Snatch Jerky - Peppered Ale

Snatch Jerky is a new brand of jerky based out of Show Low, AZ. It was started in February 2013 by a guy named Ron Pro.

Snatch markets itself with the tagline "The Healthy Beef Jerky" because it uses only natural ingredients, no MSG, no nitrates, and no preservatives. They also claim their jerky to be low sodium with varieties ranging from 50mg per serving up to 270mg per serving.

This "Peppered Ale" is described by the company's as one of their "more sophisticated of flavors". It's marinated in a pale ale, along with a blend of spices to create something they describe as "bold and rich". They also claim it to contain only 85mg of sodium per serving, making it a low sodium contender.

Ingredients

Beef, beer, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, seasoned salt, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, pepper, liquid smoke.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light sweetness and a faint bit of smokiness. A light bit of black pepper comes in along with a fruity, vinegar flavor.

The chewing brings in a bit more of the fruity character along with an increased sweetness. The black pepper becomes more noticeable as well, creating its characteristic aftertaste.

For being marketed as "Peppered Ale", it's difficult to say if this jerky holds up to that description. There's definitely a peppered flavor to this, the black pepper is creating a lot of its sharp, spicy taste. But the ale part is harder to find. I can taste some of that malty influence that beer marinated meats tend to get, but it's very subtle.

Otherwise, the flavors that seem to define this jerky starts largely with a sweet, slightly fruity flavor, gently influenced by the balsamic vinegar. The black pepper then comes on slowly to take over the palate before a lighter amounts of saltiness and natural meat flavor round out the latter part of chewing.

As far as heat goes, there's none really, except the black pepper can produce a mild to moderate burn.

Overall, the ingredients combine to create what is largely a sweet and peppery jerky with touches of fruitiness and shades of vinegar.

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, looking similar to beef brisket, sliced into strips of medium thickness, and in lengths ranging from one to three inches.

This is a dry jerky with a dry surface feel. There's a lot of flexibility in these strips, Biting off chunks seems easy to do, while chewing seems overall easy with a little extra effort required here and there.

The chewing texture starts out feeling chewy, with some initial chewing resistance, but seems to break down without any laborious effort. It takes on a meaty feel, and once chewed down to a soft mass, it feels very steak-like, comparable to one cooked medium-well.

I do see bits and streaks of fat on these strips, which do contribute some additional flavor. I also encountered a fair amount of unchewable tissues, mostly as stringiness that matted down into unchewable wads.

In terms of clean eating, my fingers pick up some bits of black pepper, and I also get some black pepper falling off on to my lap as I bit chunks off.

Snack Value

Snatch Jerky sells this Peppered Ale jerky from its website at a price of $5.95 for a 3oz package. They also sell a 5-pack variety bundle for $29.75 with shipping of $5.95 to Southern California. That works out to a price of $2.38 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.38 per ounce price, it's a good value. I'm getting a good deal of snackability for an overall good flavor, good chewing texture, and decent meat consistency. Compared to major brands of jerky found in stores, it has a better flavor, though at a similar to slightly higher price.

As a black peppered, beer marinated beef jerky, at the same $2.38 per ounce price, it's a decent value. I'm getting a lot of black pepper flavor, and generous amounts of granulated pepper visible on these pieces. However, it's hard to identify the beer-marinade influence.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Peppered Ale variety from Snatch Jerky offers up a unique flavor that seems best described as a sweet and peppery jerky with touches of fruity lime and tangy balsamic vinegar. There's only light bits of the malty influence that a beer-marinated meat gives you, not quite the homerun hitting flavor I was looking for. But overall, this Pepppered Ale jerky still has a unique flavor all its own.

I found the chewing relatively easy, though it has some moments where the jaw muscles need to tap into a little more energy. But overall, the beef brisket style cut offers a good chewing texture.

Considering it's named "Peppered Ale", I'd still like this to get more of the beer flavor from this.

Rating: Good