Fatman's Beef Jerky - Habanero

The next of the newest flavors from Fatman's Beef Jerky is this Habanero variety. See my reviews of their other flavors.

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a brand of Red Meat Foods, LLC, based out of Roswell, NM, and run by a guy named Rick Robey. Prior to launching Fatman's, Rick owned and operated a holstein calf raising business for 30 years as well as a USDA inspected packing plant.

All of Fatman's jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. He makes all his jerky in his own USDA inspected facility.

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Barbecue

The next of the newest flavors from Fatman's Beef Jerky is this Barbecue variety. See my reviews of their other flavors.

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a brand of Red Meat Foods, LLC, based out of Roswell, NM, and run by a guy named Rick Robey. Prior to launching Fatman's, Rick owned and operated a holstein calf raising business for 30 years as well as a USDA inspected packing plant.

All of Fatman's jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. He makes all his jerky in his own USDA inspected facility.

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Sweet & Spicy

Next in the series on Fatman's Beef Jerky is this Sweet & Spicy variety. See my previous reviews of their other flavors.

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a brand of Red Meat Foods, LLC, based out of Roswell, NM, and run by a guy named Rick Robey. Prior to launching Fatman's, Rick owned and operated a holstein calf raising business for 30 years as well as a USDA inspected packing plant.

All of Fatman's jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. He makes all his jerky in his own USDA inspected facility.

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Cajun

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a brand of Red Meat Foods, LLC, based out of Roswell, NM.

I had reviewed several of their beef jerky varieties about a year and a half ago. Since then, Rick Robey, the guy behind the brand, released a few more flavors, a Sweet & Spicy, a Barbecue, and this Cajun. You can read my previous reviews of Fatman's here.

Prior to launching Fatman's, Rick Robey owned and operated a holstein calf raising business for 30 years as well as a USDA inspected packing plant. All of his jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. He makes all his jerky in his own USDA inspected facility.

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Smoky Chipotle, Part 2

A couple of months ago, I wrote a review for Fatman's Beef Jerky - Smoky Chipotle. That particular variety was actually still in its testing phase. Since then the folks at Fatmans have come up with a final recipe and sent me a sample package. So in response, I'm putting out this "Part 2" review.

In that first review, I gave a "good" rating, but mostly on the strength of the jerky's base flavor and meat consistency. I didn't find it all tasting like chipotle. Chipotle is just smoked jalapenos, and has a distinct taste and aroma, which I didn't really find in that jerky.

I'm not exactly sure how this final recipe is different from the earlier test recipe, so it's all still a mystery. But having tried all of Fatman's varieties, I've come to enjoy it for its strong natural meat flavors and fresh taste. The question now, will this final recipe taste any more like chipotle?

Ingredients

Beef, water, soy sauce, liquid smoke, chipotle seasoning, black pepper, salt.

Taste

The first taste I pick up from the surface is a slight salty taste, followed by a good deal of meat aroma. Going into the chew, the natural meat flavors come out more, and I can pick up a faint bit of the soy sauce.

Right off the bat, I'll tell you that I don't really find the unique taste of chipotle. I do, however, get a slight spicy burn in the back of my tongue. In the first review, I did report getting a spicy burn, but I can't honestly remember how intense it was. I called it as mild-medium in that review, and in this second review I call it mild-medium again.

This jerky, however, still has a lot of taste packed into it. It's largely dominated by its natural meat flavors. It's got a strong meat flavor, that I can only compare to the center portion of prime rib, a very "clean" meat taste. And for being without any added preservatives, it's got a fresh taste.

The salty flavor is perhaps the second most dominant component. With some chewing, I can extract some juices and get the soy sauce flavor. While the saltiness is clearly a dominating taste, I still don't find it at the level of "too salty".

The black pepper listed in the ingredients doesn't really make itself known, but perhaps sits in the background with a slight aftertaste.

Overall, this is a jerky for those who like to get a taste of real meat. It also throws in some spicy burn, not much though, and then season it up with some salt and soy sauce.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in small, medium, and large sizes.

It's a dry jerky, being dry enough, and thin enough, that if I were to bend it, it'd start cracking and breaking. In fact, it's brittle enough that it provides some crunchiness when I chew. And that also makes it very easy to break apart into small pieces, and is also easy to chew.

This smoky chipotle variety, like all the other Fatman's varieties, provides a chewing experience like that of a real steak once a piece hydrates in my mouth.

It's also a very clean jerky, leaving no residue on my fingers, only a spattering of black pepper on my shirt. And it's quite lean; I found no pieces of fat, tendon, or gristle.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this on the border between expensive and average.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it's a good value because it's very snackable with its strong meat flavor, and strong flavor overall, plus its excellent meat consistency. I find myself wanting to reach for more and more.

As a smoky chipotle variety, it's a weak value because I still don't find any chipotle taste. I do get a spicy burn in my mouth, but I can't find anything that resembles chipotle.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

Just as in the first review, this jerky is quite good on its own merits with its strong meat flavor, strong seasonings and marinade, and excellent meat consistency. It also throws in some of that spicy burn for those who enjoy feeling a bit of tingling on their scalp.

But I couldn't taste something that told me this had chipotle seasoning on it. That's the only thing that kept me from giving it a best rating. Otherwise, I'd still recommend this to any beef jerky aficionado.

Being that this jerky has a thin, crunchy nature to it, I think it would pair up really well with a can of creamy chipotle dip. This jerky bites off easily enough, that it'd be like eating potato chips, except you have real beef here. Maybe Fatman's could offer up a line of beef jerky dips?

For a good companion beer, I'd recommend something fruity, maybe a Blue Moon Apricot Ale, or a cherry lambic.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Original

Sometimes the best jerky is the simplest, the stuff that offers a strong taste of real meat highlighted by the marinade and seasonings. Perhaps it's the way jerky used to be, the way it was meant to be.

Having reviewed several varieties already from Fatman's Beef Jerky, that seems to be what this brand does well, emphasizing the real taste of meat, with just enough seasonings to make the jerky even better. While some of their varieties seemed to miss the mark on their advertised flavors, I found that their Cowboy Style and their Salt & Pepper were quite good, just like old fashioned jerky. And maybe that's what Fatman's really excels at.

The brand is owned by Red Meat Foods, LLC, a company started by Rick & Ellen Robey of Roswell, NM. Rick had previously owned and operated a holstein calf raising business and a USDA inspected packing plant. That gave him a good head start into the jerky making business. All of Rick's jerky is made at his facility using his own recipes. He uses only American-raised beef.

Ingredients

Beef, water, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt.

Taste

The first taste I get from the surface is a slight saltiness and a meat aroma. Moving into the chew, The natural meat flavors come out, followed by the soy sauce.

This jerky is largely dominated by its natural meat flavors and the soy sauce flavor. The natural meat flavors have a distinct taste that's similar to the center portion of a prime rib. The soy sauce flavor is rather mild tasting, not overly salty, but still very noticeable.

For being free of any added preservatives, this jerky retains a fresh taste.

The worcestershire sauce noted in the ingredients list is hard to taste, I don't really taste it, or otherwise it's lost in the soy sauce flavor.

Overall, it's a good tasting jerky; you can't go wrong when you have plenty of natural meat flavors, with a fresh taste, and free of preservatives. Even though it has a soy sauce flavor, there's still a blandness to this, but I didn't find myself getting bored with it. That taste of meat kept me reaching for more.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a thin dry jerky, being somewhat crunchy. It's very easy to tear apart, and very easy to chew. Once it moistens up in my mouth, it chews just like a real piece of steak.

It's also very clean in that these pieces left no residue on my fingers, and nothing falling on my lap.

Several of the pieces in this review sample have a good deal of connective tissue between the meat grains, but it's not chewy. This jerky is dry enough that it all chews up like meat. I didn't find any gristle or fat in these pieces.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it presents a good value. I found it very snackable with its strong meat flavor, great meat consistency, and it's ease in eating. But you might only find value in it if you prefer "simple jerky", not loaded up sugar, salt or preservatives.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This original variety from Fatman's is very snackable, and serves to do well in that regards. Above that, it gives out a great taste of natural meat flavors, and a great meat consistency. But after that, it doesn't have much else to excite me. I wanted to find that extra dimension of "wow", but just didn't find it.

But don't let that discount this jerky. There is indeed a demographic of "jerky purists" out there that want the taste of real meat, and little else to get in its way, with no preservatives, and no sticky sweetness. This jerky is for them. My palate, however, wants something more complex.

If you've never tried Fatman's Beef Jerky, this original variety might actually be a great starter to get familiar with its unique flavor and consistency. From there, graduate up to the Cowboy Style and the Salt & Pepper varieties.

A good beer variety with this would be a lambic.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Cowboy Style

Terms like "Cowboy Jerky" and "Cowboy Style" are used often to describe old fashioned jerky, the kind of stuff that you might expect an weathered old cowboy to gnaw on while driving cattle through the dusty prairies of Wyoming. It's typically peppered, salted, smoked, dry, and chewy, and free of any sweeteners, like something a "real man" would eat.

And "Cowboy Style" is one of the many offerings from Fatman's Beef Jerky. Fatman's was launched by the husband and wife team of Rick and Ellen Robey of Roswell, NM, through their company, Red Meat Foods, LLC. Rick had previously owned and operated a holstein calf raising business and a USDA inspected packing plant. That gave him a good head start into the jerky making business. All of Rick's jerky is made at his facility using his own recipes. He uses only American-raised beef, and marinates it for 24 hours.

The Fatman's brand was launched in 2006 and it's products are sold in stores mostly throughout the desert south-west region of the USA, and through their website, with sales topping $300,000 in its first year.

Ingredients

Beef, water, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, onion, salt, garlic salt, seasoned salt (salt, sugar, paprika, tumeric, onion, cornstarch, garlic, tricalcium phosphate, natural flavor, extractives of paprika), black pepper.

Taste

The first taste from the surface to hit my tongue is a slight smokiness, and the aroma of beef. I can also detect a saucy, and slightly fishy taste, which is likely the worcestershire sauce. Moving into the chewing, the natural meat flavors leech out, and I can also pick up a faint taste of soy sauce from the juices.

The predominant taste in this jerky is the natural meat flavors. It's easily identifiable, and easily steals the show. It has a strong steak-like taste, enhanced by its slight smoky flavoring. And for being free of preservatives, it still retains a fresh taste. If you consider cowboys these days have worn their taste buds down from the strong coffees and tobacco chewing, they need a jerky with an equally strong taste of beef to register with the few sensory nerves left on their tongues.

The worcestershire sauce is noticeable in this, but slightly. The teriyaki variety that Fatman's offers also has worcestershire sauce, but it can't be detected due to the other seasonings. But because this Cowboy Style is very lighly seasoned, I can taste a hint of it. I can sense a trace of the anchovy this worcestershire sauce contains.

The amount of black pepper on this is slight, but still enough to be noticed. It's mostly there to help frame the natural meat flavors. The saltiness is moderate. There's also a faint amount of sweetness off the surface of these pieces, which is from the worcestershire sauce. And the soy sauce I mentioned earlier is also faint, but is only found during the chew after sucking out some juice. I can actually smell the soy sauce more than I can taste.

So, for being marketed as "cowboy style", is this something that a cattle-drive cook would make for the guys? Yes, I think so. It definitely has an "old fashioned" taste if you can imagine such a thing. Very meaty taste, with seasonings and marinades that seemingly has a more masculine appeal. I'm guessing if the "Duke" himself, John Wayne, could find a snack food that satisfies his "meat tooth", but doesn't challenge his alpha-male personality, this might be it.

Overall, this is actually a really good jerky. It puts all the emphasis on the natural meat flavors, but uses the spices and marinades to frame that flavor, not compete against it. All of the slight and faint flavors I mentioned will provide enough complexity to keep your brain working.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a thin dry jerky, being fairly brittle, and even slightly crunchy. For that matter, it's easy to break off a piece. It chews fairly easily and chews like a real steak. In fact, it feels like real jerky. That is, it's rough and dry, not smooth and shiny like many jerkies can be.

I found the jerky to be rather clean, not leaving my fingers with any residue. The light amount of black pepper does fall off on to my desk and lap, however.

Otherwise, I found only a tiny bit of fat on one piece, but no tendon or gristle.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, this presents a good value. You're getting a great tasting jerky, with a great meat consistency, and easy to eat. That all contributes to a wonderful jerky snacking experience. It's just higher price range that keeps this from being a better value.

As a cowboy style of jerky, I think it's provides great value. First, you're not going to find much jerky billed as "Cowboy Style", and second, I think this actually does resemble something that you might expect to find out of the old west.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

It's largely the excellent tasting natural meat flavors that this jerky emphasizes that warrants the best rating. It's further bolstered by the light seasonings, and complexity of those seasonings, that frames the meat taste really well. And when you throw in the excellent meat consistency and ease in eating, this becomes a solid winner.

This is probably also a jerky that Fatman's might want to consider getting into the asian markets. There's a niche of USA-based jerky manufacturers who exploit a base of meat-snackers in Japan who've fallen in love with the American old west. All Fatman's needs to do is spruce up the label with a photo of a rugged looking cowboy gnawing a piece of jerky, similar to the Marlboro Man.

I think a good beer is something light on flavor that won't get in the way of the jerky, like a blonde ale.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Salt & Pepper

I've seen some varieties of jerky advertised as a "salt and pepper" variety, and always wondered if the "salt" part was an oxymoron since jerky always has a saltiness to it. It'd be like "salt flavored" bacon. But then again, maybe this particular variety has a stronger salt flavor than others, just for folks who really love the salt?

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a brand produced by Red Meat Foods, LLC, based in Roswell, NM. People driving into town might see a roadside sign reminding them to stop in at the company's store. And since I already brought up an oxymoron, how does one get fat eating beef jerky anyways?

The company was started by the husband and wife team of Rick and Ellen Robey. For 30 years, Rick owned and operated a holstein calf raising business and a USDA inspected packing plant, which perhaps gave him a good head start into the jerky biz. All of their jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. It's processed and packed in their own facility.

Ingredients

Beef, water, salt, pepper.

Taste

Right off the surface I get a strong taste of black pepper, followed by a good dose of salt flavor. I can also pick up the aroma of natural meat flavors. Moving into the chew, that natural meat flavors gets stronger, while the salt and pepper continue their onslaught.

Of all the varieties of beef jerky I've reviewed for Fatman's, this one punches out its advertised flavor the most. I get a strong taste of black pepper in each and every bite, and a strong taste of salt as well. Considering there's a lot of black pepper here, I do get a moderate tongue burning. I'd rate this as medium on my hot scale. Comparing the sodium content in the nutrition facts for this variety and others, it's higher than others in the Fatman's line, but still not the highest.

The natural meat flavors are also very strong. I get a taste of meat that's very easy to notice, despite the strong seasonings, and lasts all throughout the chewing. It has a taste similar to that of the center portion of prime rib.

I'd say the predominant taste in this jerky is the salt, followed closely by the pepper, and then then meat taste. However, I found a couple of pieces where the pepper concentration was so thick, the pepper became the dominant taste.

Overall, it's a very simple flavor combo of salt, pepper, and beef, but each of those flavors have a strong presence.

Meat Consistency

This appears to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a thin dry jerky that is somewhat brittle to a degree. It provides some crunchiness that quickly eats like a real steak once it hydrates in my mouth. It's very easy to tear (or break) off a piece, and easy to chew.

While this jerky didn't leave any residue on my fingers, it does leave quite a bit of pepper on my desk and in my lap.

One piece actually has some light streaks of fat, and a result has a darker, oiler, color than the others. I think it actually provided a more satisfying taste and experience; I like to get a little bit of fat in jerky for that reason. Otherwise, I found no chewy pieces of tendon or gristle.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it presents a good value because I'm getting a lot of flavor, including the natural meat flavors, it's easy to eat, and leaves your fingers clean (though the pepper might get all over you). Even the slight bit of crunchiness adds to the snacking enjoyment.

As salt & pepper variety, it has a great value because you're getting a lot of salt and pepper taste. It's holds nothing back, and adds no other ingredient (aside from beef) to get in your way. It's almost like sprinkling some salt and pepper directly to your tongue.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This salt & pepper variety from Fatman's delivers exactly what you'd hope to expect from a salt & pepper variety of beef jerky, plenty of salt, plenty of pepper, and a strong, wonderful meat taste. Add to that its great meat consistency, and you've got an excellent meat snack.

For having a high salt flavor, I didn't necessarily find it wearing me out. I happen to love peppered jerky, spicy jerky, and jerky with lots of natural meat flavors, and those characteristics are well represented in this jerky. That was enough to keep me reaching for more despite the saltiness.

As for all those loose pieces of black pepper sitting in the bottom of the package, it might be worth keeping for some scrambled eggs. It's not just pepper, but beef jerky flavored pepper!

For a good companion beer, I'd recommend a creamy stout to counter the salty-spicy.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Green Chile

Green Chiles are one of my favorite foods, but always as an enhancement to something else. For me, just about anything goes better if you stick a green chile on it. While this Green Chile variety of beef jerky from Fatman's doesn't have that slab of slippery tangy green stuff, it contain bits of green chile, and green pepper sauce to boot. So this stuff really has me anticipating.

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a brand produced by Red Meat Foods, LLC, based in Roswell, NM. The same town that's known for its flying saucers, may very well become known for its beef jerky someday. The reviews of Fatman's I've written thus far have become the most widely read reviews here on Best Beef Jerky.

The company was started by the husband and wife team of Rick and Ellen Robey. For 30 years, Rick owned and operated a holstein calf raising business and a USDA inspected packing plant, which perhaps gave him a good head start into the jerky biz. All of their jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. It's processed and packed in their own facility.

Ingredients

Beef, water, soy sauce, green chile, lemon juice, garlic salt, green pepper sauce, black pepper.

Taste

I get a slight taste of meat right off the surface of these pieces, followed by a slight salt taste, and maybe a hint of chile pepper seasoning. Moving into the chew, I pick up more of the natural meat flavors.

As a Green Chile variety, I can't say that I get a strong taste of green chiles, I get only a slight taste of it on some pieces. Other pieces don't really provide any taste of green chiles at all.

I certainly do see chile pepper seeds on this, and I can also see bits of dark stuff on the jerky pieces which I presume to be dried green chiles. But their unique flavor doesn't register on my tongue.

Otherwise, the predominant flavor of this jerky is the natural meat flavors, of which it has a strong and pleasant flavor. It's a fresh tasting meat flavor considering this jerky contains no added preservatives aside what's already contained in the soy sauce. The flavor reminds me of the center portion of prime rib.

Salty is probably the next most dominant flavor, but I don't see this as being too salty, it's rather moderate. As for the other listed ingredients, the soy sauce makes a scant showing, mostly when I let a piece sit in my mouth and then suck out the juices. The other ingredients are mostly there as ambience.

Overall, I still found this with a snackable taste, mostly for its strong natural meat flavors, and backed up with the salt and soy sauce flavors. Every now and then, that green chile taste peeks its nose out there to say that it's still hiding.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a thin dry jerky, that presents a bit of crunchiness. Even though crunchy, it still moistens up and chews like a well-done steak. It's easy to break off a piece, and easy to chew.

It leaves no sticky, oily, or powdery residue on my fingers, it's very clean.

Nor did I find any amounts of fat, tendon or gristle on these pieces. Overall, a very good meat consistency.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it offers a decent value. For the higher price, you're getting a good tasting jerky, that presents a strong meat flavor, and a easy to eat consistency, with a bit of crunchiness added in.

As a Green Chile variety, it's presents very little value because it doesn't really offer any significant green chile flavor. If you buy this specifically because it says "green chile", you may be disappointed.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

It's otherwise a really good jerky, it just doesn't live up to the green chile advertisement, in terms of flavor anyways. I suppose one can make the argument that it does live up to that billing simply because it has green chiles in it. But nonetheless, I think if someone bought this because they saw the words "green chile" on it, they'd expect a green chile flavor.

But it offers some great snackability through its strong natural meat flavors, and some additional flavoring in the salt and soy sauce, plus the background flavors of the other seasonings. You'll still get a slight green chile flavor out of this, but only through some pieces, and just slightly. And what else can I say about its meat consistency being so easy to eat, that you'll empty the package in minutes?

After reviewing several varieties of Fatman's, I can see a pattern evolving of a jerky brand that belts out a strong natural meat flavor, combined with an ease of snacking, and light doses of seasonings.

A pale ale would go great with this.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Lemon Pepper

Lemon pepper is a flavor combination that seemed to hit a high point in popularity in the 1990's starting with chicken and then bleeding over into other meats. My curiosity was picqued when Fatman's sent me their lemon pepper variety of beef jerky because I hadn't yet tried this type of seasoning on jerky.

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a brand produced by Red Meat Foods, LLC, based in Roswell, NM. The same town that earned a reputation for little green men may very well earn a reputation for its beef jerky someday. The Fatman's brand seems to be building up a following because I see it mentioned on several websites across the Internet.

The company was started by the husband and wife team of Rick and Ellen Robey. For 30 years, Rick owned and operated a holstein calf raising business and a USDA inspected packing plant, which perhaps gave him a good head start into the jerky biz. All of their jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. It's processed and packed in their own facility.

Ingredients

Beef, water, soy sauce, lemon juice, lemon pepper, black pepper, salt.

Taste

I get a good dose of the natural meat flavors immediately from the surface of these pieces. With some time, the black pepper starts making a showing. Moving into the chew, the black pepper comes out more, followed by some salt, and more of the natural meat flavors.

For being advertised as a lemon pepper variety, I'm having trouble identifying the lemon. I tried several pieces to see if some had more lemon flavor, but it just wasn't there. If I analyze closely what I'm tasting, I can sense a tangy, or citrus taste, but it's faint.

If you were to put a piece into your mouth without carefully analyzing what you're tasting, what you'll taste is a dominant meat flavor, plus pepper and salt, but no lemon.

That dominant meat flavor has a fresh taste, a very lean taste, similar to that of the center portion of prime rib. From what I've found from the Fatman's brand, it's the meat flavors that get highlighted in much of their varieties.

In terms of the salt and pepper, I don't really find this to be "too salty" at all, it's probably just right for my liking. The pepper does make a good showing in this. I can taste its presence on each piece, and I'm getting a good black pepper aftertaste in the back of my mouth.

Overall, this lemon pepper variety has a great taste that emphasizes the natural meat flavors, decorated with some pepper and salt. But I don't find much lemon flavor in this.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a thin dry jerky that easily cracks and breaks with some bending. There's even some crunchiness in this. It's very easy to bite a piece off, and moderately easy to chew. The chewing is like what you'd get with steak cooked well done.

There's also a great deal of "cleanliness" to this jerky in that it doesn't leave your fingers with any sticky, oily, or powdery residue.

I found no pieces of fat, tendon, gristle, or other chewy tissue.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it's a decent value. You'll get a great taste of real meat, highlighted with some pepper and salt, and a great consistency with a bit of crunchiness to boot. It costs a lot more than what you'll find in the grocery stores, but you are definitely getting a better jerky.

As a lemon pepper variety, it's a poor value because I can't seem to identify any of the lemon. I keep wanting to find that lemony flavor, or even a citrus or tangy flavor, and it isn't there. It might be worth taking a spray bottle, filling it with lemon juice, and dousing it before eating.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

While the lemon taste is absent in this lemon pepper variety, it's still a pretty good jerky on its own merits. You're getting a great natural meat flavor, with some pepper and salt seasoning, along with an easy-to-eat consistency. Even the bit of crunchiness adds to the overall snacking fun.

In fact, it's that strong meat flavor that gets this jerky up to a "good" rating. For being free of preservatives, it has a fresh taste, and gave me the sense that I was eating "minimally processed" meat. The fact that it's free of added sugar will please a lot of die-hard jerky eaters as well.

I just would like to get good dose of lemon taste to back up the lemon pepper advertisement.

I think an IPA would make a great companion beer for this.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a product of Red Meat Foods, LLC of Roswell, NM. The company was founded by Rick and Ellen Robey in May 2006.

Prior to launching Fatman's, Rick Robey owned and operated a holstein calf raising business for 30 years as well as a USDA inspected packing plant. Robey says that his experience in in the beef industry told him that all of the commercial jerkies on the market lack a "good true beef flavor", which lead him to start Fatman's.

The company, whose roadside signs can be seen entering the town of Roswell, makes all of their jerky from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. It's processed and packed in Fatman's own facility. They add no preservatives aside from what's already in the seasonings.

Ingredients

Beef, water, brown sugar, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, orange juice, cinnamon, black pepper, red pepper flake, salt.

Taste

Opening this package of teriyaki beef jerky, I get a sweet-smelling aroma, similar to opening a package of cinnamon-raisin oatmeal.

And it's that combination of sweet and cinnamon that presents the first taste off the surface of these pieces. Some saltiness comes through immediately following. Moving to the chew, some natural meat flavors come through.

For being a teriyaki variety, I get very little teriyaki taste, and only during the chew, and only in certain pieces. It's nothing that reminds me of a hibachi or Benihana restaurant. Instead, the sugar and cinnamon dominates the surface taste, and carries over into the chew for a bit. If I didn't know this was teriyaki beef jerky, I'd guess it was "cinnamon & raisin oatmeal beef jerky".

As for the natural meat flavors, they are there but harder to find than in Fatman's other varieties. As I said above, the sugar and cinnamon carries over into the chew for a bit, and do well to compete against it. I can pick up the meat taste halfway into chewing.

There is a very slight bit of spiciness from the red pepper flake mentioned in the ingredients. It doesn't really provide a burn, but makes a slight appearance on the back of my tongue after several pieces. I'm also picking up a black pepper aftertaste after several pieces as well.

And as for that saltiness, it's a mild salt flavor, not too salty at all.

Overall, it's the sugar and cinnamon that dominates the flavor of this jerky. I don't really get any teriyaki flavoring, and I get only a little bit of the natural meat flavors. On its own merits, it's not a bad jerky. In fact, there's a strong sweet-cinnamon combo to taste here if that's what you like. That, combined with some natural meat flavors, salt, and a bit of spiciness would make this an enjoyable jerky to others.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is a thin dry jerky that has a slight amount of crunchiness to it. It's very easy to bite off a piece, and easy to chew. I can just bend a piece up and down, and it breaks right off.

And they're very lean as well, seeing I found no visible pieces of fat, tendon, gristle, or connective tissue. Overall, it's an excellent meat consistency.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it presents a decent value. It still offers plenty of taste, and a great meat consistency, which contributes to its snackability. It's sweet, salty, and crunchy nature provides that magical snacking formula that snack food manufacturers are keying in on these days.

As a teriyaki variety, it's a poor value providing no teriyaki taste in any decent amounts.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This teriyaki variety from Fatman's doesn't really provide a teriyaki taste that I can recognize. Growing up in a Japanese household, I've had a lot of teriyaki in my time, and I just don't find it in this jerky. Living up to its advertised flavor is a major factor in my ratings.

But that doesn't make this a bad jerky by any means. It's still packed with flavor primarily in the sweet and cinnamon. It even provides some natural meat flavors, unlike many other teriyaki jerky brands, and throws in a bit of salty and spicy.

Interestingly, someone, somewhere, asked me if I ever had teriyaki beef jerky with cinnamon, and went on to say that it's absolutely delicious. So, I know there's a market for this stuff. It might actually be better to label this as a "Cinnamon Teriyaki" variety, it may find a more targeted customer-base. I do like sugar and cinnamon together, don't get me wrong, but mostly like it with cookies, and oatmeal. Finding chunks of smoked beef in my oatmeal is something I haven't gotten used to yet.

A really good beer with this is a Blue Moon Apricot Ale.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Red Chile

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a product of Red Meat Foods, LLC of Roswell, NM. The company was founded by Rick and Ellen Robey in May 2006.

Prior to launching Fatman's, Rick Robey owned and operated a holstein calf raising business for 30 years as well as a USDA inspected packing plant. Robey says that his experience in in the beef industry told him that all of the commercial jerkies on the market lack a "good true beef flavor", which lead him to start Fatman's.

All of their jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. It's processed and packed in the company's own facility. Robey goes on to say that their state-of-the-art smokehouses record the internal temperature of the meat to ensure critical control temperature is reached prior to drying the meat. He runs water activity tests to ensure the jerky will be shelf-stable for one year.

Fatman's uses no additional preservatives, aside from what's already in the seasonings.

Ingredients

Beef, water, soy sauce, red chile puree, lemon juice, garlic salt, tabasco sauce, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes.

Taste

A combination of the natural meat flavors and the red chile is what I taste initially from the surface of these pieces. I can also pick up a bit of the salt, and maybe a hint of the soy sauce. Moving into the chew, I'm mostly getting the natural meat flavors.

Being advertised as a "Red Chile" variety, one assumes this is hot. And it is, though not blazing hot. I'd rate this as "medium". After several pieces, it builds up on my tongue and develops a moderate burn. The taste of red chile (aside from the hot kick) is evident as well, but mostly on the surface. I don't taste much of it in the chew.

The natural meat flavors seems to be dominant taste in this jerky, providing a strong flavor. I can get its taste from both the surface of these pieces and during the chewing. It's mostly during the chewing that I taste it the most. It's a taste that reminds me of the center portion of a prime rib steak.

And considering this jerky contains no added preservatives, it still retains a fresh tasting meat flavor.

The other seasonings mentioned in the ingredients list, lemon juice, black pepper, garlic salt, are not really noticeable on their own. I can maybe detect the garlic as an aftertaste.

The saltiness in this is light. It's mostly in the chew that it becomes noticed and doesn't overpower the natural meat flavors or the red chile.

Overall, this is a great tasting jerky that emphasizes the natural meat flavors pretty well. The red chile seasoning seems to be in just the right amount to give you the taste of red chile but not scald your mouth so much as to make this difficult to eat. There's also a simplicity in this jerky, which I think is caused by its lack of sugar. It gives you the sense that this is just meat doused with red chile.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, sliced thin, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is largely a thin dry jerky, with a small amount of crunchiness to it, which may appeal to many snackers, even those who don't eat a lot of jerky. It's very easy to tear apart, and easy to eat.

I found some small streaks of fat on a couple of pieces, but that was all. I think it actually enhanced the flavor a bit. Otherwise, I found no tendon or gristle or anything else chewy.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it has a decent value. It offers a great taste and great meat consistency, and it does provide plenty of snackability. It's just that the higher price per ounce makes it hard to justify if you want to snack on some jerky.

As a Red Chile variety, it offers a better value because it does give out a good taste of red chile pepper along with a moderate amount of red chile burn. But if you're someone who gets "high" off the endorphins generated from really hot foods, you won't get much endorphins from this.

But on its own merits, it's a great jerky. If you're a jerky lover like me and you want to experience the best the jerky world has to offer, this is one you'll need to try.

Rating

I'm giving this one a best rating.

This red chile variety from Fatman's gives out a good taste of red chile pepper combined with a great natural meat flavor. It'll burn your palate just enough to let you enjoy its peppery goodness but not so much that it won't have you reaching for a drink every few seconds.

The slight amount of crunchiness that results from the thinly sliced pieces actually adds to the snackability and gives off an added dimension of enjoyment.

Eating this, I get the sense of "gourmet jerky", with it's strong meat flavor, ease of eating, and the liberal dosing of red chile pepper. It has a certain simplicity to it that will appeal to folks who are tired of brands that load up their jerky with sugar and tenderizers.

Beer recommendation: Try a porter.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Jalapeno Lime

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a brand of Red Meat Foods, LLC of Roswell, NM. The company was started by Rick and Ellen Robey in 2006.

For 30 years, Rick Robey had owned and operated a holstein calf raising business as well as a USDA inspected packing plant. He says that his experience in the beef business gave him some insight into the commercial jerky business and told him that there wasn't much jerky out there that really gives consumers a taste of "good true beef flavor". So, he sought to create Fatman's Beef Jerky.

The company makes their own jerky in their own facility using American born and bred cattle. With their line of chile jerky (such as this Jalapeno Lime), they use only fresh, locally grown chiles, as opposed to the foreign grown stuff that has been causing so much e-coli bacteria poisoning.

Fatman's is sold in stores mostly in the desert south-west region of the USA, and through their website, with sales topping $300,000 in its first year.

Ingredients

Beef, water, soy sauce, jalapenos, lime juice, garlic salt, green pepper sauce, black pepper.

Taste

A jalapeno chile taste hits my tongue right away upon a putting a piece into my mouth. I can start to feel a slight tingle of the spiciness. Next I pick up a saltiness, and then going into the chew, I mostly taste the natural meat flavors.

Being advertised as a "Jalapeno Lime" variety, I do a get a clear sense of jalapeno flavor, though the lime taste is hard to find. I can, in fact, detect a slight tangy taste which could be the lime. However, I can't find anything that tastes distictly lime.

This is not hot at all, as the Jalapeno name suggests. I'd rate this as mild-medium.

But that jalapeno flavor is largely the dominant taste I get from the surface of these pieces. Once I get into the chew, that flavor dissipates, and the natural meat flavors dominate.

The natural meat flavors have a fresh taste. It has a mild tasting beef flavor, similar to eating the center portion of prime rib. The company says they use meat from the inside round.

I don't find this too salty at all. I can definitely taste the saltiness, but it doesn't overpower this jerky. The other ingredients of soy sauce, garlic, and black pepper are not noticeable, but perhaps adds to overall "ambience".

There's also a simplicity in this taste. I'm largely only tasting the jalapeno, meat, and salt. If eating only one or two pieces, that could be fine. But after eating several more pieces, I'm starting to want more flavor complexity. The lime combination would likely do it for me, except I can't find the lime taste in this.

Overall, this Jalapeno Lime variety has a great taste that's mostly highlighted by the jalapeno flavor off the surface, and migrating into the natural meat flavors into the chew. The saltiness is there as a constant in the background.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be cuts of whole meat, sliced thin, and in medium to large sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky, one that is rather brittle. Being sliced thin, it tears apart very easily. Perhaps it's better to say that it "breaks apart" easily. In fact, the thin slices and brittle nature makes this jerky crunchy, which perhaps adds to the snacking pleasure. But it still chews like real meat.

I notice some splotches of white residue on these pieces. I don't know what they are. I don't pick up any concentration of taste from them.

These are very lean pieces, with nary amount of fat on them, and no bits of tendon, gristle, or connective tissue. Overall, it's a great meat consistency, one that the thin-dry jerky lovers will relish.




Product Value

Fatman's sells this Jalapeno Lime variety at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes I'd rate this having a decent value, due to the fact it's still a delicious jerky with a great meat consistency in an expensive price. It definitely fits the bill to satisfy your snacking urge.

As a jalapeno lime variety, it also has decent value, because while it has a good amount of jalapeno taste, the lime taste is lacking. You'd buy this for the jalapeno flavor, not the lime flavor.

But overall, it's a great tasting jerky, in an easy-to-eat form factor, that belts out a good natural meat flavor with jalapeno spiciness. It's well worth the money just to enjoy on its own merits.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Jalapeno Lime variety from Fatman's offers a great tasting beef flavor that gets enhanced by the spiciness of jalapeno chiles. Combined with the thinly sliced, and crunchy nature of this jerky, it makes it very snackable.

I'm only keeping it away from a best rating because I can't find the lime flavor in this. I'm sure there's lime in this, but I just don't notice it. But don't let that mislead you, this is still a great tasting jerky on its own merits, offering plenty of natural meat flavors with some spicy jalapeno taste.

One thing that strikes me with Fatman's Beef Jerky is that it has the characteristic of "minimally processed" jerky. That is, it looks as if it was made by a real person in their kitchen, as opposed to something looking and tasting like it was ran through a factory and touched by several people. It provides me with an extra bit of satisfaction in that sense. Even the clear plastic bags, and the homemade-looking labels, looks as if I bought this at a farmer's market. I don't know how close to reality that statement is, but in a beef jerky product it gives me the sense that small-town America is alive and well.

I think a good beer with this is a hefeweizen, or wheat beer, with a lemon wedge.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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Fatman's Beef Jerky - Smoky Chipotle

Fatman's Beef Jerky is a product of Red Meat Foods, LLC of Roswell, NM. The company was founded by Rick and Ellen Robey in May 2006.

Prior to launching Fatman's, Rick Robey owned and operated a holstein calf raising business for 30 years as well as a USDA inspected packing plant. Robey says that his experience in in the beef industry told him that all of the commercial jerkies on the market lack a "good true beef flavor", which lead him to start Fatman's.

All of their jerky is made from inside rounds of American-raised beef, marinated for 24 hours in Robey's own homemade recipes. It's processed and packed in the company's own facility. Robey goes on to say that their state-of-the-art smokehouses record the internal temperature of the meat to ensure critical control temperature is reached prior to drying the meat. He runs water activity tests to ensure the jerky will be shelf-stable for one year.

Fatman's uses no additional preservatives, aside from what's already in the seasonings.

This Smoky Chipotle variety is actually a test variety. The company is still working on perfecting it. It's not yet available for sale from Fatman's website.

Ingredients

Beef, water, soy sauce, liquid smoke, chipotle seasoning, black pepper, salt.

Taste

There's a smoky taste and aroma that hits me as soon as I put a piece into my mouth, and that's followed by a soy sauce taste. The natural meat flavors start to come through, and soon after that I can feel the chipotle seasoning tingling the back of my tongue. Going into the chew, the soy sauce remains only as a salty taste, and more of the natural meat flavors come through.

Being that this Smoky Chipotle variety is still in the perfecting stage, I'd say that Fatman's still has some work to do, because I can't really taste much in the way of Chipotle flavor. What I get instead is a slight burn in the back of my mouth. I'd rate this as mild-medium on my hot scale. Chipotle has a really nice flavor, one that's rather hard to describe unless you've tasted it. Once they've settled on the final recipe, I hope to re-review it.

In the introduction above, I said that Robey wanted to launch a jerky that emphasizes the "good true beef flavor". I can certainly taste the natural meat flavors in this. Perhaps with Robey's 30 years in the beef industry he's more qualified to decide if this is indeed a "true beef flavor" than I. If I can describe it, it's more like the beef flavor you get from a steak cooked well-done.

In fact, I think its the natural meat flavors that dominates this Smoky Chipotle variety, along with a combination of salty. Basically, this jerky offers a meaty, salty, flavor with a spicy tingle on the back of my tongue. The other flavors, primarily the smoky, and soy sauce, are noticeable in the first several seconds, but wane away once I get into the chewing.

This jerky is also somewhat simple in tastes, in that it doesn't offer a lot of taste variety, mostly just meat and salt. For myself, it loses snackability. I really love a jerky that offers some extra flavor dimension that lasts throughout the chew. Other folks might appreciate the simple nature of this jerky. It's worth noting that this variety contains no sugar, which perhaps adds to that simple taste.

Overall, it's an enjoyable jerky, one that belts out the natural meat flavors, and it's a simple jerky in terms of taste. I can't really taste the chipotle in this, though I can feel its slight burn in my mouth.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be slices of whole meat, cut into thin slices, and in medium sized pieces.

This is a dry jerky, being a little brittle. People who love thin sliced, dry jerky will want to take note of this variety. It's actually very easy to tear apart, and easy to chew.

I couldn't find anything chewy in the way of tendon or gristle, and only a few small bits of fat on some pieces.

Overall, this has an excellent meat consistency, easy to eat, and nothing that gets in my way from enjoying the flavors.




Product Value

Fatman's sells all of their jerky varieties at a price of $7.99 for a four ounce package. That works out to $2.00 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it has a weak value mainly because for me, the simple taste loses some snackability. If it were priced much lower, it becomes a better buy.

As a Smoky Chipotle variety, it a poor value because I can't taste any chipotle flavor in this.

If you love thin sliced dry jerky, then Fatman's is your thing, and you may see this as being a good value. There isn't a lot of thin sliced dry jerky on the market that retains a lot of natural meat flavors.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Smoky Chipotle variety from Fatman's is a thin sliced dry jerky that belts out a lot of natural meat flavors, with just a tingle of spiciness. It's adds enough flavor from the smoke and soy sauce to give you some good taste in the first several seconds, and then steps away to let you enjoy the taste of beef. The easy-to-eat consistency also wins points.

But it doesn't stand up to its advertised flavor of chipotle.

I also prefer a jerky that provides more flavor complexity than this. Thus for being simple in taste this jerky loses some snackability with me. But that was offset because this jerky does retain a lot of its natural meat flavors. A lot of people will love this jerky for that reason alone. It just needs more chipotle flavor.

For my beer recommendation, I always like something sweet to go with a jerky that doesn't have any added sugar. I think a Blue Moon Apricot Ale would go well with this.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.fatmansbeefjerky.com

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