Redneck Seasonings is a brand run by Ray Templeton out of Moscow, ID. Over the past couple of years, the business has been selling seasonings, jerky, and bratwurst. Among his other specialities is infused sea salts, where he infuses a variety of flavorings to impart unique flavored sea salts. The inspiration for his line of jerky came when he started using a Bhut Jolokia Inufsed Sea Salt. Today, his jerky brined with this particular blend, and produced into two original flavors, this Filet of Ghost (a milder variety), and Danse Macabre (a more hot variety).
This new flavor, Limeapeño, is said to be a mild jerky, seasoned with lime and a hint of Jalapeño.
Beef, turbinado sugar, white sugar, Chile Verde Infused Sea Salt, lime juice powder, jalapeno powder.
Taste
The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a lot of citrusy, lime flavor with a combination sweet & salty seasoning. A little bit of heat is noticeable.
The chewing brings in more saltiness along with a light natural meat flavor.
For being marketed as "Limeapeño", specifically "seasoned with lime and a hint of Jalapeño", it seems to hold up well. I do get a lot of lime flavor along with its tangy, citrusy characteristics. Yet, I only get hints of jalapeno pepper, just as the description says. I barely taste the jalapeno, while I get a light bit of heat.
Otherwise, the flavor that defines this jerky over any other is the lime. It's very evident immediately putting a piece into my mouth, and it continues to produce it's citrusy, tangy, fruity flavor throughout the chewing. The saltiness is rather strong, and it too dominates the palate. The sweetness takes on a backseat role, providing just enough body to be noticeable, while the natural meat flavors are the least noticeable.
The ingredients all combine into a flavor that tastes one-dimensional, mostly as a well-limed jerky. I'd like to taste more of the jalapeno's natural flavors, but somehow it gets lost behind the lime and the strong saltiness. If you love lime with beef, however, you'll love this.
The natural meat flavors have something of a light, smoked flavor. I don't know if Redneck Seasonings uses a smoker or not, but the meat flavor has that smoked characteristic, which seems to make it more enjoyable for me.
The level of heat in this, as it ranks on my personal heat scale, sits at mild-medium (level 2 out of 5). The strong saltiness tends to make it feel more scorched than it really is.
Meat Consistency
These are slices of whole meat, sliced into thick strips.
This is a dry jerky with a sticky surface feel. The pieces have a flexible, rubbery feel. Biting off chunks can take some effort to do, while chewing can be a little tough.
The chewing texture starts out feeling stiff and dry. With several chews, it breaks apart and feels fibrous. Eventually it chews down to a soft mass and takes on a more steak-like feel, as if cooked well-done.
I don't see much fat on these strips, unlike with the other flavors I reviewed for Redneck Seasonings. There's a little bit of stringiness, but well tolerable. I didn't encounter any gristle or tendon, nor any unchewable tissues.
As for clean eating, my fingers pick up a sticky film, enough to require a licking and wiping before touching the keyboard.
Redneck Seasonings sells this Limeapeño beef jerky from its website at a price of $1.75 per ounce. My review sample marked $6.65 for 3.8 ounces. Shipping is flat rate at $5.95. If you bought 16 ounces, it would cost $2.12 per ounce.
For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.12 per ounce price, it's a fair value. Compared other brands of jerky sold in stores, it's priced slightly higher, but seems to offer a slightly better taste, meat consistency, and chewing.
As a Lime flavored jerky with a hint of jalapeno, at the same $2.12 per ounce price, it's a good value. I'm getting plenty of tangy, citrusy, lime flavor, with barely any jalapeno flavor, and just a light bit of heat.
Rating
I'm giving this a good rating.
This Limeapeño beef jerky from Redneck Seasonings generates a lot of tangy, citrusy lime flavors over a light natural meat flavor, and a light bit of heat.
Considering the company claims this jerky to be mild, I'd have to disagree. Even though it's light level of heat may seem mild in comparison to their Filet of Ghost and Danse Macabre, my wife, who cannot tolerate spicy food, will tell you it's "hot". For me, I like the low level of heat, but wouldn't mind getting a little more from it.
I still find this jerky better than the average lot of jerky brands, mostly for its natural meat flavor and steak-like chewing. Otherwise, I found the flavor one-dimensional, mostly just lime, while the saltiness was rather too much for me.
Rating:
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I'm Steve Johnson, and I've been in the Internet marketing and publishing business since 1997. I've been a life-long fan of beef jerky and decided to merge my profession with my snack food of choice, and gave birth to Best Beef Jerky.
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