The Patriot Brands Beef Jerky - Smokies with Cheese and Peppers

A month ago, we reviewed the Little Smokies from The Patriot Brands. Today, we have their "Smokies with Cheese and Peppers" variety of the same.

The Patriot Brands Beef Jerky is a new brand that launched in February of 2018 by James Napier of Cuba, MO. The company also markets a line of hot sauces under the same brand. Napier seems well-known and well-liked by many as a patriot with his beard dyed red, white, and blue. The name "Patriot Brands" stems from his overwhelming support of the United States and the people who have fought for it. He's associated with "The Patriot Church", a congregation also based out of Cuba, MO.

These "Smokies with Cheese and Peppers" flavor are described by the company as a blend of jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese, going on to say that they're, "smoked cured". They actually have lots of tiny cheese chunks and jalapeno bits mixed into the meat.

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Snack Patrol - Cheese Jerky

Cheese Jerky is a new snack product that combines string cheese with bits of beef jerky. It's a product of Snack Patrol, LLC, a family-run business based out of Glendale, WI. Snack Patrol has only been around for about 8 months.

It's the brainchild of Ross Segel, a fan of both string cheese and beef jerky, who wondered if anyone tried to combine the two into one. The idea came to him to take the unique flavors of beef jerky, and leach them into the cheese. He uses a secret process to incorporate the beef jerky bits into the string cheese that allows it to maintain it's stringy consistency, and still maintain the unique flavors of mozzarella cheese and beef jerky. According to Segel, Cheese Jerky is about 93% cheese, 7% jerky.

Cheese Jerky is available in two flavors, Original and Peppered. There's also a third flavor, Zesty which is going back to the drawing board to make it more spicy hot. Segel has plans for other flavors like pepperoni, habanero, chipotle, jamaican, etc.

Each flavor uses the same mozzarella-based string cheese that we're all familiar with, however Segel says he uses an "artisan cheese maker" who makes really good cheese. Each Cheese Jerky variety get its unique flavoring from the jerky. So, an original flavored jerky creates Cheese Jerky Original, while a peppered jerky creates Cheese Jerky Peppered. "That's the beauty of this product is that we have the ability to put any jerky flavor into the cheese to give it a unique taste", Segel explained.

It's also worth noting that while Cheese Jerky has been in retail stores and convenience stores mostly in the Milwaukee, WI area, it's going back for some redevelopment. Right now it's sold in 12oz packages, with large sized sticks about 2-3 ounces each, about the size of a bratwurst. That makes Cheese Jerky rather expensive. The package was also difficult to open. Segel is now creating a smaller 1.5 ounce size, sold individually with an easy-to-open wrapper.

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