Thursday, April 3, 2008

Buffalo Jacks - Buffalo Jerky Peppered

Buffalo Jacks Peppered Buffalo JerkyBuffalo Jacks is a brand of buffalo jerky, and this particular variety is labeled, "Peppered". There is also "Original" flavored.

The brand is part of Arizona Jacks, a well-known beef jerky brand in the western states. Arizona Jacks is owned by PrimeSnax, Inc. of Salt Lake City, UT.

Taste

The ingredients list shows three flavor components, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and granulated garlic. I can defintely taste the soy sauce, though I'm not sure I can taste the worcestershire. I'd consider this jerky a tad salty, but still quite enjoyable on the first couple pieces. Once I get into the third or fourth piece, my mouth experiences a slight salt burn.

Being that this is the "Peppered" variety, there is very little pepper present. I can defintely see some pepper there, but this is some of least peppered of all peppered jerky I've had. In fact, the ingredients list even doesn't mention pepper. Overall, there is a slight peppery taste.

I can certainly taste the buffalo meat however. When I suck on a piece for a little bit, the meat flavors come right out. Many of the pieces have clearly visible nodules of fat, which also adds to taste.

Meat Consistency

The company says they use only real cuts of meat, and it's clear that this is what it is.

Most of the pieces are tough, and require some work to bite off into smaller pieces. I have to bite down hard, gnaw on it a little, and give a good rip, to get smaller bite-sized pieces. This appears to be due to the cuts of meat. They have a lot of tendon and membrane. But there were still other pieces in the bag that were much easier to bite off and enjoy.

The pieces are thick sliced and flexible, just how I like 'em. As I said above, most of the pieces have fat nodules, which is also another preference of mine. Overall, the pieces are somewhat greasy to the touch.

Product Value

I paid $8.50 for this 4oz bag at a snack shop called, "Vegas 808", inside of the California Hotel & Casino, in downtown Las Vegas. That works out to $2.13 per ounce, which is on the high side. I also note that if you bought this online directly from Arizona Jacks, you'd pay $10.00 + shipping, or $2.50+ per ounce.

At that price, I expect high quality, and so I don't necessarily consider this brand of buffalo jerky to be a good value. Most people don't eat buffalo jerky for general purpose snacking; buffalo is always consumed as a delicacy. Therefore, you always expect something of higher quality. While I can accept the notion that buffalo meat is not as readily available as beef, I'm still not impressed with the flavoring and rather tough consistency.

And let's not forget that if you love peppered jerky, this brand falls flat on its face with only scant traces of pepper being seen.

If the price was lower, perhaps $1.50 per ounce, I'd consider this a good value.

Buffalo Jacks Peppered Buffalo Jerky

Buffalo Jacks Peppered Buffalo Jerky

Rating

Perhaps this jerky's saving grace is the fact that it still possesses a clear buffalo meat taste. I like to know that I'm eating a piece of meat as opposed to some unknown fibrous material. But the saltiness, the uninteresting taste, and tough consistency, prevents this from moving any higher than average.

Rating: Average

Buy this from Arizona Jacks: http://www.azjacks.com/

0 comments:

Post a Comment