Sunday, September 8, 2013

Ed's Custom Beef Jerky - Teriyaki-Louisiana

eds custom beef jerky
Ed's Custom Beef Jerky is the creation of Ed Carbury, based out of Huntington Beach, CA, and has been in operation since 2003.

Ed originally started selling his Habanero beef jerky on eBay, and soon perfected a dozen more flavors so that consumers could mix and match their orders. All of his jerky is made from USDA London Broil and then vacuum sealed. He uses no preservatives. Ed's Custom Beef Jerky has won taste competitions on Peppers and More.

This Teriyaki-Louisiana took the top prize in the 2013 Peppers and More Beef Jerky contest, it's described as being made with the company's signature teriyaki sauce but with a coating of hot sauce.

Ingredients

USDA beef, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, spices, flavorings, hot sauce, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a heavily sweet, pepper sauce flavor, similar to a Tabasco Sauce and it's vinegar base. There's a touch of soy sauce noticeable.

The chewing brings in the natural meat flavors, with just touch more teriyaki definition.

For being marketed as "Teriyaki-Louisiana" is holds up quite well. It actually does taste like a teriyaki beef jerky with a coating of hot sauce, but more specifically a hot sauce associated with Louisiana style cooking.

The flavors that seem to define this jerky perhaps starts with the hot sauce, mimicking brands like Mcilhenny's "Tabasco" or Bruce Foods, "Louisiana", with its blend of cayenne peppers and vinegar. The teriyaki comes in with a close second, having a well-noticeable footprint, primarily a strong sweet and substantial soy sauce. The natural meat flavors are next most noticeable.

The ingredients combine to create something that starts out with a strong sweetness but quickly imparts the cayenne/vinegar blend of the hot sauce. With some chewing, the teriyaki flavor takes over while the natural meat flavors kick in. The teriyaki sauce and hot sauce don't really blend together, they tend to remain individually identifiable.

On my personal heat scale, I'd rank this as "medium" (level 3 out of 5). It has a strong hot sauce aroma, however.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, cut into bite-sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky with a lightly sticky surface feel. Chewing seems easy to do, with just a little bit of chewiness, but overall a tender chew.

The chewing texture starts out with little bit of initial chewing resistance, but easily breaks down and feels meaty right away. By the time it's chewed down to a soft mass, it feels very much like chewing pieces of steak.

I don't see any fat on these pieces, nor any gristle or tendon. I felt no stringiness and found no unchewable tissues. It's very meaty.

As for clean eating, there's faint bits of stickiness on my fingers, but still clean enough to touch my keyboard.

eds custom beef jerky pieces

eds custom beef jerky close

Snack Value

Ed's Custom Beef Jerky sells this Teriyaki-Louisiana beef jerky at a price of $15.00 for two 4oz bags. Shipping is flat rate $5.05 across the United States. If you bought 16oz of this stuff, it would cost you $2.19 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.19 per ounce price, it's a good value. I'm getting a really good flavor, excellent meat consistency, and good chewing texture, at a price that's slightly more than what I'd pay for other brands in stores. Even the cost is slightly higher, the taste, consistency, and chewing is way better.

As a Teriyaki-Louisiana style beef jerky, it's also a good value. I can easily taste both the teriyaki and Louisiana-style hot sauce in this, and am getting larges doses of it.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Teriyaki-Louisiana beef jerky from Ed's Custom Beef Jerky really surprised me by how well it delivered both the teriyaki and Louisiana-style hot sauces. It creates a lot of savory, sweet, salty, and spicy flavors that had me reaching for more and more. It starts with a heavy sweetness, then brings on the blend of cayenne and vinegar, with a medium level of heat, before finishing me with the teriyaki and the natural meat flavors.

It's easy to chew, bite-sized pieces, also made this jerky more enjoyable to eat. The fact that it has no stringiness and no unchewable pieces, created a very enjoyable chewing experience, allowing me to spend more time savoring the flavors.

It's not overly hot either, perfect for jerky snackers who like hot foods, but don't want to be scorched.

Rating: Best

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