Whiskey Hill Smokehouse - Elk Jerky

Whiskey Hill Smokehouse is a brand owned and operated by Whiskey Hill Smokehouse, LLC, based out of Hubbard, OR. The company also owns The Jerky Hut brand of jerky, along with Bakke Brothers Brand.

According to the company, the Whiskey Hill Smokehouse brand focuses on exotic meats and more exotic recipes than The Jerky Hut and the Bakke Brothers lines. It also focuses on all natural ingredients and its jerky varieties are all marked as "Gluten Free".

Whiskey Hill Smokehouse describes this Elk Jerky as being made in a, "new natural Gluten Free recipe".

Ingredients

Elk, brown sugar, water, honey, salt, garlic, natural smoke flavoring, celery powder, black pepper

Review

The first flavor I pick is a light sweet, a touch of salt, and a noticeable meat flavor. The chewing brings on some black pepper along with hints of garlic. The natural meat flavors pick up just a tad towards latter part of chewing.

As an elk jerky, this delivers a good amount of natural meat flavors. It has that more rich, red-blooded flavor, comparable to venison, along with a bit of gamey character. Compared to the company's Venison Jerky, that I reviewed a few weeks ago, this is a little less rich, but a little more gamey. There's that red-blood aftertaste that lingers in the back of the mouth, too.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a lightly gamey, natural meat flavor layered with a low sweet and salt, moderate black pepper spiciness, and touches of garlic.

The meat consistency is excellent. These appear to be strips of pure meat with no signs of fat and no stringiness detected. The initial bites are chewy, and a little tough, but chew down to a steak-like, meaty texture. There's a faint bit of stickiness that remains on the fingers.

Verdict

This Elk Jerky from Whiskey Hill Smokehouse delivers a good natural meat flavor, noted by the rich, red blood character that you'll find common with elk. I like that Whiskey Hill kept the marinade and saltiness down to help the natural flavors come through. It also has a fresh, natural character with its meaty, steak-like chewing texture and firm bite. It's has enough black pepper seasoning that you could see this as a peppered jerky, though my taste buds still reported an overall mild flavor. This also makes for a great beer-pairing jerky too, and I think you'll want something more refreshing and malty, like a Newcastle Brown Ale.

Rating: Good (4/5)

Where to buy:

• Buy Whiskey Hill Smokehouse Elk Jerky