Crooked Creek Farm is a small family run farm located in the rolling hills of Pylesville, MD, operated by Mike and Tiffany Schleupner. There they raise pasture-raised pigs for ribs, sausage, and pork chops. In 2017, they added pork jerky to their product line up.
All of their pork jerky is made from pigs with no added hormones, no antibiotics, and no growth promotants. It's currently selling at farmers markets around the Harford County, MD area, as well from their website.
This Mango Habanero Pork Jerky variety is described by Crooked Creek Farm as, "a perfect combo of spicy and sweet", going on to say that it's made from 100% American hogs.
Ingredients
Pork, water, brown sugar, salt, sugar, honey, spices, vinegar powder, celery juice powder, dextrose, habanero pepper, natural mango flavor, paprika, dried cherries.
Review
The first flavors I pick up are a light smoke, followed by some spicy heat. There's a light salt that comes in next, along with a faint bit of chile pepper flavor. The chewing brings on a natural pork meat flavor while the heat ramps up a bit more. I can pick up a subtle fruity mango in the back with hints of sweet.
For being labeled, "Mango Habanero", the mango part is not really there. Yes, I do detect faint traces in the background, but it's subtle enough that you might not ever notice it. There is a weak fruity character overall, but still doesn't hit the bullseye with a strong, well-defined mango. Meanwhile, the habanero is better resepresented. The heat rates a "medium hot" on our heat scale (level 4 out of 5), and there's actually a light bit of chile pepper flavor, though not the Habanero's pungent, earthy signature. It's more of the general red chile pepper variety.
Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a lightly sweet, natural meat flavor, comparable to a pork chop, but laden with a light chile pepper, a good deal of heat. along with a light salt seasoning.
The meat consistency looks excellent in that I found very little fat or other unchewable tissues. Most of these pieces, however, are small bits that don't snack as elegantly as a larger, mouth-sized piece. But, they do in fact chew easily and feel very meaty, just like a pork chop.
Verdict
This Mango Habanero Pork Jerky from Crooked Creek Farm delivers a good deal of heat, perhaps in the proportionate amount for a jerky made with habanero chiles. You get enough heat to raise the body temperature a few degrees, produce a sweat and even a little bit of an endorphin rush. I'm not getting a lot of habanero flavor however, what I get is more of the general red chile pepper character. Moreover, I'm getting very little mango flavor, despite a light, general fruit character. But as a spicy hot pork jerky, it delivers a lot of bang for the buck. I love the fresh, clean pork flavor and the easy, meaty chewing. This is a great pork jerky if you want something with extra heat.
Rating: Good (4/5)
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