Bubba's Carolina Jerky - Sweet Jalapeno Bacon Jerky

Bubba's Carolina Jerky is a brand that started in 2004 by Bubba Dunn, a retired veteran who spent 36 years in the US Coast Guard and US Army. The company is based out of Cocoa, FL.

Dunn grew up in an outdoor sporting family that frequently hunted, fished, and raised livestock. Lean meats were often turned into jerky using an old family recipe. Today, he spends his time perfecting marinades, running his jerky company, and making special batches of dehydrated meats for friends. Bubba's Carolina Jerky prides itself on using meat from US ranchers. Their jerky is sold through stores including Mast General Stores, Contemporary Nutrition, Edgewater True Value, and Crossroads Ace Hardware.

This "Sweet Jalapeno Bacon Jerky" is one of two bacon jerky flavors offered by the company. They describe it as having initial sweet that overtakes the taste buds and then gradually adds in the heat.

Ingredients

Bacon, white sugar, jalapenos.

Review

The first thing I taste on my palate is a lot of sweet, but with hints of jalapeno flavor. There's very faint heat noticeable. The chewing brings on a classic bacon flavor, while the sweet continues. The heat builds up more.

For being dubbed, "Sweet Jalapeno", it definitely holds up to the claim. There's a lot of sweetness to this, perhaps more than what I would typically want in bacon jerky, and there's definitely a noticeable jalapeno flavor. The heat builds up in the chewing and seems to sit at a medium level, as measured on my personal heat scale (level 3 out of 5).

The primary taste profile is an heavily sweet bacon flavor with a light jalapeno flavoring and a moderate heat. The bacon flavor is much like straight-forward, American-style bacon as you'd get from a grocery store. There's a light smokiness and mixes of meat and fat flavor.

The meat consistency is also classic, thin bacon, cooked somewhere between crispy and soft. The chewing is easy, though rather heavy due to the strong sugar.

Verdict

This Sweet Jalapeno Bacon Jerky from Bubba's delivers pretty well on its promise of offering a lot of sweet, with some jalapeno flavor and heat. While bacon jerky often ranks well with my personal attraction to bacon and marinated meats, this particular jerky doesn't strike me as having anything unusual or awesome. It's just standard, straightforward bacon with tons of sugar added, and a light bit of flavoring. I'm actually not that thrilled about the heavy sweetness in this; it seems to take away from the wonders of bacon. Perhaps if this bacon was more thick, offered a better flavor, or more creative seasonings, it might rank better. Otherwise, the state of bacon jerky today is that it's now far more common, and in my book, has already established a bell curve which I'm able to make more critical judgements.

As far as this bacon jerky goes, it's seems to sit in the middle of the pack.

Rating: Average