese that we're all familiar with, however Segel says he uses an "artisan cheese maker" who makes really good cheese. Each Cheese Jerky variety get its unique flavoring from the jerky. So, an original flavored jerky creates Cheese Jerky Original, while a peppered jerky creates Cheese Jerky Peppered. "That's the beauty of this product is that we have the ability to put any jerky flavor into the cheese to give it a unique taste", Segel explained.

It's also worth noting that while Cheese Jerky has been in retail stores and convenience stores mostly in the Milwaukee, WI area, it's going back for some redevelopment. Right now it's sold in 12oz packages, with large sized sticks about 2-3 ounces each, about the size of a bratwurst. That makes Cheese Jerky rather expensive. The package was also difficult to open. Segel is now creating a smaller 1.5 ounce size, sold individually with an easy-to-open wrapper.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

BS Brand Beef Jerky - Jalapeno

BS Brand Beef Jerky - JalapenoLast week I posted a review of BS Brand Beef Jerky - Original, and now have this jalapeno variety to follow up with. BS Brand is a small manufacturer based out of Midland, TX. It was started by a guy named Billy Stewart, who started out making jerky for himself and his friends.

In addition to this jalapeno and original varieties, BS Brand also offers Tex Mex, and Barbecue varieties. Stewart makes this jerky out of his own USDA approved facility, where it's all hand made, hand cut, and where even the bags are filled by hand.

With the original variety, I said that it had a good meat flavor, and a good contrast with the black pepper and garlic. But while I found it "good", it wasn't anything that excited me enough to warrant a "best" rating. Does this jalapeno variety have that extra bit of something to push it up to the top?

Monday, February 2, 2009

The Jerky Guy - Helluvapeno

The Jerky Guy - HelluvapenoFollowing up with my third review of The Jerky Guy is this variety of Helluvapeno, described on the package as "Pure Southwestern Jalapeno Flavor". The Jerky Guy is a brand belonging to Better Than Yours, Inc., based out of Jackson, CA.

Jon Beltran is the "jerky guy" himself, who about 27 years ago experimented with jerky in his backyard smoker until he came up with what he thought was the perfect recipe.

The product literature that came with my jerky purchase says that, "If you like HOT then this is the one for you.", note the use of all capital letters. It goes on to say that this is their traditional jerky, slightly drier. And since I do like hot jerky, I am totally ready for some tongue abuse...

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Mr. Z Beef Jerky - Original

Mr. Z Beef Jerky - OriginalMr. Z is a brand of beef jerky owned by International Food Company, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The jerky is manufactured completely in Brazil, and distributed through IFC's USA-based affiliate, International Food Company, USA, LLC.

This brand of jerky has been around since 1998, but it didn't show up on US store shelves until around January 2008.

IFC is putting a lot of effort into branding Mr. Z as an energy snack, and touting it as being made from grass-fed beef instead of grain-fed. They also note it being free of hormones. It is not, however, an organic product.

Being it's still a new brand to Americans, it's a difficult jerky to find. Most of it is found in discount stores and airports. Because of its scarcity, Mr. Z has become a top seller on Amazon.com. IFC seems to be leveraging its low-production costs to take sales away from American jerky brands.