Crazy Horse Jerky - Chicken Jerky

The newest offering from Crazy Horse Jerky is this Chicken Jerky, available in both Original and Cajun flavors.

Chicken Jerky seems to be the new Turkey Jerky these days as more and more brands are adding it to their product line up. But where Turkey Jerky was originally introduced as the healthier alternative to beef, Chicken Jerky seems to have the flavor satisfaction that turkey never had.

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Smokehouse Jerky Co. - Korean Barbecue

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 "Korean Barbecue" variety is described by the company as showcasing, "the use of Korean barbecue sauce as a main ingredient", going on to say that they, "blended it up with a few more spices", and then fused it with their old fashioned recipe.

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Smoke Shack Jerky - Snack Sticks

Smoke Shack Jerky describes itself as a "small Upstate NY kitchen" that launched in 2017 by Jonathan Brown of Rochester, NY. Their unique angle is smoking jerky over real wood, and using thicker cuts of meat for a beefier chew. They don't use any smoke flavoring, and no preservatives. The company also has a line of smoked nuts.

Brown also chose to develop jerky recipes based on cultures found around the world as opposed to the more common profiles found with mass-produced brands.

These snack sticks are described by the company as being 60/40 Pork & Beef, cured, and smoked. They come in two flavors, Jammin Jerk and Fuman Chew.

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Biltong USA - Spicy Garlic Droëwors

Biltong USA was among the earliest brands of American-made biltong, dating back to 1996. South African immigrants, Dawid Joubert and Salome Joubert founded the company in Stallings, NC based on the same family recipe that dated back into the 1600s. Over the years, their biltong products helped launched a new meat snack category in the States.

In January 2018, Biltong USA was acquired by a rival biltong brand, Stryve Foods. However, Biltong USA continues on under its own brand, and is still manufactured at its original USDA inspected facility in Stallings.

This Spicy Garlic Droëwors, according to the company, come from their large, fresh pieces of solid beef muscle, and is then ground coarse, seasoned, stuffed into lamb casing, and finally cured. Droëwors is a South African-style meat stick. These are the company's normal sized stick, they also make a thicker variety.

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Gary West Meats - 50/50 Steak Strips

Gary West Meats recently released a new variety of beef jerky dubbed, "50/50" which is a reference to using 50% less sugar and salt from their standard recipe. We reviewed Gary West Meats several years ago, see their reviews here.

Gary West Meats is a brand of smoked meats that has been in business since 1966, operated by a company of the same name, based in Jacksonville, OR. It's a second generation-run family business first started by, none other than, Gary West. The company's meat products goes back further to Gary's grandfather Fred West, who taught the old family recipes to Gary. In 2004, West sold the business to his daughter and son-in-law. In addition to jerky, the company also makes smoked hams, turkeys, and sausages.

This 50/50 line is targeted to the health conscious and active lifestyle demographic, perhaps moving it closer to the Keto and low carb dieters. The package is also marked as, "Gluten Free".

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Walt's Beef Jerky

Walt's Beef Jerky is the creation of Walter Barber, a brand he launched in 2007, based out of Nutley, NJ. Barber is a professional butcher with over 40 years experience. He had long been making jerky as a hobby using his own marinades and seasoning blends.

Walt specializes in thin sliced jerky, smoked over real wood. He built his own smokers and actually holds a patent on his unique smoking process. Today, he has over 30 flavors of beef jerky and beef sticks.

The company sent me 5 of their flavors, but each package is small, maybe only an ounce in weight. Thus, instead of writing a separate review of each, I opted to bundle them together in one review.

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