Monday, October 30, 2023

Redneck Steak Beef Jerky - Moonshine

redneck steak jerky
Next up for Redneck Steak Beef Jerky is this Moonshine variety. See my other review of their Traditional variety.

Redneck Steak Beef Jerky was created by Trae Stokes, based out of Pinellas Park, FL. Trae started the business as a way to earn a living after mortgage crash of 2008 busted his contracting business. Having grown up in the South all his life, he had mastered the skills of smoking meats. On a whim, Trae had smoked up batch of jerky and sold it at a local arts and craft show, and thus was born Redneck Steak Beef Jerky.

This Moonshine variety does not contain actual moonshine or alcohol, instead it was named thus for its little kick of heat at the end. These slices of meat are basted in sweet chili sauce, and smoked over real oak wood for 4-6 hours.


Ingredients

None provided.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a heavy sweetness mixed with a smokiness. A light bit of heat comes in. I can also pick up the onion flavor that was dominant in the Traditional variety.

The chewing brings in a more defined smokiness and a light natural meat flavor.

For being marketed as a sweet chili sauce variety with a little bit of kick, it's certainly fills the bill. It definitely has a forward tasting sweet chili sauce flavor, and it also has the little bit kick. It's not really hot. On my personal heat scale, I'd rank this as mild-medium (level 2 out of 5).

Otherwise, the flavors that define this jerky starts with the sweet chili sauce, with its heavy sweetness, light chile pepper flavor, and touch of heat. The oak wood smoke adds the next most dominant component, with that sliced onion flavor coming in after. A light natural meat flavor along with a lighter seasoning of garlic and pepper round out the others.

The ingredients combine really well to create an experience like that of sweet Southern style barbeque, with that heavy sweetness, rich smoky flavor, and bold seasonings, in this case anchored with the stronger onion flavor. That little bit of heat and light chile pepper flavor might remind you of something more Southwest, but that thick sweetness and oak wood smoke makes me think of the deep south.

The level of saltiness in this feels moderate.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced into slabs of medium sizes, and sliced thin.

This a dry jerky with a sticky, moist surface feel. The slices are more flexible than the company's Traditional variety, due to the heavy sauce. Chewing seems mostly easy.

The chewing texture starts out feeling moist and gooey, but offers no chewing resistance. The pieces chew down quite quickly and easily and takes on a meaty, steak like feel. Once chewed to a soft mass, it feels like chewing pieces of real steak.

I found one piece with a significant piece of fat and a small streak of gristle, but otherwise didn't create any chewing trouble. I didn't encounter any stringiness and no unchewable tissues.

In terms of clean eating, this is messy. The chili sauce leaves gobs of sticky, gooey mess on my fingers requiring a licking and wiping before touching the keyboard. Just pulling pieces out of the bag makes my hands sticky.

moonshine jerky

moonshine jerky


Snack Value

Red Neck Steak Beef Jerky sells this Moonshine variety from its website at a price of $75.00 for ten 3oz packages. Add to that sales tax of $5.25, and it all works out to a price of $2.68 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.68 per ounce price, it's a good value. I'm getting a great flavor as well as good meat consistency and good chewing texture. Compared to other gourmet brands, it's priced about the same, but offers a better snackability overall.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Moonshine variety from Redneck Steak Beef Jerky offers a wonderful flavor like that of sweet Southern style barbeque, but with a light bit of heat and chile pepper flavor. There's rich smokiness from the real oak wood chips that makes this jerky taste like its fresh off the smoker. Add to that the bold seasonings of onion, garlic, and pepper, and this jerky can knock you senseless like a taking a swig of moonshine.

It's also easy to eat, has a good meat consistency and good chewing texture. Unlike the company's Traditional variety, which can feel crumbly and gritty, the thick chili sauce tends to make this meat feel more like real steak.

This jerky can be messy to handle, leaving gobs of stickiness on your hands and fingers. If you're wanting to snack on this stuff while driving, it might be best to have someone feed it to you, otherwise that steering wheel is going to get gnarly.

Rating: Best

3 comments:

  1. I have bought both varieties of the Redneck Steak Beef Jerky, and I love the Moonshine best. Yes, it is a bit sticky, but I cut the jerky into small bite size pieces as soon as I open a bag and then store it in a small container. Then it is easy to just reach in a grab a couple of pieces without making a sticky mess. It freezes well also.

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  2. I just store mine in my stomach for safe keeping

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  3. The most amazing taste ever! I'm so hooked right now!

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