Crazy Mike's Jerky - Ass Flamin' Hot

Crazy Mike's Beef Jerky is a brand started in 2013 by Mike Merwin, a retired US Navy veteran, based out of Altamount, NY.

Mike, who's known by his friends as "Crazy Mike", had been making jerky himself since 1994 when a friend bought him a dehydrator on a BOGO deal after watching a late night infomercial. Mike had been making homebrew and winning chili cook-offs at the time, so making jerky was right up his alley.

Crazy Mike's Beef Jerky is made from USDA Choice Beef, Eye Round, hickory smoked, and then slow cooked. It currently sells online from its website, as well as in one of Mike's friend's bars.

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Crazy Mike's Beef Jerky - Peppered

Crazy Mike's Beef Jerky is a brand started in 2013 by Mike Merwin, a retired US Navy veteran, based out of Altamount, NY.

Mike, who's known by his friends as "Crazy Mike", had been making jerky himself since 1994 when a friend bought him a dehydrator on a BOGO deal after watching a late night infomercial. Mike had been making homebrew and winning chili cook-offs at the time, so making jerky was right up his alley.

Crazy Mike's Beef Jerky is made from USDA Choice Beef, Eye Round, hickory smoked, and then slow cooked. It currently sells online from its website, as well as in one of Mike's friend's bars.

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Dried and True Beef Jerky - Spicy Teriyaki

Dried and True is a brand that I covered a couple of years ago with their Sriracha Lima and Korean BBQ varieties. Recently, they sent me packages of their Original, Chile Limon, and Spicy Teriyaki.

Founded in Venice CA in 2012, by a local named Matt Lauster, Dried and True Beef Jerky sought to change to people's taste buds and perception of what beef jerky could taste like. After refining his product by selling at local farmer's markets and the LA food festival scene, Matt claims that so many customers have proclaimed, "This is the best jerky I've ever eaten!". He uses exclusively from California raised beef without chemical preservatives, nitrates/nitrites, MSG or high fructose corn syrup.

This "Spicy Teriyaki" variety is described by the company as a "one-two combo of sweet and heat", claiming to be made with pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, but "kicked up with ginger and fresh jalapeños for just a little bite". It's a brisket cut and sliced against the grain to yield a tender chew and texture.

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