People's Choice Beef Jerky - Carne Seca Limon Con Chile

People's Choice Beef Jerky is a brand of People's Sausage Company, Inc. based out of Los Angeles, CA. It's a family-run business that's been around since 1929. See our previous reviews of their jerky.

Their "Carne Seca" line of beef jerky is based on the Mexican-style dried beef popular in Latin societies. Being that People's Choice Beef Jerky is located in downtown Los Angeles, they've found a lot of success marketing their line of Carne Seca to local hispanic grocery stores and carnicerias.

The flavors of "Limon" and "Limon con Chile" are made with all natural ingredients, are gluten free, and contain no preservatives.

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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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Grandpa's Beef Jerky - Cherry Chili

Grandpa's Beef Jerky is a brand started by Jacob Piercy, based out of Fishers, Indiana. Piercy remembers being a kid and watching his grandfather hanging deer meat for jerky. Eventually, his grandfather handed down the recipe and process.

Today, Piercy sells packages of Grandpa's Beef Jerky at farmers markets across Indiana and online too, allowing jerky fans across the USA to enjoy a family legacy.

This "Cherry Chili" is described as being made from, "Montmorency cherries and Thai chilies", and is marked as being, "Extra Hot".

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Chops Beef Jerky - Red Chili Pepper

Chops Beef Jerky is a brand owned by Chops Snacks, Inc. based out of New Haven, CT. The company was started in June 2016 by two recent Yale University undergraduates, Luke Sellers and Aaron Jones, along with food industry veteran Dusty Jaquins.

The company claims their jerky is made from 100% USDA Choice and Select beef brisket, sourced from cattle within the United States. They use no MSG, no nitrites, and no artificial preservatives. Their jerky is labeled as "all natural" and "exceptionally tender", while their website further claims to be gluten-free.

This Red Chili Pepper is described by Chops as, "How about some heat?" It goes on to say that this is for "jerky lovers that crave spicy flavors packed with heat", and that it's for, "the most diehard of spice lovers".

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Lucky Brand Jerky - Red Pepper

Lucky Brand Jerky is a new brand of jerky, but has a long history. It's the product of Nebraska Star Beef, a family owned business that has been producing premium beef, along with beef jerky, for over 100 years.

Recently, the company changed the way it raises cattle, returning to its roots on herdsmanship, grass-fed, without antibiotics and growth hormones, and allowing their animals roam freely. Their jerky is made with no MSG, no sodium nitrite, and no artificial ingredients.

This Red Pepper Beef Jerky is part of their "Slab Style" line. The company claims to make it the "old fashioned way", using thick slices of marbled Angus beef which is then seasoned and marinated. The line also includes Teriyaki, Peppered, and Original.

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Krave Beef Jerky - Garlic Chili Pepper

Krave Beef Jerky is a brand owned by Krave Pure Foods, Inc. based out of Sonoma, CA. It started in 2011 by Jon Sebastiani, who got started in the food business working on his family's winery in Sonoma.

Knowing that many people have a negative connotation with jerky, he sought to market Krave to the "non-jerky eater". He designed packaging that didn't look like traditional jerky packaging, and came up with flavor names that would appeal to women and gourmet foodies. He also promoted the health qualities of his jerky, and stayed away from selling Krave in traditional markets like convenience stores and gas stations.

This Garlic Chili Pepper beef jerky is described as the company's spicy offering, with "a robust garlic and chili marinade" topped with real chili flakes, resulting in a "tasty jerky that teases your taste buds with flavors of garlic, light salt, medium soy sauce, and a crescendo of spices."

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Casa Blanca Beef Jerky - Red Chile

Casa Blanca Beef Jerky is a brand owned by Joseph & Rosella Quintana, based out of Santa Fe, NM.

The company makes beef jerky from its own USDA inspected facility.

Casa Blanca Beef Jerky is sold throughout the State of New Mexico, found mostly in convenience stores and drug stores. It's often sold along with other jerky brands including, Old Santa Fe Trail and another labeled as "Delicious Beef Jerky". Casa Blanca offers Plain, Peppered, Green Chile, and Red Chile varieties.

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The Jerky Connection - Red Pepper

Next in the series on The Jerky Connection is this Red Pepper variety, described as a "tasty flavor mix of red pepper and tang."

See my reviews of their Dixie and Teriyaki Habanero varieties.

The Jerky Connection is a new business that launched last June, based out of Wrightsville, PA, boasting several flavors ranging from mild to insanely hot, including a line of jerky dubbed, "7 Gates of Hell".

The company is run by Tom Greineder, who like many other jerky entrepreneurs, began by making jerky for himself and friends, and due to the overwhelming positive feedback, decided to turn it into a business.

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Wilderville's Country Beef Jerky - Red Pepper

Last in the series on Wilderville's Country Beef Jerky is this Red Pepper variety. See my previous reviews of their Original, Black Pepper, Teriyaki, and Black Pepper Teriyaki varieties.

Wilderville's Country Beef Jerky is a small, USDA inspected meat processor based in Grants Pass, OR.

The company was started by Jim and Sally Lawson in August 2008 with the goal of making beef jerky that tastes great and is not hard to chew. Launching the new business allowed Jim to come off the road from long haul trucking after more than 30 years. The Lawsons sell their beef jerky at farmers markets and from their website.

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Sograte Beef Jerky - Texas Heat

Next in the series on Sograte BBQ & Beef Jerky is this Texas Heat variety. See my earlier reviews of their Black Pepper and Original varieties.

Sograte is based out of Lubbock, TX. The company was founded by Cary Franklin. The business originally started out with Cary and his brother-in-law entering a BBQ competition in 2005, where they took four of the top ten positions in five different categories on their first try. Today, they run a BBQ catering service. The beef jerky is their primary retail product.

The beef jerky is not marinated but just salt cured, then smoked over a live hickory fire, and then seasoned.

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Island Preserve Marlin Jerky - Chili Pepper

Next in the series on Island Preserve marlin jerky is this Chili Pepper variety. See my previous of review of their Pepper Teriyaki.

Island Preserve is a brand name of AIR, Inc., based out of Pearl City, HI. AIR, Inc. is best known as "Made in Hawaii Foods", a retailer of food products made in Hawaii.

This Chili Pepper variety is just one of four varieties they offer. They also have the Pepper Teriyaki I mentioned above, and then a regular Teriyaki, and a regular smoked. I didn't order the last two, so this is the final review of the series unless the company wants to send me the others.

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Riteway Meat Company - Red Pepper Beef Jerky

Next in the series on Riteway Meat Company is this Red Pepper Beef Jerky. See my previous review of their Home Smoked Beef Jerky and Teriyaki Beef Jerky.

Riteway Meat Company is a full service butcher shop in Dundee, OR, serving local farmers for more than 40 years in the areas just south of Portland. Jerky is one of their featured products.

The company says the following about this Red Pepper Beef Jerky, "Thick cut, alder smoked and HOT HOT HOT, do we need to say anymore!"

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Caveman Jerky - Crushed Red Pepper

The second in my series on Caveman Jerky is this Crushed Red Pepper variety. See my previous review of their Original Black Pepper variety.

Caveman Jerky is a brand of Caveman Jerky, Inc., based in Oakview, CA. It was started by Noah Staggs, who launched the company just a few years ago up in Grants Pass, OR, where his family is originally from. He uses an old family recipe that dates back to 1908.

Since then, he moved the company south to Oakview, and makes all the jerky himself. He buys his beef from People's Sausage Company, of Los Angeles, CA, who makes the "People's Choice" brand of jerky. His wife does the packing, package design, order fulfillment, and website.

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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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