The newest flavor from Ed's Roadhouse Jerky is this Sweet Maple Black Pepper. You can read reviews of other flavors from Ed's Roadhouse here.

Described by Ed as "a unique sweet maple flavored black pepper jerky", it's made with real maple syrup. Ed's Roadhouse specializes in combining thick sweet flavors with a spicy kick.

This is also Ed's first new flavor since completing the move of his jerky business to Florida. Previously, he was based in Illinois. So I'm curious to see if it has had any impact on his jerky quality.

Ingredients

Angus beef, fresh black pepper blend, garlic, salt, honey, sugar, water, soy bean, wheat, molasses, pure maple syrup, natural flavoring spices.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light peppery flavor, followed by some saltiness, and then a meaty flavor. There's a light sweetness noticeable.

The chewing flavor starts with a light soy sauce flavor, while the black pepper picks up a lot more intensity. The maple syrup is noticeable to a light degree. The natural meat flavors are more pronounced, and I can get a light garlic flavor.

As for being billed as "Sweet Maple Black Pepper", this jerky seems to hold up well. There definitely is a sweetness to this, and I can pick up a maple syrup flavor in a light to moderate degree. The black pepper is very strong, with a fresh, cracked pepper flavor.

The combination of the soy sauce and black pepper, however, are perhaps what defines the overall flavor of this jerky. The soy sauce tends to sit in the center of my tongue while the black pepper builds up a spicy footprint on the back of my mouth.

The maple syrup flavor comes into view part of the way into the chewing. It doesn't generate enough intensity to dominate the overall flavor of this jerky, but it definitely does register on my palate, and definitely reminds me of eating pancakes and sausages doused with syrup.

The natural meat flavors are very noticeable, having a roasted tri-tip flavor, much like all of Ed's Roadhouse jerky varieties.

The level of saltiness feels high, but it seems to be no higher than other of Ed's varieties. I think the spiciness of the black pepper makes it seem saltiness than it actually is.

Overall, what you're going to notice in this is mostly the soy sauce and black pepper, along with a well noticeable natural meat flavor. There's a light maple syrup, and a touch of garlic.

Meat Consistency

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

This is a dry jerky with a semi-moist 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 adds some extra flavor to this, 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 trace amounts of black pepper on my fingertips. The copious amounts of black pepper on this jerky tends to leave some bits on my lap.




Snack Value

Ed's Roadhouse Jerky sells this Sweet Maple Black 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 $38.55 ($32.60 + $5.95). That works out to a price of $2.41 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.41 per ounce price, it's a good value. I'm getting a lot of snackability from its great overall flavor, excellent meat consistency and chewing texture, and bite-sized pieces. Even though it will cost you more than the major brands of jerky at the grocery store, it's clearly a better buy.

As for being a "Sweet Maple Black Pepper" variety of jerky, it's a good value. It certainly has a lot of black pepper flavor, and a light sweet, and a noticeable maple syrup flavor.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Sweet Maple Black Pepper variety from Ed's Roadhouse Jerky offers up a lot of spicy, fresh, black pepper flavor, with a light sweetness and a light maple syrup flavor. It's perhaps comparable to Ed's Sweet Black Pepper Beef Jerky, except with a lightly noticeable maple syrup flavor.

Otherwise, this jerky still largely comes off as a sweetened black pepper jerky, which Ed already does pretty well. Folks who love the pungent, spiciness of fresh cracked black pepper will thrive on these bite-sized pieces of beef, along with their savory natural meat flavor. When you add in that splash of maple syrup, a touch of garlic, it somehow changes the backdrop from a campfire along a dusty trail, to a log cabin in a Vermont forest.

And Ed's Roadhouse continues to score well on its meat consistency, being easy to eat, no stringiness, great chewing texture, and cut into bite-sized chunks.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.edsroadhousejerky.com/