Boston Jerky Co. - Wicked Hot

Boston Jerky Co. was founded by Mike Tryba and Brandon Angiolillo based out of Danvers, MA. The brand just opened up for sales in February 2018, however both Mike and Brandon had been working on recipes since 2014.

The brand focuses on using 100% grass fed beef, and claims to add no nitrites and no MSG. It also claims that each package is, "100 calories per bag".

This "Wicked Hot" variety is described by the company as being made with, "wicked hot habanero peppers", going on to say that it, "packs a mean Beantown punch".


Ingredients

Beef, reduced sodium tamari, organic ketchup, habanero pepper, gluten free vegan organic worcestershire sauce, garlic, spices, steak sauce, salt

Review

The first flavors that come on is salt, followed soon by the habanero flavor. The heat comes on right away. The chewing brings on a bit more salt, along with the Tamari and worcestershire. The heat continues to build as the chewing continues, bringing with it some garlic.

As for being named, "Wicked Hot" and being made with habanero peppers, it certainly does dish out a fair amount of heat. It's not seething hot at all, and it's not so hot that I had to stop eating. Rather, it's "hot enough" to give a fiery food fanatic the blood-warming capsaicin rush without making them reach for a pint of Ben & Jerry's. On our own heat scale, this ranks a "medium hot", level 4 out of 5.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a salty, Tamari and worcestershire marinade with a well-noticed habanero chile flavor. The natural meat flavors come through well in the chewing offering up garlic that lingers in the background.

The meat consistency seems OK. This Wicked Hot variety is actually a little more moist than the company's Wicked Original we reviewed last week, which I felt was dry. This is more like "semi-moist". It's noticeably well-marbleized, and even lightly "gristle-ized". I also encountered a fair amount of stringiness along with some wads of unchewable tissues. Still, the chewing felt more like steak, and not as tenderized as the company's Wicked Original.

Verdict

This Wicked Hot from Boston Jerky Co. is a habanero pepper lover's delight that serves up a good deal of habanero flavor balanced with a fair amount of heat. I like that the heat is significant enough to warrant the Wicked Hot name without being so hot that you have to stop snacking. Bear in mind however, this is still a hot jerky and not something for tongues of lesser tolerance. I also love that this jerky delivers the endorphic rush of eating hot chile peppers; I get the wired up feeling as if I just had a few cups of dark roast. Compared to the company's Wicked Original variety, this seems to chew more like steak. The meat consistency, however, is still fraught with strings and other hard-to-chew tissues. It's also rather salty, which tends to interfere with the habanero spice.

Rating: Good (4/5)