Friday, July 4, 2008

Buffalo Bills Western Cut - Sweet & Spicy

Buffalo Bills Western Cut - Sweet & SpicyThe Buffalo Bills brand is produced by Choo Choo R Snacks, Inc., of Lebanon, PA, a company that's been making beef jerky since 1990.

The company prides itself on using all American-made ingredients, including USA-raised beef, and makes their beef jerky here in the States.

Buffalo Bills is a brand that has assembled a loyal customer base, and has received many positive reviews.

The "Western Cut" is contrasted against the company's "Country Cut". Country Cut is a thicker tender variety, Western Cut is a thin dry variety.

I've never eaten their beef jerky before, and so after reading about this brand, I go into this review with much anticipation.

Ingredients

Beef, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, water, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, liquid smoke, sodium nitrite.

Taste

Probably the first taste that comes through is the sweetness of the brown sugar and teriyaki sauce, followed by the natural meat flavors, and the spiciness follows soon after that.

It's not a heavy sweetness, but it's still sweet enough that you'd want to include that word in this jerky's description. The teriyaki sauce is subtle, just enough to give you a background taste.

I'd say the spiciness is more pronounced than the sweetness. I'd rate it as medium on my hot-scale, though lesser-adapted palates might see this as medium-hot, or even just hot. This variety is probably better described as a spicy variety with some sweetness.

The flavoring is not mixed evenly across all the pieces; some of the pieces contain an extra helping of pepper, making it more spicy, while other pieces had more teriyaki flavor. I actually found that to be a pleasant discovery, because I got to enjoy the "sweet & spicy" taste in varying extremes.

And about the flavoring, while it has plenty of flavor, it doesn't last long through the chewing. You get the flavoring within the first 5-10 chews, and from there on out, it's the natural meat flavors that linger.

The natural meat flavors come out well, though I'd say that this has a mild beef flavor. Several pieces contained a small amount of fat which added to the beef taste, a quality that I actually find enjoyable.

Overall, this jerky has a good taste. I'd classify this as being more spicy than sweet, but still sweet enough to be described as "sweet & spicy". It has a snackability that kept me reaching for more.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be real cuts of meat, sliced thin, and in small and medium sizes. Note that I have the brand's 1.75oz bag, which make it difficult to include larger pieces.

This is a dry jerky, but one where the pieces retain a lot of flexibility. I found this easy to tear apart and chew.

Some pieces provided a combination of "crunchy and chewy", because they had ultra-thin depressions in their meat texture that came out crunchy after the drying process.

Many pieces had fat on them, mostly in small amounts, though one piece had a dime-sized piece of fat. I did find some chewy tendon in a couple of pieces, but it was few and far enough in between that I wouldn't call it an issue. Otherwise, I didn't find any pieces with gristle.

Overall, the meat consistency provides a good jerky experience allowing me to enjoy the flavors without much distraction.

Buffalo Bills Western Cut - Sweet & Spicy

Buffalo Bills Western Cut - Sweet & Spicy
Product Value

Choo Choo R Snacks, Inc. sells this jerky from their website at a price of $3.29 for a 1.75oz bag. That works out to $1.88 per oz, putting this into the average price range. You can get this for $1.57 per oz if you buy their larger 3.5oz bag.

For that price, I think you're getting a good value. The jerky offers a good flavor, and is easy to tear apart and chew. And if you like sweet & spicy jerky, this will live up to that billing, though less sweet and more spicy. Moreover, it's a great snacking jerky that will please your craving to chew.

Rating

Buffalo Bills Western Cut - Sweet & SpicyI'm giving this a "good" rating.

It's a great jerky for jerky lovers to enjoy, offering some good taste, providing a great snacking experience, and being easy to tear apart and chew. The level of spiciness is perfect for a sweet & spicy variety, though I think there ought to be more sweetness.

That's largely what kept me from giving this a "best" rating. I put a lot of weight on a jerky being able to live up to its flavor billing, because I think consumers base their buying decision on what flavor sounds good.

And while it has a good taste, that taste doesn't last throughout the chewing.

Still, this variety from Buffalo Bills is an excellent choice for jerky snacking being priced in the same range as the larger national brands, but offering a much higher quality.

Rating: Good

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