Friday, May 8, 2009

Bulk Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Bulk Beef Jerky - TeriyakiContinuing with the series on Bulk Beef Jerky is this teriyaki variety. See my earlier review of their Honey Barbecue variety.

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.

Ingredients

Beef, dextrose, salt, hydrolyzed soya protein, sugar, spices, extractives of onion, garlic and spices, sodium erythorbate, less than 2% sodium alumno silicate added to prevent caking, sodium nitrite.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light sweet and smoky flavor, and with some sucking I can detect some saltiness. In the chewing, what I taste first is a light black pepper flavor, a stronger saltiness, some natural meat flavors, and a light soy sauce flavor.

For being billed as a teriyaki variety, I don't taste any teriyaki in this. I do pick up that light sweetness on the surface, and even a bit of that sweetness in the chewing, as well as a light soy sauce flavor, but that doesn't at all blend together as a teriyaki flavor on my taste buds.

If anything, the primary flavor of this jerky is the salt flavor. I'd rate the intensity as being high, and in fact, "too high" for my tolerance. After a few pieces, I'm already getting a salt scorching on my tongue. I don't have the nutrition facts for this jerky, but if it's the same teriyaki jerky that Michigan Brands makes for other companies, then it's actually a medium level sodium content, but it just tastes extra salty.

The natural meat flavors have the second strongest flavor in this. It's not really that strong of a flavor, but it is easily noticed against the stronger saltiness.

The sweet and soy sauce flavors are perhaps light enough that I wouldn't consider them as being dominant flavors. But they're still noticeable.

Overall, what you're going to experience with this jerky is a lot of saltiness, with a little bit of sweet, a little soy sauce flavor, and a fair amount of meat flavors.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, cut into bite sized chunks, sliced very thick.

This is a moist jerky, with a wet surface. The surface is more wet than the inside meat. Chewing seems somewhat easy, though still largely "chewy".

The chewing texture feels rather steak-like once it's chewed down to soft mass, though maybe just a bit crumbly. Initially, it starts with a good deal of rubbery resistance, but boke down after 15-20 seconds of sucking and light biting.

Some of the pieces had some streaks of fat on them. And I did find strings of chewy sinews here and there, but overall not too bad. No pieces of tendon or gristle.

Due to the wet surface of these pieces, my fingers pick up a lot of moisture and require a licking and wiping on my jeans with each handling.




Snack Value

Bulk Beef Jerky sells this Teriyaki variety at a price of $5.99 for a four ounce package. They also charge $5.95 for shipping out to Southern California, and will also apply sales tax. So if you bought three packages of this stuff, the total cost will be $25.40, or $2.12 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at this $2.12 per ounce price, this Teriyaki variety offers a weak value. I get an average amount of snackability from its satisfactory taste, and a satisfactory meat consistency. The $2.12 price seems too high for what snackability I'm getting back.

As a Teriyaki variety, also at the $2.12 price per ounce, it's a poor value. I just don't see this as having a teriyaki flavor. And with this price being higher than the jerky brands you'd find in local grocery store, you'd expect better quality. I think you'll get more teriyaki flavor out of a Jack Link's.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This Teriyaki variety from Bulk Beef Jerky has a flavor and meat consistency that's just good enough to satisfy your snacking urge. The thick slices of moist meat are quite impressive, and may boost your anticipation for something really good. But the flavor itself is largely salty, a little too salty for my preference.

And those folks craving teriyaki flavor in beef jerky won't find it here. I think teriyaki should have a thick sweetness, and this only has a light sweetness. The soy sauce flavor doesn't marry into the sweet at all, and instead is mostly just an intense saltiness. I don't even see sake or ginger in the ingredients list.

Otherwise, I think this jerky's strongest points are the thick slices and moist chew. It's somewhat of a rubbery chew initially, but does provide a meaty, steak-like chewing afterwards.

My recommended beer pairing for this, try a light tasting cream ale, or honey blond.

Rating: Average

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