Joe's Wicked Good Jerky - Wicked Hot

Joe's Wicked Good Beef Jerky is a brand owned by Joe's Wicked Good Jerky Corporation, based out of Redding, CA. It was started by the husband and wife duo of Joe Nixt and Traci Nixt, who launched the brand in October 2014.

At the time, Joe had been making his own jerky for over 20 years. He's shared it with friends and co-workers from his contracting business. When Traci lost her secretarial position, the couple decided to make a go at running a jerky company.

This "Wicked Hot" is made with Ghost Peppers and Habaneros, and is the hottest flavor Joe's Wicked makes. The package says, "Warning: extremely hot".


Ingredients

Beef, marinade, water, dehydrated garlic spices, pineapple juice, ghost seasoning, habanero powder

Review

The first flavors I pick up on the palate is a light sweet followed by a light sauce. The heat picks up right away and builds fast. The chewing brings on a bit more sweet with a noticeable soy sauce. There's just a faint bit of chile pepper flavor, and a touch of garlic.

For being called, "Wicked Hot" it certainly is "hot" (level 5 out of 5) on our heat scale. Considering the package says, "made with ghost pepper and habanero", however, die hard chile pepper fanatics won't get the seething burn that these two chiles are famous for. The Scoville scale is more along the lines of a fresh jalapeno. I'm still getting a good endorphin rush, however, and a fair amount of sweat beading on my scalp.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is that of a lightly sweet, soy sauce-focused marinade, with garlic and black pepper seasonings. The ghost pepper and habanero offers only a light bit of flavor, adding a swash of color to the marinade.

The meat consistency looks and chews excellent. It's dry, but still chews easily and feels quite flexible. Once it softens up it takes on the texture and feel of real steak, cooked well done. I don't see any bits of fat on these pieces, and nothing excessively stringy.

Verdict

This "Wicked Hot" from Joe's Wicked Good Jerky delivers a good deal of heat, enough to hold up the name, "Wicked Hot", but I'm not sure is worthy of the warning, "Extemely Hot". Considering this is a jerky that only fiery food fanatics would dare try, it's level of burn is much lower than the expectation of a ghost pepper or habanero. Moreover, it doesn't quite offer much chile pepper flavor, which for me is a big part of being a chile pepper lover. Nonetheless, on its own merits, it's still a very good jerky in terms of its sweet, saucy, seasoned marinade, and excellent meat consistency. The punch of chile pepper heat, and the endorphin rush, only makes this jerky better for me.

Rating: Best (5/5)

Buy this online:

• http://www.joeswickedgoodjerky.com/