Country Butcher Beef Jerky - Lemon Pepper

Country Butcher is a brand that's been around since 2001 (based on our research). The company itself did not send us samples for review; we were provided samples by one of their online retailers. Country Butcher was started by Ken Croucher, based out of Placentia, CA.

Croucher has been making jerky since 1974, and perfected his recipe while working at a grocery store where he could offer samples to customers and gather feedback. He's been relying on the same recipe ever since. According to online documents, Croucher developed a beef jerky recipe for Perky Jerky. Perky Jerky grew to fame by offering the world's first energy-infused jerky, using Croucher's recipe, and today they're one of the biggest jerky brands on the market. Country Butcher currently sells online through Amazon and eBay, and a variety of other outlets.

This Lemon Pepper variety is marked as, "Original" indicating it's the company's flagship flavor. It's also marked, "Gluten Free" and "All Natural".

Ingredients

Beef brisket, gluten free reduced sodium tamari soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, black pepper, granulated garlic

Review

The first flavors that come into view are a strong sweet, a faint salt, and a light natural meat. There's a weak soy sauce that comes in next. The chewing brings on a light garlic and a bit of fruity tang. The black pepper remains light and in the background.

For being marketed as a Lemon Pepper beef jerky, it offers only a light touch of fruity lemon tanginess, but doesn't really come through with any kind of pronounced lemon citrus or zest. The Pepper, on the other hand, is more noticeable, but still overall light, offering up a mild spicy note.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is the tamari sauce, more as a light soy sauce, with a significant sweet and a light bit of garlic, over a light natural meat flavor.

The chewing is largely very soft and tender, though there are few pieces that feel more dry. Otherwise, it's very "melt in your mouth" and once chewed down, has the consistency of filet mignon cooked medium rare. Despite these being cut from brisket, they don't feel overly stringy.

Verdict

This Lemon Pepper beef jerky from Country Butcher uses a brisket cut of beef that remains very soft and tender, with a meaty texture comparable to filet mignon cooked medium rare. The flavor bursts out with a strong tamari sauce profile but significantly sweetened, and layered with a garlic and black pepper seasoning. The lemon juice in this remains light, to the point where it's largely picked up as a fruit tanginess, and not so much for its sour citrus pucker. But it's the soft, tender, moist slices that makes this jerky unique, and makes you want to fork this stuff in with conveyor belt-like action.

Rating: Good (4/5)