Dave's Meat & Nuts - Cinnamon Jerk Jerk

Dave's Meat & Nuts is a brand that launched in January 2015 after raising funds on Kickstarter last November. We published a review back then, but withheld ratings until the company went live.

The company is the brainchild of Dave Gadlin, who had spent a great deal of time working in New York City with some of the country's best chefs and restauranteurs. He took his expertise out to Napa, CA to focus on his two biggest snack food passions, jerky and peanuts. Dave claims his jerky to be smoked in a real smokehouse.

This "Dried Beef Jerky with Cinnamon" is described by Dave as "Jamaican Jerk spices with cinnamon", going to say that it offers, "Warm winter spice notes, smokiness and true beef flavor, all wrapped in to a dry but tender Jerky."

Ingredients

Beef, brown sugar, pineapple juice, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, yeast, garlic, onion, allspice, crushed red chilis, cinnamon, celery juice powder, lactic acid culture

Review

The first flavor to hit the palate is a light saltiness, and touches of sweet. Afterwards, faints bits of garlic and onion come in. The chewing brings on a bit more saltiness, along with more garlic and onion, and light amounts of natural meat flavor.

For being marketed as "Cinnamon Jerk Jerk" and described on the company's website with words like "Jamaican Jerk", "cinnamon", "warm winter spice notes" and "smokiness", I can't quite say that this delivers. I don't identify a Jamaican influence in this jerky at all. Even though the ingredients include Allspice, this jerky doesn't evoke that rich, spicy, Caribbean flavor. I don't taste any of the cinnamon, and none of the smokiness.

It does, however, offer a light bit of heat, and something that I can identify as coming from chile peppers. I don't taste the flavor of chile pepper, on the other hand. On my personal heat scale, I'd rate this as "mild-medium" (level 2 out of 5).

Otherwise, the flavors that define this jerky is largely a moderate saltiness, with a garlic and onion seasoning, along with a touch of sweet, and a very light natural meat flavor towards the end. It's flavor is quite comparable to the company's, "Classic" flavor, just a bit more flavorful, and a bit more heat.

The meat consistency seems good overall. It's dry and moderately chewy. It has a meaty feel, and often has the resemblance of pound steak, once chewed down soft, though more crumbly. There's minimal stringiness.

Verdict

This "Cinnamon Jerk Jerk" from Dave's Meat & Nuts dishes out a good balance between salt, seasonings, and a light sweet, for a well-rounded beef jerky snack. But I don't find that it evokes the flavor or feel of "Jamaican Jerk" cuisine, and I don't pick up any cinnamon or smokiness, as the company claims. It's otherwise, a well-seasoned jerky, with a good meat consistency and chewing texture.

Rating: Average