Uncle Bo's Beef Jerky - Spiced Just Right

Uncle Bo's Beef Jerky is a brand started by Tim Benton (AKA Uncle Bo), based out of Winter Springs, FL. Benton describes himself as a "native (hillbilly) from West Virginia and a pioneer at heart".

He started making jerky in 1998 after a friend bought him a dehydrator as a gift. After six months of experimenting, he came up with the recipe for his business. Since then, he's made jerky for friends and sold it locally. Last October, Benton launched a Kickstarter campaign to go USDA approved.

This "Spiced Just Right" is described by Uncle Bo as being blended with habanero peppers but, "with the seeds and capsaicin glands removed for maximum flavor and minimal heat".


Ingredients

Beef, water, sugar, salt, lemon juice, sesame oil, oyster extract, concentrated smoke, ginger, garlic, and habanero peppers

Review

The first thing I taste is a light sweet. A faint salt comes in slowly, along with a light heat in the background. The chewing brings on the natural meat flavors, and finally a touch of habanero flavor comes in.

For being named "Spiced Just Right", certainly it has a light bit of heat, what I would register as "Mild Medium" on our heat scale (level 2 out of 5). But for being described as having maximum habanero flavor with minimal heat, it falls short. I don't get a "maximum" level of flavor, it's really just a light amount. I've tasted far more habanero flavor in other brands where they left the heat in.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a light sweet and a light salt and a touch of seafood flavor, but spiced with a light habanero, and a light natural meat flavor in the chew.

The meat consistency is excellent. These are thin-sliced strips cut against the grain, still chewy enough to be jerky, but yet easy enough to snack on without tiring the jaws. They start out chewy, but chew down to something more steak-like. It's a dry jerky, but doesn't chew tough nor crispy. I do see bits of fat here and there, but not too much, encountered only light stringiness.

Verdict

This "Spiced Just Right" certainly is spiced at a low level of habanero heat, and for that matter alone, this jerky delivers on its advertised claim. But when it comes to the Uncle Bo saying they've maximized the habanero flavor, it just falls short. It's a cool idea for a jerky to limit the heat while intensifying the flavor, I just needed more flavor to satisfy my love for chile peppers. It's still a good jerky in its own right, and it will offer "some" habanero experience for those who can't handle the heat. Meanwhile, as with other flavors from Uncle Bo's, the meat consistency and chewing texture is great, and is enough to help this jerky rate higher than just on taste alone.

Rating: Good (4/5)