Next up in the series on Bad Bud's Jerky is this Hotternhail GHOST variety. See previous reviews of Bad Bud's Jerky.
Bad Buds Jerky is a brand run by Buddy Stone out of Hogansville, GA. Bad Buds has been in business since 2005. In addition to jerky, the brand also markets its own line of hot sauces.
According to Stone, he hasn't been able to eat this Hotternhail GHOST due to being too hot for him, but he's been told it's really good.
Ingredients
Beef, soy sauce, worcestershire, ghost pepper sauce, brown sugar, onion and garlic powder.
Taste
The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light sweetness with a garlic seasoning. The ghost pepper flavor comes in quickly, while a strong burn builds quickly.
The chewing brings in a tangy flavor, along with a identifiable soy sauce. There's a light natural meat flavor coming in too.
For being marketed as, "Hotternhail GHOST", it seems to fit the billing. It generates a lot of heat right away, yet provides a very rich chile pepper flavor. On my personal heat scale, this rates as "hot" (level 5 out of 5), and is right up there among the hottest jerky brands I've reviewed, though still not quite the hottest.
In comparison with the company's Hotternhail (regular) that I reviewed previously, I want to say this has a comparable amount of heat, maybe no different. It's difficult to compare since I'm having to remember what that tasted like from a month ago. However, this Hotternhail GHOST seems to have a more intense flavor of chile pepper, and a little more tangy as well. The tanginess resembles something like worcestershire with some citrus.
Otherwise, the flavor that seems to define this jerky starts with the base marinade, which is something like worcestershire & soy sauce. The flavor of Bhut Jolokia peppers seems to come in strong enough to give this jerky a significant contribution. The tanginess is also significant.
The ingredients all combine to create a very tangy chew with a savory sauce flavor, colored by the natural chile pepper flavors. The tanginess has a fruity citrus character, but is quite comparable to what I've found in lot of worcestershire-based jerky. Overall, it's a very addicting flavor that livens up the palate.
Meat Consistency
These are slices of whole meat, sliced into strips of three to six inches, and sliced thick.
This is a dry jerky with a slightly moist surface feel. These strips are very flexible, maybe just a touch of rubbery feel. Biting off pieces can take a little bit of work while chewing ranges from easy to moderately tough.
The chewing texture starts out feeling chewy, almost rubbery, requiring some effort to get through, but starts to break apart and soon softens up into a meaty feel. By the time its chewed down to a soft mass, it feel very steak like, perhaps cooked medium-well.
I don't see any bits or streaks of fat on these strips, but I do taste some fatty flavor. There's a fair amount of stringiness in the chewing, and I can feel wads of tough, unchewable mass.
As far as handling goes, my fingertips pick up fine films of oil and sticky, but not enough to worry about when typing on a keyboard, and they also pick up scant bits of pepper and spice.
I don't have pricing info, and the company's Facebook page doesn't list pricing either.
Rating
I'm giving this a best rating.
This Hotternhail Ghost beef jerky from Bad Bud's Jerky dishes out a lot of intense heat, as much as you would expect from something labeled with "Bhut Jolokia", but it also has a great chile pepper flavor too. I really liked the tangy chewing, which resembles that of citrus and worcestershire, and I also liked the touches of garlic seasoning and the saucy marinade.
Together, this jerky creates a lot of chewing excitement while the intense endorphin rush from the chile peppers electrifies my body. I'm getting a good deal of "wow factor" eating this.
But it still manages to stay true to its beef jerky roots with a lightly noticeable natural meat flavor, good meat consistency, and good chewing texture. Even though biting off pieces can still require some effort, it's still easy to get through a piece.
Rating: Best (5/5)
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