The Jerky Hut - Nitro Double Habanero Beef Jerky

The Jerky Hut is a brand of Whiskey Hill Smokehouse, LLC based out of Hubbard, OR. The brand which is often seen at boat shows, gun shows, car shows, and trade shows of every kind, was started over 30 years ago.

Much of its jerky is sold through independent "retail licensees", who are the folks running the booths at the shows. It's parent company, Whiskey Hill Smokehouse, runs its own USDA inspected facility. The Jerky Hut is also sold online through its own website.

The brand describes this "Nitro Double Habanero" variety as having, "Insane heat with 2x heat range", due to the double helping of Habanero peppers. They go on to say it's recommended for people who, "...like real Habanero flaming hot jerky".

Ingredients

Beef, water, corn syrup solids, seasonings, crushed red peppers, habanero peppers, teriyaki sauce, smoke flavoring, worcestershire sauce, black pepper, monosodium glutamate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite

Review

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light smoke, followed by a light salt. Some heat starts to build. The chewing brings on saucy flavor, more comparable to soy sauce, while the smoke flavor becomes more defined. The heat continues to build. Meanwhile, the light chile pepper flavor comes in along with some natural meat flavors.

For being labeled, "Nitro Double Habanero" and targeted to people who like, "real Habanero flaming hot jerky", it holds up. It definitely generates a good deal of heat, and ranks on our heat scale as "medium hot" (level 4 out of 5). However, it's not a seething hot, nor anything that'll make you dance and wave your hands in panic. It's still a snackable heat, though on the upper fringes of snackable. The Habanero flavor, however, is much less pronounced. There's a light chile pepper flavor, perhaps coming from the crushed red peppers, but the more earthy, piquant palate of habanero peppers is not here.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a lightly salted, moderately smoked, natural meat flavor, marinated with a light soy sauce, then seasoned with red chile pepper, and a good dose of heat.

The meat consistency is excellent, resembling an old fashioned style with very little fat and stringiness to speak of. These are thick sliced strips of pure meat that start out chewy but eventually break down into something steak-like.

Verdict

This Nitro Double Habanero Beef Jerky from The Jerky Hut delivers up a good level of heat for those seeking nice surge of capsaicin through their capillaries. It's so hot that fiery food fanatics will have to pause between chewing, but dialed down just enough to allow for non-stop meat snacking madness. This jerky is still focused on its natural meat flavors, however, and steak-like chewing. You get a fair amount of smokiness with a light salt and a touch of soy sauce. While the Habanero heat is well-packed into these thick slices of beef, the habanero flavor is not. It's mostly the red chile pepper seasoning that comes through. Still, it's a great jerky for those who want both high heat and high snackability.

Rating: Good (4/5)

Where to buy:

• Buy Whiskey Hill Smokehouse Jerky Hut Habanero Beef Jerky