Smokehouse Jerky Co. - Boysenberry

Smokehouse Jerky Co. is a brand of Tender Heifer Snack Co., based out of Beaumont, CA. It was started in 2008, and is currently run by a husband and wife team, Franco Fonseca and Patti Fonseca.

The company takes pride in its beef brisket-based jerky, using meat sourced from California. They add no MSG and no preservatives, and focus on small batches at a time.

This "Boysenberry" variety is described by Smokehouse Jerky Co as having, "the sweetness of berries and the smoky, peppery flavor of our premium brisket beef", going on to say, "the boysenberry’s sweetness has a little bit more of a tangy taste which perfectly blends well with the jerky’s smoky lean meat".

Ingredients

Beef, brown sugar, boysenberry concentrate, water, pineapple, mined garlic, gluten free tamari sauce, worcestershire sauce, lemon, sea salt, ground pepper, ginger

Review

The first flavors to hit my tongue is a tangy boysenberry and a fair amount of sweet. There's just a wee bit of salt. The chewing brings on more of the tanginess, while hints of soy sauce and worcestershire can be barely be noticed. There's a light natural meat flavor that takes shape towards the very end.

For being sold as a boysenberry flavored jerky, this really hits the mark. It's an unmistakable flavor, and even has a tangy quality to it. The added sweet helps sell the boysenberry, and reminds me of the boysenberry pancake syrup often found at IHOP restaurants.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a sweetened and tangy boysenberry, comparable to boysenberry syrup, with only faint levels of salt and marinade. The natural meat flavors are there at the end, but also light.

The meat consistency is great for a brisket-style jerky. It has a light stringiness, but overall meaty. The chewing is generally easy, quite moist, and tender. It has a meaty feel, and takes on a steak-like texture. Despite the higher level of sweet in this, it doesn't chew gummy at all.

Verdict

This Boysenberry variety from Smokehouse Jerky Co. brings out the full flavor of boysenberries, and does it in convincing manner. The aroma that comes out of the bag is overwhelmingly boysenberry, but once you chew into a piece, it bursts with that flavor made famous by Knott's Berry Farm with a nice fruity tanginess. This jerky adds a fair amount of sweet to the boysenberry, and in some respects reminds me of boysenberry pancake syrup. The soy sauce and worcestershire marinade is barely noticeable, and the other seasonings are kept very light. This is really a boysenberry show interpreted through tender, semi-moist, slices of beef brisket. Even though it's largely a one-dimensional flavor, it's surprisingly good and tough to stop eating.

Rating: Best (5/5)