Love Jerky Company - Salt & Pepper

Love Jerky Company is the creation of Helen Geddes and her husband Brian, based out of Oak Park, CA. The brand got started in 2017.

Helen and Brian used to make batches of homemade jerky and give them away to friends and family. Their jerky was a hit, and therefore turned their hobby into a never-ending tradition. Today, Love Jerky gives back to the community by donating a bag of jerky for every bag they sell.

This Salt & Pepper variety is one of three flavors they currently offer. The company doesn't market any kind of claims as to what one might expect other than just "salt and pepper".


Ingredients

Beef, pineapple juice, Worcestershire sauce, gluten free tamari sauce, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, white sugar, garlic

Review

The first flavor I notice is a faint salt, followed by weak Worcestershire and notes of black pepper. The chewing brings on a bit more definition from the Worcestershire, with a noticeable pineapple tang, and touches of vinegar.

For being marketed as "Salt & Pepper", it holds up. I mean, there's a salt profile in this, but then again, all jerky has a salt profile. Otherwise, there's nothing specific in this jerky that makes it more salty, or adds some kind of salt boost, like maybe some grains of salt. The black pepper is noticeable and gives this jerky a light spice without making it "spicy". It has a sharp pungency, comparable to freshly cracked pepper, but not over-the-top.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a watered-down Worcestershire with a light tangy and fruity character, a low-to-medium saltiness, and spiced up moderately with black pepper. The natural meat flavors come through fairly well in the chewing, while a touch of sweet lingers throughout.

The meat consistency is good, mostly all meat with light bits of fat encountered. But otherwise, no real stringiness. It's a dry jerky, yet quite soft to chew through. It chewing texture similar to eating a piece of steak cooked well-done.

Verdict

This Salt & Pepper beef jerky from Love Jerky Company delivers on its flavor name, but mostly in terms of the black pepper. I found a decent amount of peppery flavor, with a sharp character, like it was freshly cracked. But, the "salt" part doesn't really stand out. That is, we already expect jerky to have some kind of salt profile, and this does in fact have the usual level of salt that most jerky varieties have. I had hoped this one from Love Jerky Company offered something additional or different. But alas, this is really more of a "Black Pepper" jerky with the already-expected level of salt. But on its own merits, it's a snackable jerky, well-balanced for a black peppered variant, though not necessarily unique from the hundreds of other gourmet brands we've reviewed.

Rating: Good (4/5)