Monday, November 21, 2022

Shiner's Stash Jerky - Cajun Spice

shiners stash jerky
Shiner's Stash Jerky is a brand launched by Swen Altis, based out of Conover, NC. Marketed with the tagline, "Made in the foothills of North Carolina", Altis started Shiner's Stash in 2016 after a successful career as an executive chef, working in professional sports for major league baseball teams, hockey teams, and football teams.

Shiner's Stash uses 100% Prime Beef Eye-Round & Pork Loin, sliced thick and cut against the grain. They make all their jerky themselves, in their own USDA inspected facility, as opposed to contracting it out to a co-packer. They currently have 19 varieties of beef and pork jerky.

This Cajun Spice variety is described by company as, "the perfect blend of southern Cajun spices. Combination of "TWANG" overtones and delicate sweetness with a Louisiana Cajun punch. No spice/heat."


Ingredients

Beef round, eye of round, roast, separable lean only, trimmed to 1/8" fat, select raw, brown sugar, soy sauce, flavor, Cajun seasoning, natural flavor, spice, potassium sorbate.

Review

The first flavor I pick up on this is a marbleized meat flavor with a light, watered down soy sauce. The chewing brings on a bit more of a pan-fried steak flavor with hints of oregano and black pepper.

For being marketed as "Cajun Spice", it doesn't really hold up. I get only faint amounts of seasonings, and most of it is a light oregano and black pepper, though touches of garlic and onion linger in the background. It's not at all the bold, spicy, peppery, well-seasoned flavor we think of when eat Cajun cuisine. This does have the "delicate sweetness" the company described, but I don't really find the "twang" or the "punch".

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is that of a pan-fried steak, with its fatty, marbleized character and light swashes of oregano and black pepper, along with a light, watered down soy sauce base. The natural meat flavors comes through pretty well in this.

The chewing texture is very meaty, though quite dry. It has a light crunchiness at first, but eventually chews down soft. It actually takes on a somewhat steak-like chewing texture, though still a touch crumbly. I don't find anything stringy or unchewable. There's a bit of marbleized fat on these slices, and they kick in a little bit of fatty flavor.

Verdict

This Cajun Spice jerky from Shiner's Stash seems to deliver a much more toned down interpretation of bayou-style flavor to the point that it hardly deserves the billing as a Cajun variety. It's not bold, it's not lively, it's doesn't awaken the senses. Instead, it's rather subdued, and somewhat plain-tasting. At best, it has a faint oregano and black pepper seasoning. But on its own merits, it does deliver a strong natural meat flavor, tasting more like a pan-fried steak with all of its fatty, oily flavor, and a touch of brown sugar sweetness to finish it off. It's certainly still snackworthy; it just doesn't offer much Cajun flavor.

Rating: Average (3/5)


cajun beef jerky

cajun beef jerky


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