Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Pap's Beef Jerky - Caliente

paps beef jerky
Note: Pap's Foods is a sponsor of this website, but has no effect on our ratings and reviews.

Next up for review from Pap's Beef Jerky is this Caliente variety. See our review of their Original variety.

Pap's Beef Jerky is a new product from Pap's Genuine Beef Sticks, which we reviewed previously. Pap's is a creation of Rick Waldon, based out of Junction City, KY.

Pap's beef snacks are available at convenience stores throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. You can also buy them from their website.



Ingredients

Beef, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, jalapenos, vegetable glycerin, garlic, onion, pepper, spices.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a saucy, spicy, combination of flavors, namely the soy sauce and worcestershire, along with a noticeable jalapeno pepper.

The chewing brings in a light natural meat flavor, along with a bit more definition from the soy sauce.

For being marketed as "Caliente", it seems to fit the bill. There's a light amount of heat in this, not enough to burn, but enough to notice. Folks who love hot, spicy foods might find this mild, but others who stray into the world of spicy once in awhile, should get a decent amount of spice and heat.

Otherwise, the flavors that seem to define this jerky is largely the combination of soy sauce and worcestershire. The seasoning blend of garlic, onion, black pepper and jalapeno adds the color and pop. The natural meat flavors create the backdrop, giving this a steak-like flavor experience.

All in all, it combines together to create something reminiscent of eating grill steak, seasoned and marinated. Chunks of jalapeno and garlic are easily visible on these pieces, and provide welcomed bursts of flavor here and there.

On my personal heat scale, I'd rank this as mild-medium (level 2 out of 5), though I can see how mild foodies might see this as hotter. The level of saltiness in this feels moderate.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced into medium sized slabs, and sliced medium thick.

This is a dry jerky with a mostly dry surface feel, though slightly moist. Biting off pieces seems easy to do, and chewing is overall easy, though slightly labored.

The chewing texture starts out with some initial chewing resistance, but easily chews down. It takes on a meaty feel immediately, and by the time its chewed down to a soft mass, it feels quite steak like.

I see a couple of small streaks of fat on one piece, and on another I found a small streak of gristle.  I encountered no stringiness or other unchewable tissues.

In terms of clean eating, it's mostly clean, aside from some bits of seasoning sticking to my fingers.

paps beef jerky

paps beef jerky


Snack Value

As of this writing, I don't have pricing info on this jerky, so I can't determine the Snack Value. But assuming it's priced similarly as the majority of brands out there, it should present a good value in terms of taste, consistency, and snackability.

Rating

paps beef jerky nutrition
I'm giving this a best rating.

This Caliente variety from Pap's Beef Jerky packs in a lot of flavor, with touches of jalapeno flavor and spice, creating a taste profile that wallops you from the first bite. It has a saucy, savory marinade bolstered with garlic, onion, and pepper seasoning, but adds enough of the jalapeno to differentiate from the company's Original variety.

The chopped bits of garlic and jalapeno peppers on the surface of these pieces is a real treat, sending out bursts of flavor when my teeth bite into them. The meat consistency and chewing texture seemed excellent, taking particular note that I found no stringiness, though I found a small streak of rubbery gristle on one piece.

It's not really hot at all, though if you're not used to spicy foods, you might see it as such. But in a lot of ways, this Caliente is much like the company's Original variety, with just enough jalapeno to taste.

Rating: Best

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