Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Phil's Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

phils beef jerky
Next in the series on Phil's Beef Jerky is this Teriyaki variety. See my previous review of their Mild beef jerky.

Phil's Beef Jerky is based in Tye, TX, in operation for about four years, and owned by Phillip Morgan. Like many others in the jerky business, Phil's Beef Jerky started out small but began to grow. Phil 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.

This Teriyaki is described by Phil as having, "...a great flavor, just sweet enough with Honey to make your mouth want to take another bite."


Ingredients

Beef, soy sauce, water, apple juice, sherry cooking wine, honey, vinegar, deyhydrated garlic, brown sugar, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, black pepper.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light teriyaki sauce. There's a light oily flavor coming in, and the saltiness picks up some.

The chewing flavor brings in a more defined teriyaki flavor, with an increased saltiness, followed by the natural meat flavors.

For being marketed as as Teriyaki beef jerky, this seems to hold up. I do get an easily identifiable teriyaki flavor, and it seems to resemble what I would consider the kind of teriyaki I would expect to get from a Japanese restaurant. It has the sweet and soy sauce components, but also light touches of the tangy and ginger components as well.

Otherwise, the flavor that seems to define this jerky most of all, is the teriyaki flavor, but having a little more strength in the soy sauce, and lighter on the sweet. It's not quite the thick, heavy sweetness I find in competing gourmet jerky brands, but still noticeably sweet. The natural meat flavor tends to come in behind the teriyaki.

The level of saltiness feels to be moderate, a little more than what I would expect from teriyaki beef jerky, but overall still fine.

Other than the teriyaki and natural meat flavors, there's perhaps just a touch of black pepper noticeable, and not much else to report. Overall, it's largely a mild flavored jerky.

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. This Teriyaki variety tends to feel more dry and perhaps over-cooked than the Mild variety I reviewed last week.

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, there's a fair amount of sticky/oily residue on my fingertips, enough to require a licking and wiping before touching the keyboard.


Snack Value

Phil's Beef Jerky sells this Teriyaki 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 decent value. I'm getting a decent flavor, good meat consistency, and excellent chewing texture. Compared to major brands of jerky sold in stores, this is priced a little higher, but seems to be a better buy.

As a teriyaki jerky, at the same $2.19 per ounce price, it's also a decent value. I do get a noticeable teriyaki flavor and one that seems to resemble something I'd expect to find in a Japanese restaurant. Compared to major brands of teriyaki jerky, this seems to have a more authentic flavor, but a little more on the salty side.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Teriyaki variety from Phil's Beef Jerky offers a good tasting teriyaki flavor, much like something I would expect to get from an authentic Japanese restaurant, though a little more strong on the soy sauce and light on the sweet. It also has a good natural meat flavor, slightly fatty, similar to a well-done cooked steak.

I actually found the meat consistency and chewing texture a little more dry than the company's Mild variety I reviewed last week. This feels to be a little more cooked, making it chew dry, and even giving it light brittle character.

But considering that may be a variance between one batch of meat and another, I tried to look past it. Still, what I find is a good teriyaki flavor, a noticeable natural meat flavor, but little else. It seems that this needs an extra dimension to push this above the rest of the ballpark.

Rating: Average

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