Ball Park Beef Jerky - Peppered

Ball Park brand of hot dogs came out with this line of beef jerky in 2015 at a time when meat snack popularity started hitting new highs. Originally a part of Hillshire Brands, Ball Park became a part of Tyson Foods when Tyson acquired Hillshire.

The decision to add jerky to the famous hot dog brand came about as a way for Tyson to extend its meat processing empire to Millennials, who tend to eat snacks throughout the day as opposed to sitting down at the dinner table for a full meal.

This Peppered Beef Jerky is described by the company as having, "...the perfect dash of pepper to give it a surprising little kick."

Ingredients

Beef, Brown Sugar, Water, Black Pepper, Contains 2% Or Less: Soy Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Salt, Sugar), Marinade Seasoning (Salt, Natural Flavor, Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch, Natural Smoke Flavor, Autolyzed Yeast, Dextrin), Salt, Sodium Nitrite.

Review

The first flavors that I pick up are a light sweet, some black pepper, and a salted, cured meat flavor. The chewing brings on a touch more sweet, while the cured meat flavor builds. Touches of soy sauce come in later into the chewing.

For being marketed as, "Peppered", it holds up. I do get a fair amount of black pepper flavor. It's not excessive, nor is it too light. It does not, however, have a fresh cracked flavor. It's not spicy either, still registers as "mild" on our heat scale (level 1 out of 5).

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a cured meat flavor, comparable to a summer sausage, but with some additional sweet and a fair amount of black pepper seasoning. Some pieces actually had a light "fishy" flavor and smell.

The meat consistency seems overall good. I don't see any fat on these pieces, nor did I encounter any stringiness. They are mostly easy to chew. Once chewed down soft, they have a meaty texture, but more comparable to ham rather than beef steak.

Verdict

This Peppered beef jerky from Ball Park Brand delivers a fair amount of black pepper seasoning, enough to give peppery spice lovers their money's worth, but that seems to be where this jerky stops. It has too much of a salted, cured meat flavor, comparable to a summer sausage, and some pieces even have a fishy flavor and smell. The taste, the chewing, the texture, all have a large factory character, and nothing craft, or artisan at all. It's a jerky more suited for bargain hunters or moms looking to placate first-person shooters.

Rating: Fair (2/5)