Owned and operated by Runnin Wild Foods based out of Norcross, GA, the Steak 'N A Bag brand was conceived by a couple of brothers originally producing steak seasoning blends. Since then, they've gone on to add beef sticks to their product line-up.
According to the company, this Sweet Barbeque beef jerky is described as, "If you cannot go out and Bark with the BIG Dogs then stay on the porch with the cat. This one is pure BOLDNESS with HEAT! The Chipotle flavor coupled with the REAL DEAL pepper... Habanero!"
Ingredients
Beef, salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, paprika, spices, chipotle powder, habanero powder, garlic, sodium nitrate
Taste
The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a salty sweetness, with BBQ-like seasoning. A burn comes on quickly to a fairly hot level. I can pick up some garlic and chipotle flavoring.
The chewing brings in a higher saltiness, a light natural meat flavor, and some of the habanero chile flavor.
For being marketed as "Habanero Chipotle", it seems to hold up well. I do taste the habanero chile flavor along with with a decent amount of burn, and I also pick up lightly smoky, roasted chile flavor suggesting chipotle. The level of heat, on my personal heat scale, is a "medium hot" (level 4 out of 5).
Otherwise, the flavors that define this jerky starts largely with a BBQ seasoning with a high level of seasoning. But there's a clearly identifiable habanero chile flavor with a lighter amount of chipotle seasoning. Touches of garlic grace the palate along with light bits of sweet. The natural meat flavors come in next.
Together, the ingredients combine to create a very savory jerky, marked with a higher saltiness, but tempered with a light sweet and a BBQ seasoning flavor, likely from the paprika. Imagine a BBQ seasoning with a lot of heat and habanero chile flavor.
Meat Consistency
These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced to a medium thickness, and in small to medium sized pieces.
This is probably more similar to a "soft and tender" variety of jerky. I found most of the pieces to have a moist feel, while a few seemed more dry. But overall, it seems easy to tear apart, and easy to chew.
The chewing texture is mostly steak-like once you chew it long enough. The more moist pieces are a tad mushy. But overall, it's a good, meaty texture.
I do see a fair amount of fat on this jerky, and can even taste it. Where I can't see any fat, I can still taste it. For the most part however, I don't really see this as spoiling the flavor. It actually enhances it, giving it a more beef-like flavor. But I didn't find any chewy connective tissues like tendon or gristle.
In terms of cleanliness, this jerky tends to leave a bit of chili powder on my finger tips. But other than that, I'm not getting much residue or meat fragments on my lap.
Runnin Wild Foods sells this Habanero Chipotle beef jerky from its website at a price of $5.99 for a 3.25oz package. They offer $10.00 flat rate shipping on all orders of $50.00 or more. If you bought 10 packages, it would work out to a price of $2.15 per ounce.
For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.15 per ounce price, it's a good value. It has a great overall flavor, snackable, though salty, with a tender, easy chewing. Compared other other brands of jerky, it has better than average flavor, a good meat consistency and decent chewing.
As a habanero chipotle beef jerky, at the same $2.15 per ounce price, it's a good value. I'm getting a lot of habanero chile flavor, and decent amount of heat, along with a lighter smoky chipotle flavor. Those flavors are at a greater degree than I would expect from the major brands of jerky sold in stores, but priced about the same.
Rating
This Habanero Chipotle beef jerky from Steak 'N A Bag gives out a good habanero chile flavor with a medium-high level of burn, well enough to enjoy as a habanero beef jerky. But it also adds a lighter touch of smoky chipotle flavor. Combined with a BBQ-like seasoning, and a noticeable garlic, it creates the sense of eating a firey Tex-Mex barbecue beef jerky.
Overall, it's very flavorful, with a good taste complexity, yet allowing the natural meat flavors to show through. It's still rather salty for my tastes, but I really like the way these ingredients combine that I'm willing to overlook it.
The meat consistency is good, a little more marbleized, but not too much, and no unchewable tissues. It's easy eating, allowing me to get the chewing satisfaction without getting in the way of the flavor-enjoyment.
Rating:
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I'm Steve Johnson, and I've been in the Internet marketing and publishing business since 1997. I've been a life-long fan of beef jerky and decided to merge my profession with my snack food of choice, and gave birth to Best Beef Jerky.
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