Thursday, April 30, 2009

Bulk Beef Jerky - Honey Barbecue

Bulk Beef Jerky Bulk Beef Jerky is a retailer of beef jerky, based in Troy, MI, selling a variety of brands, mostly through its website. But they also market their own brand as well which they call "Bulk".

Their jerky is manufactured by Michigan Brands, Inc., based out of Bay City, MI, a company that private labels jerky for several brands. The last brand of jerky I reviewed that was made by Michigan Brands was Bruce's Jerky.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Riteway Meat Company - Home Smoked Beef Jerky

Riteway Meat Company Riteway Meat Company is a full service butcher shop in Dundee, OR, serving local farmers for more than 40 years in the areas just south of Portland. Jerky is one of their featured products.

I learned about them online last November, while visiting my folks in Renton, WA. I had planned to visit some jerky manufacturers in Oregon as I drove back to California, so I did a Google search for "oregon jerky" and put together a list of places to visit. But as it turned out, I couldn't fit any of them into my schedule.

So I finally got around to buying some jerky from Riteway.

This particular variety called, "Home Smoked Beef Jerky" is described by Riteway as follows, "Thick cut and alder smoked, you will love our "Traditional Old Style" beef Jerky."

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Fish Brothers - Smoked Salmon Jerky

Fish Brothers Smoked Salmon JerkyFish Brothers is a brand of Fish Brothers, Inc., based out of Blue Lake, CA. The company has been around since 1984, operating as an FDA approved smoke house for smoked fish. They also offer a smoking service for fishermen, smoking your fish for you, and they do private labeling too.

This salmon jerky is thus far the only product they make that carries the "jerky" description. All of their other products are sold as smoked fish. They also do lox and nova. All of their smoking is done over hickory chips.

The best I can tell, you can't buy this salmon jerky from Fish Brothers' website, you'll have to find a retailer somewhere. I was able to obtain this review sample through House of Jerky.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Jackson Hole Buffalo Jerky - Original

Jackson Hole Buffalo Jerky Jackson Hole is a brand name of Jackson Hole Buffalo Co., based in Jackson Hole, WY. The company has been around since 1947 supplying buffalo and elk meat products to consumers and retailers. Today it has a shop in Jackson Hole, WY, and sells its meat products through its catalog and website.

Jerky is just one of their many meat products.

The company says their buffalo graze naturally on open range grasslands in a ranch setting. In their last 60 days, the animals are corn fed to increase tenderness and to promote a sweet and rich flavor. Their products contain no antibiotics, no hormones, no growth steroids, and no preservatives.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Western Family Beef Jerky - Sweet & Hot

Western Family Beef Jerky Western Family is a brand of Western Family Foods, Inc., based out of Portland, OR. They also own other brands including Shurfine, ShurSaving, Better Buy, and Market Choice. The company specializes in supplying stores and warehouses in small market areas with consumable goods.

I found this package at a small grocery store while camping at Zion National Park recently.

This brand of Western Family jerky was actually manufactured by Jerky Snack Brands of Mankato, MN.

Monday, April 20, 2009

7-Select Beef Jerky - Peppered

7-Select Beef Jerky Next in the series on 7-Select Beef Jerky is this peppered variety. See my previous review of their Original and Teriyaki varieties.

7-Select is a brand name of 7-Eleven, Inc., the chain of convenience stores. The company has had the brand for the past several years, but used it very sparingly for some paper products. Just last Fall, they decided to expand the brand to a wide assortment of food products, including beef jerky.

It was manufactured by Knauss Snack Food Company, a subsidiary of American Foods Group, LLC, which specializes in services for convenience stores, including private labeling.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Werner Gourmet Meat Snacks - Original

Werner Gourmet Meat Snacks Werner Gourmet Meat Snacks is a manufacturer of beef jerky, based out of Tillamook, OR. They've been in business since 1994.

The company makes beef jerky in their own USDA approved facility. Werner is also well known as a private labeler making beef jerky for other brands like Branding Iron, and Shalhoob Meat Co.

In addition to this whole muscle beef jerky, they also offer kippered beef steak, meat sticks, and chopped & formed.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Dad's Jerky - Teriyaki

Dad's Jerky - TeriyakiNext up in the series on Dad's Jerky is this Teriyaki variety. See my previous reviews of their Hot Turkey and Original Steak varieties.

Dad's Jerky is a brand of Dad's Jerky, LLC, based out of Lake Isabella, CA. I assume Dad's makes their own jerky because their website goes into detail about how they make jerky. But the USDA stamp suggests it came from Border View Foods out of Chazy, NY, the folks who make Backwoods Jerky. Perhaps Dad's purchases meat from Border View, and has it shipped out to California.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Shadow Hills Beef Jerky - Carne Asada

Shadow Hills Beef Jerky Shadow Hills Beef Jerky is a brand of BP Products North America, Inc. BP is also known as "British Petroleum", or more familiar as all those "BP" gas stations. Shadow Hills is their brand of snack foods they supply to gas stations all across the USA.

I found this jerky at a Texaco station in Kingman, AZ last weekend, while returning home from a camping trip. The store manager there explained to me the origins of the Shadow Hills brand, which seems to be backed up by what little information I could find online.

Shadow Hills Beef Jerky is manufactured by Knauss Snack Food Company. Knauss is a subsidiary of American Foods Group, LLC, which specializes in services for convenience stores, including private labeling.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Shalhoob Meat Co. Beef Jerky - Jalapeno

Shalhoob Meat Co. Beef Jerky Second in this series on Shalhoob Meat Co. is this Jalapeno variety. See my previous review of their Original variety.

Shalhoob Meat Co. is a family run, full service, butcher shop located in Santa Barbara, CA. Aside from supplying restaurants and consumers with steaks, roasts, and ribs, they also offer beef jerky.

The company's website refers to this line of jerky as "old school" style, saying it was based on an old family recipe that date's back to owner's great great grandfather. Shalhoob also offers a couple of other jerky lines, including an organic line, and a "soft and tender" line.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tony Stewart's Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Tony Stewart's Beef Jerky Continuing the series on Tony Stewart's Beef Jerky is this teriyaki variety. See my previous review of their Original variety.

Tony Stewart's Beef Jerky is a brand of Tony Stewart's Original, Inc. based out of Indianapolis, IN. It bears the name and likeness of the famed racecar driver, leveraging his star power to earn some extra income through the sales of jerky, salsa, and barbecue sauces.

The jerky itself was manufactured by Mirab USA, who makes jerky for hundreds of brands, including other sports figures. Interestingly, the back of this package reads, "This beef jerky has been personally selected by Tony himself", though it doesn't explain for what reason he selected it, be it taste or economics.

Tony Stewart's Beef Jerky includes only two varieties at this time, the Original variety that I reviewed before, and this Teriyaki.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Branding Iron Beef Jerky - Honey Glazed

Branding Iron Beef Jerky Branding Iron Beef Jerky is a localized brand found only in liquor stores and convenience stores along the central coast of California. See my previous review of their "Sweet & Spicy" variety.

The brand is owned by JW Distributing, Inc., based out of Santa Maria, CA. JW Distributing distributes products to convenience stores and liquor stores all across the central coast of California. They actually specialize in meat snacks, distributing a wide variety of brands. They also produce their own energy drink called "Energy Shooter".

Branding Iron Beef Jerky is actually manufactured by Werner Gourmet Meat Snacks, of Tillamook, OR, the maker of Werner Beef Jerky. You can't buy Branding Iron Beef Jerky online, it's only available in those small stores.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

A Couple O' Jerks - Original

A Couple O' Jerks A Couple O' Jerks is one of the newest, if not, THE newest brand of jerky on the market as of this writing. The brand is owned by A Couple O' Jerks, LLC, based out of a Labadie, MO.

The business was started by Don Self, a guy who's been making his own jerky for years and years. The company got started like most others, where Don shared some of his homemade jerky with his friends, and his friends telling him he ought to sell the stuff. So with the help of a friend, A Couple O' Jerks was born.

The company makes jerky at its own USDA approved facility. They only have this one flavor, Original. And the package says, "We believe that when you take a bite of jerky, it should bite back!"

Friday, April 10, 2009

7-Select Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Next in the series on 7-Select Beef Jerky is this Teriyaki variety. See my previous review of their Original variety.

7-Select is a brand name of 7-Eleven, Inc., the chain of convenience stores. The brand has been around since 2004, but was limited to just a handful of paper products. It wasn't until November of 2008 that the corporation decided to expand it's store brand to a full line of convenience store items, citing a need to offer consumers lower prices in a tough economy, as well as citing a trend of consumers that trust store brands as much as they do national brands.

This beef jerky is among the new entries into the 7-Select brand. It was manufactured by Knauss Snack Food Company, the makers of Bull & Hannah's Beef Jerky. Knauss is a subsidiary of American Foods Group, LLC, which specializes in services for convenience stores, including private labeling.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Cattaneo Bros. Beef Jerky - Peppered Thick Cut

Cattaneo Bros. Beef Jerky Cattaneo Bros. Beef Jerky is a brand of Cattaneo Bros., Inc. of San Luis Obispo, CA. The brand started out in 1947, founded by William Cattaneo, as a beef jerky manufacturer and stayed the course ever since. The business today is run by a different family, not related to the original Cattaneo founders, and headed by Mike Kaney.

The brand includes three different lines of beef jerky, their "thin cut", a "cowboy cut", and this thick cut. Each of those cuts have their own variety of flavors. They also do turkey jerky and meat sticks.

See my previous review of their Original variety.

Their jerky is found in stores throughout central California.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Dad's Jerky - Hot Turkey Jerky

Dad's Jerky - Hot Turkey JerkyNext up in our series on Dad's Jerky is this Hot Turkey Jerky. See my previous review of their "Original Steak".

Dad's Jerky is a brand of Dad's Jerky, LLC, based out of Lake Isabella, CA.

It appears this jerky was actually manufactured by TM Jerky & Processing, Inc. of Monrovia, CA. TM Jerky also makes jerky for the Papa Dan's brand, and I notice that Papa Dan's also offers a Hot Turkey Jerky, but not having had Papa Dan's version, I can't verify if it tastes any different.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Pacific Coast Jerky Factory - Hot

Pacific Coast Jerky Factory Pacific Coast Jerky Factory is a brand name belonging to KMB Foods, Inc., of Arcadia, CA. KMB also owns the Cactus Jacks, and Cattleman's brand of jerky. They also private label jerky for several other companies.

Read my previous review of their Original variety.

This is a slab-style jerky, a different meat than that used in other brands I've reviewed including, Buffalo Bill's Dead Meat, Oh Boy! Oberto Thick Cuts, and Jawbone Beef Jerky.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Uncle Buck's Beef Jerky - Jalapeno

Uncle Buck's Beef Jerky Uncle Buck's is the brand name that Bass Pro Shops uses for its store branded products. It comes from the uncle of Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, who's credited with teaching the future catalog salesman the joys of fishing.

Bass Pro Shops' jerky is actually manufactured by Monogram Meat Snacks, of Chandler, MN, a large private labeler of beef jerky, making such brands as Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky, Winchester Beef Jerky, NASCAR Beef Jerky, Jim Beam Beef Jerky, Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky, Stubbs' Beef Jerky, and the list goes on.

I had previously reviewed Uncle Buck's Original variety beef jerky last month. It's a chunked & formed style of meat, very comparable to the Jeff Foxworthy and Winchester brands, if not, exactly the same. But I don't believe those two brands include this Jalapeno flavor.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Shalhoob Meat Co. Beef Jerky - Original

Shalhoob Meat Co. Beef Jerky Shalhoob Meat Co. is a family run, full service, butcher shop located in Santa Barbara, CA. Aside from supplying restaurants and consumers with steaks, roasts, and ribs, they also offer beef jerky.

The business has been in existence since 1973, but it has roots long before that. It was founded by Jerry Shalhoob, a well-respected butcher in the Santa Barbara area, and apparently the area's best "meat historian". In 2001, the business was taken over by his son John.

The company's website says this line of "old school" jerky is based on an old family recipe that date's back to John's great great grandfather, and is made from top round.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Damn Good Jerky - Death by Jerky

Damn Good Jerky The last in this series on Damn Good Jerky (unless I get my hands on more), is this variety dubbed, "Death by Jerky". Read my previous reviews of their Original Hickory and Hawaiian Style Teriyaki.

This particular variety is supposed to be their hottest. The package label comes with a warning to "eat at your own risk!!". Looking at this stuff, it seems pretty tolerable.

I notice the ingredients list shows "capsicum oleoresin", which is just another word for "pepper spray". So it seems instead of relying on Mother Nature to burst your capillaries, DGJ douses their meat with the same stuff mailmen use to put down angry dogs.

However, the ingredients also mentions peppers too.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

7-Select Beef Jerky - Original

7-Select Beef Jerky 7-Select is a brand name of 7-Eleven, Inc., the chain of convenience stores. The brand has been around since 2004, but was limited to just a handful of paper products. It wasn't until November of 2008 that the corporation decided to expand it's store brand to a full line of convenience store items, citing a need to offer consumers lower prices in a tough economy, as well as citing a trend of consumers that trust store brands as much as they do national brands.

This beef jerky is among the new entries into the 7-Select brand. It was manufactured by Knauss Snack Food Company, the makers of Bull & Hannah's Beef Jerky. Knauss is a subsidiary of American Foods Group, LLC, which specializes in services for convenience stores, including private labeling.

The 7-Select line of beef jerky also includes two other varieties, Peppered, and Teriyaki, which I'll be reviewing later.