Jerky's Gourmet - Ghost Pepper

Jerky's Gourmet is a new brand of jerky, founded by Tim Gerstman and Andria Taylor, based out of San Diego, CA. Gerstman, who transplated to San Diego from the East Coast 8 years ago, met Andria who also happened to love beef jerky. The two joined forces and launched Jerky's Gourmet.

Their jerky is sold at various shops, bars, and venues across the San Diego area. However the two can be found at the Little Italy Farmers Market on Saturdays, doling out samples of their jerky.

This Ghost Pepper jerky is described as being "soy free" and "gluten free", and is balanced "with subtle hints of honey and pineapple".

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Jerky's Gourmet - Habanero Sculpin

Jerky's Gourmet is a new brand of jerky, founded by Tim Gerstman and Andria Taylor, based out of San Diego, CA. Gerstman, who transplated to San Diego from the East Coast 8 years ago, met Andria who also happened to love beef jerky. The two joined forces and launched Jerky's Gourmet.

Their jerky is sold at various shops, bars, and venues across the San Diego area. However the two can be found at the Little Italy Farmers Market on Saturdays, doling out samples of their jerky.

Habanero Sculpin also happens to be the name of a craft beer made by Ballast Point Brewing, another San Diego business. This jerky is marinated for 24 hours in this brew, creating a one-two punch of habanero spices and "subtle hoppy notes" on the tongue.

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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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Clean-N-Jerky - Original

Clean-N-Jerky is a new brand of beef jerky that launched just a year ago. It was started by Mischelle Marro, a Crossfit enthusiast, based out of Colorado Springs, CO.

When one day she was diagnosed with cancer, she changed to a paleo diet of natural ingredients. A friend of hers who marketed grass-fed beef gave her the inspiration to create her own beef jerky. Today, Clean-N-Jerky uses beef from free-range cattle that feeds on Maytag grass on the foothills of the Sangre De Cristo range in Colorado. It remains gluten-free and contains no preservatives.

Clean-N-Jerky is available in two flavors as of this writing, Original and Pepper. It can purchased from a variety of fitness and healthfood stores around Colorado, and through its website.

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Homegrown Meats Jerky - Good Ol' Traditional

Homegrown Meats is a brand owned by a partnership of ranchers and business associates based out of Palomar Mountain, CA. It's known for delivering cuts of certified grass-fed beef to Whole Foods Market locations throughout Southern California, and beyond.

This line of jerky is a recent addition to the brand, and was unveiled to the public at the recent Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA last March. Marketed as 100% grassfed, pasture raised, no hormones, no antibiotics, and no animal by-products, it's said to be made from the same beef that Whole Foods Market sells in their meat case.

This jerky is currently available at Whole Foods Markets in Southern California, and soon to be available from Homegrown Meats' website.

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Think Jerky - Thanksgiving Turkey

Think Jerky is a new brand that hit the scene late last year. Based out of Chicago, IL, the brand spent nearly two years perfecting its recipe for a health-conscious market. The company claims to have "cut the salt in half" and replaced them with herbs and spices.

Think Jerky is a collaboration with three celebrity chefs, Chef Laurent Gras, a three-star Michelin Chef, Chef Matt Troost, a Baconfest champion, and Chef Gale Gand, a TV-host on Food Network. Together, their goal with Think Jerky is to create a great tasting jerky, with grass-fed beef, free-range turkey, that's paleo friendly, gluten free, family-farmed, with no artificial preservatives, and all natural ingredients

This "Thanksgiving" is described by Chef Gras as, "...this unique flavor combination of turkey, cranberry and herbs will remind you of the classic holiday meal."

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Naked Cow Jerky - Smoke

Naked Cow Jerky is a new brand that launched in October 2015. It's a brand of Appalachian Jerky Company.

Naked Cow Jerky was launched to specifically to cater to a growing audience seeking minimally processed jerky, made with natural ingredients. Their jerky offerings are made with 100% grass fed beef, sea salt, and spiced. They use no artificial preservatives, nitrates/nitrites, MSG or soy. They claim to be "paleo-friendly", gluten-free, and made in a USDA inspected facility. They are currently selling in Boston, MA area at various retail locations and Cross-Fit gyms. It's also available online.

This "Smoke" variety is based on the "Primal Smoke" variety from Appalachian Jerky Company, and then modified for the specific audience that Naked Cow Jerky is targeted to.

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Coppernose Jerky - Garlic & Chili

Coppernose Jerky is a new brand that launched in the Summer of 2015. Based out of the Oxfordshire town of Burford, in England, Coppernose was founded by Liam Derry.

Liam was working on a degree at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester when the idea for Coppernose came about. Coppernose today is a run by Liam and his family. They use ethically sourced, 100% grass fed, British beef, allowing them to trace their meats all the way back to the farm. They use sliverside cuts, in long strips, and then marinated for 12 hours before dehydration. Coppernose Jerky is sold in small shops and outdoor markets throughout England, as well as from its website.

This "Garlic & Chili" variety is simply described as, "A delicious combination of garlic and chili..."

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The New Primal - New Meat Sticks

The New Primal recently announced its new line of beef and turkey sticks. We previously reviewed their beef jerky a couple of years ago (see link here).

These new meat sticks are made from grass-fed beef and free-range turkey. They are also claimed to be gluten-free, Non-GMO, soy free, free of hormones and antibiotics, and paleo friendly. The company also claims that they are made from 100% beef and 100% turkey.

The New Primal got its start in 2009 when Charleston, SC-based Jason Burke embarked on a quest to make snacks suitable for his active and healthy lifestyle. He picked up on the paleo-diet, and soon launched his own brand of meat snacks and trail mixes.

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Lawless Jerky - Pork BBQ Spare Rib

The newest flavor from Lawless Jerky is this Pork BBQ Spare Rib. See our reviews of other Lawless Jerky flavors here.

Lawless Jerky is a new brand created by a licensed attorney named Matthew Tolnick of Santa Monica, CA. Making jerky started from his days in college when he and his fraternity friends needed sustenance through long evenings of studying. But today, Lawless Jerky has grown into a thriving business and Tolnick has moved full steam ahead with it, producing his jerky in a USDA inspected facility.

This Pork BBQ Spare Rib jerky is the first non-beef product from Lawless.

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Lawless Craft Jerky - Mango Habanero

Among the newest flavors from Lawless Craft Jerky is this Mango Habanero.

Lawless Jerky is a brand owned and operated by Lawless Jerky, LLC based out of Santa Monica, CA. It was started by Matthew Tolnick, a former attorney who held a not-so-secret passion for making chewy chunks of dehydrated beef. After a stint as a legal counselor, he decided to throw his hat into the jerky industry and start his own business.

This Mango Habanero variety is described by the company as a "one-two punch of heat and sweet", going on to say it's "fruity from natural mango flavors", and "sweet from brown sugar", and "spicy from bright orange habanero peppers".

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Two Chicks Beef Jerky - Classic

Two Chicks Beef Jerky is a brand of Two Chicks Specialty Goods, LLC, based out of San Rafael, CA. It was started by two women, Shannon and Breelyn, who embarked on a 4 1/2 month long road trip back in 2012, and stocked themselves up on homemade jerky.

Along the way, people they met tried their jerky and liked it enough to recommend they start a business. So when they returned home, they did just that. Two Chicks Beef Jerky has now been in operation a little over a year now, and is now carried in over 20 retail locations in Northern California.

The company claims, "Sometimes it is... all about the meat", referencing their reliance on grass-fed meat, locally sourced, with no preservatives, antibiotics, or added hormones. It's also marketed as gluten-free, and uses honey instead of refined sugar.

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Coppernose Jerky - Smokey

Coppernose Jerky is a new brand that launched in the Summer of 2015. Based out of the Oxfordshire town of Burford, in England, Coppernose was founded by Liam Derry.

Liam was working on a degree at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester when the idea for Coppernose came about. Coppernose today is a run by Liam and his family. They use ethically sourced, 100% grass fed, British beef, allowing them to trace their meats all the way back to the farm. They use sliverside cuts, in long strips, and then marinated for 12 hours before dehydration. Coppernose Jerky is sold in small shops and outdoor markets throughout England, as well as from its website.

This "Smokey" variety is simply described as, "A taste of mesquite, which is sublime..."

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Jamie's Jerky - Beef

Jamie's Jerky is the creation of Jamie Watt and his daughter Sasa Watt, based out of Crested Butte, CO. The Watts have been making jerky as a hobby for themselves and their friends for 35 years. They were getting so many requests that they finally decided to make it a business.

Jamie's Jerky claims to strive for "sustainable jerky", using only grass-fed beef and all natural turkey, with no hormones and antibiotics. It's also gluten-free. The company has won Gold Medals two years running at the Crested Butte "Annual Jerky-Off", fielding unamimous decisions both times.

This beef jerky is said to be made from "Paso Prime Beef", a California-raised grass-fed beef.

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Country Archer Jerky - Mango Habanero

Country Archer Jerky is a well known brand in the meat snack industry, going back to 1977 when it became the private labeler for hundreds of brands over the decades. Now based in San Bernardino, CA, the company is leveraging its own brand and pushing its own line of jerky into stores across the country.

As the jerky market has migrated towards preservative-free, natural ingredients, so has Country Archer. The company claims it's jerky is handcrafted, made in small batches, using all natural ingredients.

This Mango Habanero flavor is described as a being, "...a sweeter, more sophisticated way to spice things up."

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Wyoming Gourmet Beef - All Natural Angus Honey

Wyoming Gourmet Beef is a brand of Wyoming Authentic Products, LLC based out of Cody, WY. The company was launched by David Fales to offer meat snacks using Wyoming-raised Angus cattle.

Fales is descended from a line of Wyoming cattle ranchers and hopes that his line of beef jerky and beef sticks will make "Wyoming Beef" a household name in the same way that "Florida Oranges", "Maine Lobster", and "Wisconsin Cheese" have become.

Wyoming Gourmet Beef is made from all natural, grass-fed, Angus beef, using no hormones nor antibiotics. All jerky and beef sticks are processed in Wyoming, using no MSG, no nitrites, and is gluten-free.

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Boston Jerky Co. - Wicked Original

Boston Jerky Co. was founded by Mike Tryba and Brandon Angiolillo based out of Danvers, MA. The brand just opened up for sales in February 2018, however both Mike and Brandon had been working on recipes since 2014.

The brand focuses on using 100% grass fed beef, and claims to add no nitrites and no MSG. It also claims that each package is, "100 calories per bag".

This "Wicked Original" variety is described by the company as being, "Named for the City of Champions", going on to say that it is, "the King of Protein!".

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Painted Hills Natural Beef - Sizzling Sriracha Beef Jerky

Painted Hills Natural Beef got its start in 1997 when seven ranchers in the Wheeler County area of Oregon got together to form a new cattle venture that would protect their top quality animals from being blended with cattle of lower quality. The company is now a wholesaler of boxed primal cuts of steaks, and just recently added deli meats and jerky to their line up.

The cattle they raise receive a 100% vegetarian diet throughout their lives, grazing the pastures of 80 family farms. The animals never receive added hormones or antibiotics. The resulting jerky is 100% gluten free and made with no MSG or preservatives.

This Sizzling Sriracha variety comes with no additional description or claims other than, "Gluten Free" and "No MSG", however the company claims to make their own in-house sriracha sauce.

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Boston Jerky Co. - Wicked Hot

Boston Jerky Co. was founded by Mike Tryba and Brandon Angiolillo based out of Danvers, MA. The brand just opened up for sales in February 2018, however both Mike and Brandon had been working on recipes since 2014.

The brand focuses on using 100% grass fed beef, and claims to add no nitrites and no MSG. It also claims that each package is, "100 calories per bag".

This "Wicked Hot" variety is described by the company as being made with, "wicked hot habanero peppers", going on to say that it, "packs a mean Beantown punch".

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Homegrown Meats Beef Jerky - Paleo

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 Paleo variety, according Homegrown Meats, is described as being for folks who follow the Paleo diet, going on to say that it's a, "tender-cut jerky with a simple hint of honey & black pepper".

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