Ed's Roadhouse Jerky - Savory Cajun

The newest flavor from Ed's Roadhouse Jerky is this Savory Cajun. See our reviews of other Ed's Roadhouse flavors.

Making this now 26 beef jerky varieties from Ed's Roadhouse, it seems ol' Ed doesn't stop coming out with new flavors of his famous beef jerky. But reinventing oneself seems to be the key towards staying ahead of the pack, which is why folks like myself appreciate the restless mind of a beef jerky-mad scientist.

Interestingly, I thought Ed's Roadhouse had a cajun variety already, but looking through their flavor list, I guess not.

Ingredients

Angus beef, garlic, salt, sugar, water, soy bean, wheat, molasses, fee-lay, cayenne peppers, natural cajun flavoring spices.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a salty blend of cajun seasoning. There's a light sweetness noticeable, and some garlic comes into view,

The chewing flavors start with more of the same seasoning blend. I can detect a bit of the soy sauce against a light natural meat flavor and a slightly increased sweetness. A light spicy heat is noticeable too.

For being called, "Savory Cajun", it seems to hold up to that namesake well. It's certainly savory, with the mix of soy sauce and garlic, but it's also an unmistakable cajun flavor with the mix of cayenne pepper and seasonings that resemble thyme, oregano, and black pepper.

Otherwise, the flavors that seem to define this jerky is primarily the cajun seasonings, with the light sweetness up front, the light soy sauce flavor towards the end, and a light natural meat flavor throughout the chewing.

The natural meat flavors remains light, perhaps overwhelmed by the stronger cajun seasonings, but it's still noticeable enough to bring out the unique, top-rated flavor that makes Ed's Roadhouse Jerky so good.

The level of saltiness starts out feeling light, but increases to a medium level after several pieces.

Meat Consistency

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

This is a dry jerky, with a semi-moist surface feel. Eating and chewing seems to be mostly easy to do, thanks to thin, bite sized pieces.

The chewing texture starts out with a low level initial chewing resistance, and seems to give way with a few seconds of chewing.  It chews down to a soft mass quite quickly, where it takes on a meaty, steak-like chewing, with maybe a touch of gumminess from the light sweetness.

I see small bits and streaks of fat on several pieces, within the range I've come to expect with Ed's Roadhouse.  They'll add a touch of the fatty, beefy flavor, that makes it taste more like eating real steak.  I don't see any gristle or tendon, and encountered no stringiness in the chewing.

In terms of clean eating, this is quite clean, leaving little to no residue on my fingertips.





Snack Value

Ed's Roadhouse Jerky sells this Savory Cajun 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 good 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 marketed as "Savory Cajun" flavored beef jerky, it's a great value. It has a flavor that I immediately recognized as cajun, with classic cajun seasonings like cayenne pepper, thyme, garlic, oregano, which I was able to identify.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Savory Cajun variety from Ed's Roadhouse Jerky offers up an unmistakable cajun seasoning flavor, with identifiable graces of cayenne pepper, thyme, garlic, and oregano. It has a light sweetness at the beginning and a light soy sauce flavor at the finish.

Perhaps just like with other cajun-style meats and dishes, this Savory Cajun jerky explodes with spicy flavor the moment you put a piece into your mouth, reminiscent of the food trucks you might find along the highways of Louisiana.  It tends to overwhelm the marbleized natural meat flavor that makes Ed's Roadhouse famous, but it makes up for it with a tastebud-assault of savory seasonings Nawlins style.


Combined with the great meat consistency, great chewing texture, and bite-sized pieces, it creates another delicious snack for meat aficionados.

My recommended beer pairing for this, go with a red ale, like the Karl Strauss Red Trolley, or the Copperhook from Redhook Brewing.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.edsroadhousejerky.com/