Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Shiner's Stash Jerky - Sweet Mesquite BBQ

shiner's stash jerky
Shiner's Stash Jerky is a brand launched by Swen Altis, based out of Conover, NC. Marketed with the tagline, "Made in the foothills of North Carolina", Altis started Shiner's Stash in 2016 after a successful career as an executive chef, working in professional sports for major league baseball teams, hockey teams, and football teams.

Shiner's Stash uses 100% Prime Beef Eye-Round & Pork Loin, sliced thick and cut against the grain. They make all their jerky themselves, in their own USDA inspected facility, as opposed to contracting it out to a co-packer. They currently have 19 varieties of beef and pork jerky.

This Sweet Mesquite BBQ is described by company as, "a perfect blend of Sweet BBQ sauce, spices, & smoked mesquite wood flavor", going on to say it pairs well with a smooth Scotch Whiskey or Sweet Tea with Lemon.


Ingredients

Beef (eye round), high fructose corn syrup, distilled vinegar, tomato paste, modified food starch, contains less than 2& of salt, pineapple juice concentrate, natural smoke flavor, spices, caramel color, sodium benzoate as a preservative, molasses, corn syrup, garlic (dried), sugar, tamarind, natural flavor, beef base, brown sugar, liquid smoke - hickory, spice, artificial flavor, potassium sorbate

Review

The first flavor I pick up on this is a sweet, followed by a mild BBQ sauce and hints of smokiness. There's also a fatty, marbleized steak character. The chewing brings on a bit of salt, and a light natural meat flavor.

For being marketed as "Sweet Mesquite BBQ", it holds up. For one, it's very sweet. Two, there's a light smoky character to the flavor, but it's hard to identify it as mesquite versus hickory. The BBQ flavor is well noticed, but it's a mild sauce, with little spiciness to speak of. The BBQ is lightly tangy from the tomato paste and vinegar, but that's about it.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a heavily sweet, and very mild, yet tomatoey BBQ sauce, with a bit of smoke, over a light natural meat flavor.

The chewing texture is very meaty, and once chewed down soft, has a steak-like texture. The pieces are chewy, but not tough. Some are actually soft. Being that these slices are from eye of round, cut against the grain, the streaks of fat are noticeable yet not chewy at all; they melt in the mouth and add a little bit of oil to the chewing. The BBQ sauce in this adds a slimy texture.

Verdict

This Sweet Mesquite BBQ jerky from Shiner's Stash goes full sweet with its mild, tomatoey BBQ sauce, that it seems more candied than it is barbecue. There's just enough smoke flavor in this to create that BBQ character, however I found the BBQ sauce very mild, in fact too mild for my preference. I felt it needed more seasonings to make it more bold, more lively. As it is, this jerky tastes flat, or seems dull. It needs that extra something to perk up the flavor. It still offers a level of snacking satisfaction for its steak-like chewing, and for its sweet-and-salty nature, but compared to other BBQ jerky varieties I've reviewed, it doesn't waken the senses.

Rating: Average (3/5)


shiner's stash jerky

shiners stash jerky

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