Monday, January 14, 2013

House of Jerky - Black Pepper Kangaroo

house of jerky
New to House of Jerky is this Black Pepper Kangaroo Jerky. See our reviews of other varieties from House of Jerky.

House of Jerky has become one of the hottest gourmet brands of jerky thanks to a growing number of its own branded jerky stores throughout the United States. House of Jerky uses all natural ingredients and no preservatives.

This Kangaroo Jerky is made from 100% kangaroo meat. According to House of Jerky's description, "it's not gamey, has a nice texture with a tinge of sweetness".

Ingredients

Irradiated kangaroo meat, water, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, pineapple juice, black pepper, liquid smoke, garlic powder, white pepper.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a natural meat flavor, followed by a light smokiness and sweetness. The black pepper comes in next along with a touch of garlic, and the combination of soy sauce and teriyaki.

The chewing flavor brings in a more defined kangaroo meat flavor, while the soy sauce and teriyaki become more defined as well.

For being marketed as "Black Pepper Kangaroo", it certainly seems to fit the bill. I get a nice black pepper flavor against the natural goodness of kangaroo meat. The black pepper adds a light bit of spicy heat, perhaps registering as "mild medium" on my personal heat scale (level 2 out of 5).

Otherwise, the flavors that seem to define this jerky overall is the natural meat flavor along with the combination of soy sauce and teriyaki. The black/white pepper seasoning is also well noticed, but tends to stay towards the back of my mouth. A light sweetness and smokiness is also noticeable, with the touch of garlic rounding it all out.

If you haven't had kangaroo meat, it's not gamey at all. It's comparable to beef, having a red-meat flavor, but tends to be more soft, with a consistency similar to chicken breast. In some ways, it's flavor is comparable to venison.

The only other kangaroo jerky I've reviewed was from Wilderness Jerky Outlet, which is now out of business. In comparing these two brands, both offer a lot of kangaroo meat flavor, both seasoned with black pepper and garlic, and both with a light sweetness and smokiness. The difference is that House of Jerky has a better marinade with the soy sauce & teriyaki combination. The result is a more savory, saucy flavor reminiscent of classic American-style jerky.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced into slabs of small to medium sizes.

This a semi-moist jerky with a moist, slightly sticky surface feel. Biting off pieces seem easy to do, while chewing is largely easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling soft and tender, offering little chewing resistance. The meat grains are easily felt and quickly give me the feeling of chewing real meat. Once chewed down to a soft mass, this feels very meaty, and very steak-like, albeit softer kangaroo steak.

I don't see any bits of fat or gristle on these slabs. I encountered no stringiness and nothing unchewable.

In terms of clean eating, handling these pieces leaves a little bit of sticky residue on my fingers, enough to require a licking and wiping before touching the keyboard.

kangaroo jerky

kangaroo jerky

Snack Value

House of Jerky sells this Black Pepper Kangaroo Jerky from its website at a price of $46.00 per 14oz package. Shipping is free. That works out to a price of $3.29 per ounce.

For general kangaroo jerky snacking purposes, at the $3.29 per ounce price, it's a good value. That price is comparable to slightly less than other competing brands of kangaroo jerky, yet offers a great overall flavor, well-noticed natural meat flavor, and a good meat consistency.

As a black peppered kangaroo jerky, it's also a good value. I'm getting plenty of black pepper flavor without the excessive peppery scorch, along with the full, rich flavor of kangaroo meat.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Black Pepper Kangaroo Jerky from House of Jerky marries together the goodness of Australian game hunting with the classic American flavor of jerky. It lets you taste the rich, full flavor of kangaroo meat combined with the savory, spicy, sweet and smoky jerky marinade that makes House of Jerky such a fan favorite.

This is a moist, tender chew that I found very easy to eat, yet offers up the same meaty, steak-like chewing that carnivorous snackers find so instinctively gratifying.

Certainly it's more costly than standard beef jerky, but this brand of kangaroo jerky is more than just a novelty, you actually get the full flavor of kangaroo meat, and pure meat at that, with no fat, gristle, or stringiness.

Rating: Best (5/5)

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