All American Jerky - Snack Sticks

All American Jerky is a brand of Schmidt Family Farm Products, LLC, based out of St. Louis, MO. The brand got started in 2014 after its founer, Richard Schmidt decided to extend his cattle business to meat snacks.

Originally, Schmidt spent 25+ years in the restaurant & catering business before retiring in 2007. He bought a farm just outside of St. Louis to raise a family and decided to raise some cattle as a hobby. Before he knew it, he was selling all-natural, grass-fed beef to local restaurants. That's when he decided to get into meat snacks. Initially, Schmidt started off with beef jerky, but chose to focus on pork-based meat sticks instead.

These snack sticks are made from 100% USA pork and produced at a USDA inspected facility. A portion of their profits goes to H.E.R.O.E.S Care, a non-profit that benefits troops and their families.

Bar-B-Que

Ingredients: pork, water, brown sugar, sea salt, encapsulated citric acid, celery juice, black pepper, garlic, ground mustard, coriander, onion powder, red pepper, natural smoke flavor, colored beef collagen casings (caramel, red #3)

Definitely a barbecue-like flavor that comes in right away. It's mostly mild, with a noticeable sweet. It's not a big, bold barbecue flavor like you might in Texas, it's more of the Kansas City Style, sweet and savory. These sticks have a firm feel and chew, give off a nice snap in the initial bite. They taste meaty, lightly salted, with a touch of tanginess.

Jalapeno

Ingredients: Pork, water, jalapeno peppers, sea salt, brown sugar, encapsulated citric acid, celery juice, black pepper, red pepper, garlic, coriander, natural smoke flavor, colored beef collagen casing (caramel, red #3)

The jalapeno flavor comes in right away, and brings with it a light level of heat. It's not quite as sweet as the Bar-B-Que variety, yet somehow tastes a bit more clean. It has the same meaty flavor, lightly salted, and the touch of tanginess. The handling and chewing feels firm with that initial snap in the bite.

Sweet & Spicy

Ingredients: Pork, water, brown sugar, sea salt, encapsulated citric acid, red pepper, celery juice, black pepper, garlic, coriander, ground mustard, onion powder, natural smoke flavor, colored beef collagen casing (caramel, red #3)

The initial flavor has more of a smoked chile character, perhaps as if ingredients like paprika, chipotle, or even cumin were added. It's not really all that sweet, and not necessarily spicy either. If anything defines this, it's that smoked chile flavor I described. Think of it as a light chipotle. The stick is also more soft than the other two varieties. It doesn't quite have the initial snap. It still has a meaty flavor, lightly salted, and with a light tanginess.

Verdict

These pork-based snack sticks from All American Jerky all have a meaty flavor, light on salt, and lightly tangy in the chewing. I like the firm feel and chewing of the Bar-B-Que and Jalapeno varieties, though I think the Sweet & Spicy has the better flavor with its chipotle style character. I also like that these sticks are sliced up into thirds instead of packaged as a single long stick; it lends itself to better storage in smaller spaces. As compared to other meat sticks we've reviewed, if you like 'em with a firm chew and that initial snap to the bite, give these a try. But if you like the flavor of smoked chiles, definitely get the Sweet & Spicy.

Rating: Good (4/5)