Blank and Sons - Texas Spirit Beef Jerky

Blank and Sons is a new brand of beef jerky that started up just over a year ago, based out of Nacogdoches, TX. It's run by Damon Blank and his wife Tammy, along with their sons Danton, Dalton, and Dagon. The family had been in the restaurant business from 1988 to 2002. They had wanted to remain in the food industry and opted to launch a jerky business.

Blank and Sons is themed after the State of Texas, and the flavors they offer are paired with various flags used throughout the Lone Star State's history. They claim their jerky is hand made in small batches, but is bold and big as their Texas-sized pride.

This "Texas Spirit Beef Jerky" is marketed as combining "one of the country's hottest peppers and black pepper", making it a "must for all heat seekers".

Ingredients

Beef inside round, soy sauce, water, worcestershire, light brown sugar, kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, garlic powder, garlic salt, chili powder, cumin, ground habanero powder, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, sodium nitrite.

Review

The first flavors that I pick up on the tongue is a salty, seasoning blend, with an emphasis on garlic. There's a little bit of heat building, and I can faintly pick out some soy sauce flavor. The chewing brings on more garlic flavor, an increased saltiness, and a bit more heat. The black pepper is quite noticeable.

As far as this jerky being a "must for all heat seekers", it depends on one's level of heat tolerance. This is not that hot compared to other jerky brands I've reviewed that used habanero peppers. On my personal heat scale, this still seems to sit at a medium level (level 3 out of 5). But also, there's only a little bit of the habanero chile flavor. I think the chile pepper fanatics out there aren't just looking for burn, but also for the fruity, pungent flavor that chiles impart, and this jerky doesn't deliver much of that. I also don't pick up any endorphin rush I usually get from eating habaneros.

The meat consistency seems excellent. It comes in slabs sliced to a medium thickness, and retains an expected jerky chewiness, though still somewhat easy to chew through. The chewing feels meaty initially, and once chewed all the way down, it feels like a grilled steak cooked well done. I don't see much fat on these slabs, but I do pick up some light stringiness. Otherwise, nothing unchewable.

Verdict: This "Texas Spirit Beef Jerky" from Blank and Sons tastes very similar to the company's "Black Peppered Beef Jerky", except with a touch of habanero. It's actually a good flavor overall mostly for its stronger garlic presence, a saucy combination of soy sauce and worcestershire, and light touches of sweet. But because the company billed it as a "must for all heat seekers", it fell down in disappointment. If you love hot foods, and you've built up a tolerance for heat, this jerky will you wondering, "where's the heat?" Considering Texan Spirit is often as big as the state itself, I think this jerky could use more heat, and better yet more habanero flavor. Also, the saltiness in this is rather high. I'd much prefer less salt for a jerky that emphasizes heat.

It's still a good jerky due to its base flavor, meat consistency, and chewing texture. It just doesn't live up to its advertised billing, which is a key rating criteria for me.

Rating: Average