Kingmade Jerky - Sweet Chili Pepper

Kingmade Jerky is a brand that hit the market in 2013, launched by Jeff King, and based out of McKinney, TX. King had been working as a golf caddie for many years, with a hobby in making homemade jerky.

After bringing some batches of his jerky to the golf course, his fellow golfers liked it a lot, and kept asking him for more. It was only a few years later that big names like Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell, Brandt Snedeker, Davis Love III, Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel, among others, began buying jerky from him. Today, King has gone full corporate and now sells jerky to major retail outlets across the country.

This "Sweet Chili Pepper" is described as being made from flank steak, and seasoned with a blend of brown sugar and chili peppers, and is touted as the lowest sodium beef jerky on the market.

Ingredients

Beef, water, brown sugar, soy sauce, natural smoke flavoring, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper

Review

The first flavors that hit my palate is a light sweet, a bit of smoke, and a light natural meat flavor. The chewing brings on more of the natural meat flavor, and imparts some marbleized character. There's a bit of heat building up, and faint bits of chile pepper flavor is noticeable.

For being named, "Sweet Chili Pepper", it seems to hold up well. There's indeed a sweetness noticeable, but it doesn't overpower. The chili pepper is also noticeable in terms of flavor, but also light. Meanwhile, the heat remains at a tolerable level, what I would rank as "medium" on my personal heat scale (level 3 out of 5).

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is largely the natural meat flavor, with a bit of marbleized character. There's a light seasoning of salt, smoke, and chile pepper, with a moderate level of heat.

The meat consistency is very good. Small bits of fat are easily seen on these pieces, but no stringiness to speak of. The small slices are convenient in not having to rip apart, and the handling feels clean. There are however, a lot of tiny pieces that you'll have to pour out of the bag to get to. Otherwise, the chewing is dry, but still easy to chew through. The texture is very meaty, and by the time it chews down soft, it feels like chewing real piece of steak, cooked well done.

Verdict

This Sweet Chili Pepper from Kingmade Jerky evokes a great sense of natural, fresh beef jerky through its focus on the great flavor of beef. The seasonings don't overpower but instead, add color to what is already a marbleized meat flavor. Combined with a tender, meaty, steak-like chewing texture, this jerky creates the sensation of eating slices of grilled, marinated steak. It's the sense of eating real beef, both in flavor and chewing, that wins me over on this.

Rating: Best