Thursday, November 1, 2012

Phil's Beef Jerky - Mild

phils beef jerky
Phil's Beef Jerky is a small jerky manufacturer based in Tye, TX, in operation for about four years.

It's owned by Phillip Morgan, who like many others in the jerky business, started out small but began to grow. He soon expanded into a larger facility, gained USDA inspection approval, and now supplies jerky to hundreds of service men and women at nearby Dyess AFB.

Phil's Beef Jerky offers four different flavors, of which I have three to review over the coming weeks, including this Mild, a Teriyaki, and a Hickory. Phil's also has a Hot.


Ingredients

Beef, soy sauce, water, apple juice, vinegar, dehydrated garlic, serrano pepper, dehydrated onion, corn syrup, crushed red pepper, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, lime juice, black pepper.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a chile pepper seasoning, like a blend of the cayenne and red pepper. A light saltiness comes in along with some garlic and black pepper. There's a light oily flavor too.

The chewing flavor brings in the natural meat flavors mixed with soy sauce and vinegar. Meanwhile, there's a light spicy heat building up. A touch of sweet is noticeable in the chewing.

For being labeled, "Mild", it's anything but. It's actually a little hot, and has a bold flavor with spices and seasonings. It's actually well-packed with flavor, and for those jerky snackers with sensitive palates, just know that you may find this jerky hot and overwhelming.

But for someone like me who loves hot, spicy jerky, this actually rates on my personal heat scale at "medium", (level 3 out of 5).

Otherwise, the flavors that largely define this jerky is the natural meat flavor mixed with the soy sauce and vinegar. The cayenne and red pepper flavors noticeable on the surface mix into the chewing a little bit. The garlic and black pepper tend to make themselves known about half-way into the chewing.

The natural meat flavor has a well-done cooked steak flavor, but marinated with soy sauce and vinegar. The vinegar adds a little tanginess in the chewing.

The level of saltiness feels between medium and high.

Overall, it's hardly a mild flavor. It has a medium level of heat and a very bold flavor coming from the soy sauce, vinegar, chile peppers, garlic and black pepper, like a well-marinated and seasoned steak.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced into slabs of medium to large sizes, and sliced thick.

This is a dry jerky with a semi-moist, lightly oily, surface feel. The slabs have some flexibility, but feels very steak-like, not at all rubbery or plastic. Chewing moderately easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling meaty, with a little initial resistance, but just a few chews in, and it already feels just chewing a piece of grilled steak, more like flank steak cooked medium well.

I do see some small bits and streaks of fat on these slabs, but nothing chewy or rubbery. I don't see any gristle or tendon. I do encounter a fair amount of stringiness, some of which remains in mouth as unchewable wads.

In terms of clean eating, it's not. There's a little bit of oil residue from touching these slabs, and my fingers pick up a lot of seasoning due to having to grab hold of a slab to bite off a piece. Licking and wiping is necessary before touching the keyboard.

mild beef jerky

Snack Value

Phil's Beef Jerky sells this Mild variety from its website at a price of $8.75 for a 4oz package. Shipping is free. If you bought four of these packages, it works out to $2.19 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.19 per ounce price, it's a good value. I'm getting good flavor, good meat consistency, and excellent chewing texture. Compared to major brands of jerky sold in stores, this is priced a little higher, but is a far better buy.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Mild variety from Phil's Beef Jerky is not actually mild, but has a medium level of heat from a bold seasoning blend of cayenne and red peppers, mixed with garlic and black pepper. Combined with the soy sauce and vinegar, this jerky ends up being very flavorful, well marinated, spiced, and seasoned.

But what I really like about this jerky is the rich natural meat flavor and excellent chewing texture. This jerky does a good job of bringing out the great flavor of beef, adding in a light bit of fat to make it taste like a real, fresh-off-the-grill steak. It also chews and feels like real steak too, though I found a good deal of stringiness.

Even though the marinade and seasonings are well noticed and easily distinguished, they don't overpower the beefy, natural meat flavor.  This is a jerky that focuses on giving you the full flavor and chewing texture of beef.

Rating: Best

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