The newest flavor available from Ed's Roadhouse Jerky is this Sweet & Spicy Thai Pepper. See my previous reviews of Ed's other flavors here: http://www.bestbeefjerky.org/search/ label/Eds-Roadhouse-Jerky

I don't know about the rest of the country, but Thai food is very popular here in Southern California, with its spicy hot asian flavors, that pungent combination of ginger and cilantro, and its use of the ever-mysterious "fish sauce". What goes into that stuff anyway? And Ed seems to have put it all in here.

Ed's Roadhouse Jerky is based in Buffalo Grove, IL, started by Ed Herman over 20 years ago with an emphasis on combining spicy heat with decadent sweet.

Ingredients

Angus beef, garlic, salt, sugar, water, soy bean, wheat, natural flavoring spices, molasses, shallots, lemon grass, fresh ginger, fish sauce, cilantro, honey & thai peppers.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light bit of that lemon grass, but also a fair amount of sweet. The heat from the pepper picks up quick. There's a strong spice blend in this.

The chewing flavor starts with a light bit of soy sauce flavor, a light natural meat flavor, and the flavor of chile peppers. The heavy spice blend continues into the chewing. I can also pick up light bursts of ginger as my teeth bite into some bits.

For being billed as "Sweet & Spicy Thai Pepper", it does seem to live up to the name. It has an easily recognizable sweetness, but not as heavy as in some of Ed's other flavors. And it's definitely spicy, for one in that it has a heavy spice blend with its combination of pepper, ginger, lemon grass, and garlic flavors, but two for its heat. On my personal heat scale, I'd rank this as medium-hot.

Regarding the Thai Pepper part of the name, there's clearly an asian-style flavor going on in this, particularly the touches of lemon grass and the light bursts of ginger. It reminds me of nuea pad prik, a Thai pepper steak dish loaded with spices.

The flavor(s) that seems to represent this jerky the most is a combination of the marinade, lighter sweet, and the natural meat flavor. The marinade seems to have a strong saltiness, perhaps due to the soy sauce and fish sauce, and perhaps also seems more salty due to the spicy burn. The additional flavors of ginger, lemongrass, chiles, garlic tends to add color and interest.

While the natural meat flavors are still central to this jerky, just like with all of Ed's other jerky varieties, it's not quite as dominant, and that's probably due to competition from the spices, sauces, and saltiness. But it still has that signature Ed's Roadhouse Jerky flavor, similar to roast tri-tip.

The saltiness in this seems stronger than Ed's other jerky varieties, I don't know if it's truly higher in sodium content, or if the heavier spice blend and heat exacerbates the saltiness. I also note the sweetness in this is not as strong either and could have allowed the saltiness to go unchecked.

Overall what you're going to taste in this is a saucy, salty, natural meat flavor with a light bit of sweet, and then further colored by a blend of lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and chile pepper, along with a medium-high level of heat.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced into thin bite sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky with a semi-moist, slightly sticky, surface feel. The pieces have a lot of flexibility, and are easy to tear apart with my fingers. Chewing also seems easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling moist and tender, with just a small amount of chewing resistance. It breaks apart fairly easily after a few chews, and then chews down to a soft mass with little effort. At that point, it has a meaty, steak-like chewing texture, somewhat comparable to one cooked medium.

Most of these pieces have small bits and streaks of fat visible on them, and the fat does seem to contribute to the overall flavor, but in a positive way, giving it a beefy character. I don't see any gristle or tendon, but just a little bit of stringiness. I don't encounter any unchewable tissues.

In terms of clean eating, handling these pieces leaves a fine sticky film on my fingers, which picks up pieces of spice and chile pepper flakes, requiring a rubbing or occasional licking and wiping.




Snack Value

Ed's Roadhouse Jerky sells this Sweet & Spicy Thai Pepper variety from its website in several package sizes. If you bought four 4oz packages, with shipping out to Southern California, the total would cost $34.75 ($29.00 + $5.75). That works out to a price of $2.17 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.17 per ounce price, it provides a good value. I'm getting a lot of snackability for its great flavor, excellent meat consistency, easy eating, and good chewing texture. It's priced a little bit higher than the major brands of jerky at the grocery store, but you're getting much better jerky overall.

As a Sweet & Spicy Thai Pepper beef jerky, at the same $2.17 per ounce price, it's and excellent value. I'm getting a light sweetness, a lot of spiciness in both a strong spice blend and medium-high level of heat, and it also has a peppery, asian/Thai style flavor.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Sweet & Spicy Thai Pepper variety from Ed's Roadhouse Jerky seems to do well living up to its namesake with a flavor that reminds me of Thai pepper steak, colored with splashes of lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and chile pepper, and douses your mouth with a medium-hot level of burn.

I really like the use of lemongrass and the light bursts of ginger along with the chile pepper flavor. The natural meat flavor is always a winner with all of Ed's Roadhouse Jerky and this is no exception. The bite-sized pieces make this more snackable, and its easy chewing lends itself to being devoured like potato chips.

But it seems to be heavier on the saltiness which tends to wear me down somewhat. The more I think about it, it's perhaps due to the lighter sweetness not being strong enough to offset the saltiness as with Ed's other varieties. Still, that's the only negative I can come up with, yet I didn't think it was significant enough to override the great flavor and great meat consistency.

My recommended beer pairing for this, stay with lower alcohol to not exacerbate the heat, and something more refreshing to quench the saltiness. Try Widmer's Drifter Pale Ale, or the Newcastle Brown Ale.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.edsroadhousejerky.com/