Homegrown Meats Beef Jerky - Cracked Black Pepper

Homegrown Meats is a brand that launched in 2011, owned by a group of ranchers who've farmed the Palomar Mountain area of Southern California going back into the mid-1800s. They began marketing their steaks and cuts of beef to Whole Foods Markets shortly thereafter.

In 2016, they launched a line of jerky, and Whole Foods Market picked it up only for their Southern California market. However, in October 2018, Whole Foods announced it would begin selling Homegrown Meats Jerky nationwide, with a four of the company's specialized flavors, "Joel's Traditional", "Cracked Black Pepper", "Western Mesquite Barbecue", and "Paleo". The jerky is marked as, "gluten free" and "certified grass fed".

This Cracked Black Pepper variety, according Homegrown Meats, is described as being, "simple and straightforward", going on to say that it's made with, "coarse-cracked black pepper and that perfect touch of brown sugar".

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Divine Swine Bacon Jerky - Bangin' BBQ

This Bangin' BBQ is one of three new bacon jerky varieties now offered by Divine Bovine under their new "Divine Swine" brand.

The Divine Bovine brand has been around since 2001, but company founder Anthony Longo's passion for beef jerky goes back into the 1980s when he would travel back home from Mammoth Mountain in the California Sierras, and stop for some fresh made jerky at a local shop. Since then, he's mastered a unique recipe and built a popular brand that continues to sell in retail outlets across the country. This new bacon jerky line is now among the company's best sellers.

This "Bangin’ BBQ Flavored" is the best selling of Divine Bovine's bacon flavors. They describe it as a, "mild blend of savory spices and Pops’ unique recipe, slightly sweet with natural mesquite and hickory flavors, and a little kick from ginger and cayenne." They go on to say that their bacon jerky is "NON-GMO" and claim it's gluten-free and paleo-friendly.

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Jeff's Famous Jerky - Thai Satay Turkey

The newest flavor from Jeff's Famous Jerky is this Thai Satay Turkey Jerky. Based out of Mission Viejo, CA, Jeff's Famous Jerky is a brand owned by Jeff's Famous Foods, Inc.

The company started up in 2010 when Jeff Richards decided to make a business from his favorite snack food, jerky. Since the 1970s, Richards has been making his own jerky, getting better year after year, similar to like a 40-year old bourbon. Professionally, Richards has spent his career in the restaurant business and also coaches entrepreneurs through a consulting business.

This new Thai Satay Turkey Jerky is described by Jeff as delivering a Thai Peanut sauce without using peanuts. He apparently uses, "innovative methods to make it without nuts, so it is safe for those with peanut or nut allergies." The package is also stamped, "Sweet & Mildly Spicy".

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House of Jerky - Camel Jerky

House of Jerky has extended their line of exotic meat jerky to include this Camel Jerky. They also offer Python Jerky now too.

The company started in 1997 by Ron and Janie Honeycutt, a husband and wife team in Temecula, CA. They opened a store there, but eventually moved their corporate office to Evansville, IN. The Temecula store is still there. Since then, they've franchised their business and now have House of Jerky shops all over the country.

This package of Camel Jerky doesn't make any claims on flavor, texture, quality, nor even mention where the camels were sourced from, or even the breed of camel. It's just plainly labeled as, "Camel".

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Katie's Beef Jerky - Maple Habanero

Maple Habanero is the newest flavor from Katie's Premium Jerky & Snacks, a brand owned by Katie's Snack Foods, LLC based out of Hilliard, OH. It was started in 2014 by Katie Levesque, a graduate of The Ohio State University.

According to Katie, she loves jerky so much, that she actually sleeps with it under her pillow (in a plastic bag), and prefers spicy jerky (so that other people won't ask for some). She loves it so much, she left her career as an engineer to launch her own jerky company. Katie's Premium Jerky & Snacks is made in its own USDA inspected facility.

This "Maple Habanero" variety is so new, it's still not on the company's website, but we're assuming it's going to be very soon. The company also has another new variety called, "Maple" (sans habanero), but we didn't get it for review.

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Country Butcher Beef Jerky - Crushed Chili 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 Crushed Chili Pepper variety is marked as, "Hot", and being made from "Brisket". It's also marked, "Gluten Free" and "All Natural".

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