Brothers Artisanal Jerky is a new startup still in fundraising mode, based out of New Bedford, MA. It was started by two brothers, Philip and Pierre Beauregard, along with a team of friends and advisors. Philip brought in his background starting companies while Pierre brings in his craft in cooking and cuisine.
The two came across a very old recipe for beef jerky, "Civil War parchment paper old", according to Philip, and decided it was so awesome it needed to brought to market. The challenge was making it taste exactly the way it did back then. So, they had to source locally grown meats, use natural ingredients, and even slice and marinate using time-old traditions, just to make it taste and chew the way it was meant to.
You can find them online on Kickstarter, and on Instagram and Twitter. Currently, they have four flavors perfected, "No.5 Original Beef", "Carolina Dip Turkey", "Burning Pig", and "Ginger Dumpling Pork". Because Brothers Artisanal Jerky is not available to the public, I'm withholding ratings. However, you can get some by going to their Kickstarter Page, and pledging as little as $20.00.
No.5 Original Beef
Thick sliced pieces of this jerky feel substantially meaty when held, but deliver a full mouth of beef jerky chewing. It's saucy at first, mixed with sweet, tangy, savory, almost like a worcestershire and soy sauce blend. The salt remains light while a touch of black pepper lingers in the background. Meanwhile, the natural meat flavors come in well. The chewing texture is like a real steak, but cooked well. It's a dry chewing at first, but moistens up as it goes along. I can see a light marbleized texture, but otherwise found no stringy and unchewable tissues. Overall, a very tasty flavor, but a better jerky for its chewing and meatiness.
Ginger Dumpling Pork
The aroma coming out of the bag is amazing! The ginger comes in immediately, followed by a soy sauce-like flavor and a bit of sweet. Garlic in detected in the chewing while the natural pork flavors come into view. The ginger in this continues throughout the chewing. What I really like in this jerky is the flame-grilled flavor. This pork tastes like it was fresh off the Hibachi. Overall, the sauce is tangy and sweet, but savory, while the ginger holds everything together. It's a dry chewing, like with the beef above, but very meaty and nothing stringy or unchewable.
Burning Pig
Curry is strong in this jerky, mixing in with a dose of heat. I can pick up ginger, but I think something more pungent, perhaps horseradish? There is also the flavor of cumin. The natural meat flavors are noticeable in latter part of chewing. Overall, it has an Asian flavor, maybe something more western such as India. The level of heat in this is significant, but not over the top. I'd rate it as "medium hot" on our heat scale (level 4 out of 5). The chewing is also dry, but these slices are pure meat.
Carolina Dip Turkey
A light sweet with a tangy vinegar comes in right away. The chewing brings in a flavor reminiscent of mayonnaise, which would be more true of an Eastern Carolina style. The black pepper comes in later, along with other seasonings that somehow reminds me of slaw. The natural meat flavors in these thick slices of turkey are well defined and are unmistakably turkey. They taste fresh, though chew dry and tough. The seasonings and marinades congeal well together to create that peppery, vinegary, cole slaw dip and topping that makes this jerky quite original and creative.
Verdict
If these samples from Brothers Artisanal Jerky say anything, it's that the company is certainly going to be a big hit. I love the natural meat flavors that come out of these varieties, and I love the thick slices of pure meat that Brothers gives you. Ginger Dumpling Pork and Burning Pig are my two favorites here, with perhaps the Ginger Dumpling edging out the other. What seems to define Brothers Artisanal Jerky from others is the thick cuts of pure meat. I think that so many other jerky companies are missing out on both the visual and tactile value of a thick, solid strip of meat. Albeit, what I found with the beef and turkey varieties here was something tough and chewy, the company still has time to sort that out before going live.
I pledged a bit and they are close by here where I am in RI so we'll see how it goes.
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