Smokehouse Jerky Co. - Garlic Pepper

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 "Garlic Pepper" variety is described by the company as being, "paired with our special garlic marinade", going on to say that it's sprinkled with garlic bits, and that, "you’ll definitely feel its strong earthy and pungent taste with every bite".

Ingredients

Beef, gluten free tamari sauce, garlic, black pepper, brown sugar, water, worcestershire sauce, hickory smoke, lemon juice, sea salt, onion.

Review

The first flavors to hit my tongue is a light garlic and salt, with shades of black pepper. A touch of sweet comes into view. The chewing brings on a burst of garlic flavor, while a soy sauce flavor materializes. The black pepper increases while the sweet picks up a bit. The natural meat flavors comes in towards the end.

For being marketed as, "Garlic Pepper" there's a definite garlic flavor that takes over into the chewing, not too strong, but not too light. The black pepper is well noticeable, offering a fair amount of spice, enough to rate as, "mild-medium" on our heat scale (level 2/5). The pepper tastes sharp and freshly cracked.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a light soy sauce marinade boosted up with a good deal of garlic and black pepper, with light levels of sweet, over a light natural meat flavor.

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 Garlic Pepper variety from Smokehouse Jerky Co. lives up to its billing with a good deal of garlic pungent spice and a fair amount of freshly cracked black pepper. If you love everything spicy, but not necessarily burning, this jerky manages to perk up the palate with a tongue-dancing spice without using any chile peppers. It's spicy enough to get you reaching for a cold drink without making your nose run or your eyes water. Yet, it's still a simple jerky in that it's flavored with all the usual ingredients of soy sauce, salt, black pepper, garlic, and a bit of sugar. It's just weighted more on the garlic and black pepper.

Rating: Good (4/5)