The newest beef jerky flavor from Ed's Roadhouse Jerky is this "Inferno Ghost Pepper", made with a combination of habaneros, jalapenos, and ghost pepper chiles. See my reviews of Ed's other beef jerky flavors.

The Ghost Pepper is actually the Bhut Jolokia pepper, and sometimes called the Naga Jolokia, or just "Naga". It's actually the world's hottest pepper, being twice as hot as the habanero.

Ed's Roadhouse Jerky's website issues a warning to those who think they can handle hot foods, claiming that this jerky is extremely "Hot as Hell". Not just hot as hell mind you, but EXTREMELY hot as hell.

Ingredients

Angus beef, fresh habaneros & jalapenos, ghost pepper chilies, water, garlic, salt, sugar, soy bean, wheat, natural flavoring spices, molasses, corn syrup, anchovy puree, pepper extract, vinegar & natural sweet apple smoke.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light sweet flavor, followed by a good deal of heat. There's also a light smoky flavor, and a light saltiness.

The chewing flavor starts with a lot of natural meat flavors, including some chile pepper flavor. Meanwhile, the heat from the chiles continues to increase.

For being named "Inferno Ghost Pepper" beef jerky, it seems to hold up well to that name. The "inferno" part is definitely appropriate, this jerky is very hot. It's not just a slow burn that builds up, but a sharp, intense burn that cuts into your tongue right away. Quickly, I can feel that endorphin high rushing through me, generating beads of sweat trickling down the back of my neck, making my eyes water, and my nose run.

In terms of how hot this jerky is, it's ranks a 5 out of 5 on my personal hot scale, and could very well be the hottest jerky I've had to date. I've reviewed some pretty hot ones already, Ring Of Fire, Death By Jerky, and Colon Cleaner Hot. It's hard to say if this Inferno Ghost Pepper jerky is absolutely the hottest I've had, because the heat intensity is very comparable to those other three.

As for the ghost pepper part, I've never eaten ghost pepper chiles to know what their unique flavor tastes like. However, like I said above, this jerky already contains a lot of chile pepper flavor, perhaps from the combination of habaneros, jalapenos, and ghost peppers.

But despite this jerky having a lot of chile pepper flavor and heat, it's still the natural meat flavors that dominate the overall flavor. It has the same meat flavor that's found in all of Ed's jerky flavors. It's quite comparable to a roasted tri-tip, but with a marbilized meat flavor.

There's also a good deal of sweetness in this, more noticeable in the chewing. And it's no surprise either, Ed's Roadhouse Jerky specializes in combining the heavenly sweet with the hellish heat.

The level of saltiness in this seems moderate.

Overall, what you're going to taste in this is mostly the natural meat flavors, but with a good deal of chile pepper flavor, an easily noticeable sweet, and a ton of burn.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in bite-sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky, with a semi-moist surface feel due to a slightly sticky coating. The pieces have a good deal of flexibility, but still crack a little bit when bent. It's a little chewy, but very much in line with what you'd expect jerky to be, and still easy to chew overall.

The chewing texture starts out with a little bit of chewing resistance, but pliable enough to bend easily with my tongue and teeth. With more chewing it breaks down quickly and easily enough, and chews down to a soft mass in about 15 seconds. At that point, it has a meat-like texture, with a touch of mushy/gummy quality perhaps due to the heavier sweet coating.

Several of these pieces contain some small visible streaks of fat. I don't find any gristle or tendon, and I don't encounter anything stringy, nor feel any unchewable wads of tissue.

In terms of clean eating, my fingertips pick up traces of stickiness, but still dry enough to where I can type on my keyboard without licking them off.




Snack Value

Ed's Roadhouse Jerky sells this Inferno Ghost Pepper beef jerky at a higher price than their other flavors due to the more expensive cost of the bhut jolokia peppers.

Considering it contains no preservatives and is made fresh to order, I'd recommend getting it in smaller packages. So if you bought four 4oz packages, with shipping out to Southern California, the total would cost $38.75 ($33.00 + $5.75). That works out to a price of $2.42 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.42 price per ounce, it's a good value. Even at the higher price than their other flavors, it's still worth the buy considering it's addictive natural meat flavor, easy eating, and great texture.

As an "Inferno Ghost Pepper" beef jerky, at the same $2.42 price per ounce, it's also a good value. I'm getting a lot of heat and lot of chile pepper flavor.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

With a name like "Inferno Ghost Pepper", you expect this beef jerky to be extremely hot, and that's indeed what you get. Unlike other brands of jerky that claim to be hot, this one actually is hot, and I mean really hot. It's a jerky made for those chile freaks who can never seem to get enough heat.

But I'm also getting lot of chile pepper flavor too. I can taste that unique flavor of chiles, almost like eating whole raw chiles. But this is also a really good beef jerky in its own right, providing a really good, marbilized, natural meat flavor that reminds me of a roasted tri-tip. In addition, there's a good deal of sweet that adds a decadent contrast to an already masochistic level of heat.

And let's not forget the bite sized pieces, easy eating, and steak-like chewing texture, that compliments the snackable flavor of this jerky.

For my recommended beer pairing, go with a smooth, creamy stout to help douse the fire. Try North Coast Brewing's Old Rasputin, or Alesmith's Speedway Stout.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.edsroadhousejerky.com/