Trader Joe's - Sweet Sriracha Uncured Bacon Jerky

Trader Joe's recently released a new flavor of uncured bacon jerky, "Sweet Sriracha".

Dubbed, "a sweet & spicy way to dress up thick, flavorful uncured bacon", it's yet another in a long line of snack foods paired with up the famous Thai condiment.

I had review Trader Joe's jerky years ago and found that I wasn't really a fan. But that was years ago. The brand has revamped its jerky line with cool new flavor ideas.

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Trader Joe's Beef Jerky - Organic Original

Trader Joe's is a chain of specialty grocery stores across the United States, focusing on the ecclectic, mostly obscure brands of foods, natural foods, and the basic staples.

In the 1950s the company started out as a chain of convenience stores throughout Southern California, and then as the hippie movement took off in the 60s, the company reinvented itself into what you see now. Throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Trader Joe's achieved cult-like status across all of California, and then in 1997 the company went national with several stores on the east coast.

Trader Joe's offers its own brand of jerky, but like most grocery stores, it's private labeled through another company, in this case, Intermountain Natural, LLC of Idaho Falls, ID, a meat processor that specializes in natural ingredients and organic meat products. They make jerky for the Golden Valley Natural brand, and the Jerky Direct brand, as well.

The company offers two lines of jerky, one is "natural jerky" and the other is "organic jerky". Both are made by Intermountain Natural. The organic line carries the USDA Organic seal, while the natural line does not.

Ingredients

Organic beef, organic evaporated cane juice, water, organic soy sauce, organic apple cider vinegar, salt, organic paprika, natural smoke flavoring, organic black pepper, organic onion powder, organic garlic powder.

Taste

The first taste I get is a light sweetness off the surface of these pieces, followed by the smokiness, and that's about all I get. Moving into the chew, a little bit of saltiness comes out, and that's about it. If anything, I can kinda (barely), sense some of the onion, garlic, and pepper. But, I really have to think about it.

Despite soy sauce having a higher weight in the ingredients list, I can't taste any of it. In fact, I can't taste much of anything in this, which is pretty consistent with all of Trader Joe's jerky.

I'd say the predominant taste in this is the light sweetness that comes off the surface of these pieces, and then the slight bit of saltiness in the chewing. But it's all just slight tastes. For the most part, this jerky has very little taste at all.

As for the natural meat flavors, there are none.

Overall, Trader Joe's jerky continues to disappoint on taste. It doesn't taste bad, it just has very little taste to offer. That's a shame because a beef jerky that's touted as being "organic" ought to let you taste the goodness of beef without all the preservatives and hormones. Instead, you have dried meat that retains no taste of real meat.

Meat Consistency

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

This is a soft and tender jerky that's still largely dry. But for being soft and tender, it's still retains some toughness. That is, it's not as soft and tender as lot of the other soft and tender jerkies out there. But I think most of the environmentally-conscious middle-aged women out there will still find this tolerable.

Several of the pieces have bits and streaks of fat on them. One piece (depicted below) has a hole in it, looking very much like a blood vessel, almost peering at me like an eyeball. Otherwise, no gristle or tendon.

Overall, it's a very good meat consistency.




Product Value

I paid $4.99 for this 4oz bag at a Trader Joe's in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.25 per oz, putting this in the lower end of average priced.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it offers a decent value, because while it has very little taste, it's still doesn't taste bad, and has a great meat consistency. That still contributes to a fair snackability. And if you consider the low price of $1.25 per ounce, it makes a for a decent purchase if all you want is some meat to snack on.

For being an organic variety, it's a great value. You're not going to find much organic jerky out there at this low of a price. Even though it offers little in the way of taste, that may actually be of lesser concern to you if eating organic foods is important.

I think maybe the only circumstance I'd buy this again is for the low salt content. Too many brands out there pack their jerky with tons of salt, and I find the salt to really wear me out. I actually find this variety of Trader Joe's jerky to be a relief in that regards.

Rating

I'm giving this jerky a fair rating.

As with other beef jerkies from Trader Joe's, it just doesn't have much taste. If a jerky can't provide much natural meat flavors, then at least provide taste in the seasonings and marinade. This lacks in both. Otherwise, this jerky's only saving grace is the great meat consistency.

Being an "organic" variety is not really anything you can taste, though I'm sure organic food freaks may argue. I can prove it by saying this particular organic jerky has no taste at all. Therefore, the only reason to buy this is to satisfy an ideology of eating organic.

I think this jerky really falls short on two levels, one because it was obviously put through a tenderization process to make it "soft and tender", which thereby removed all of the meat's natural flavors. But second because, it's not really that soft and tender. It's still has some toughness to it. If you're going to sacrifice the natural meat flavors for the soft and tender consistency, then at least make it very soft and tender.

I think a good beer to have with this is a hoppy beer, like an IPA.

Rating: Fair

Where to buy:

• At any Trader Joe's store

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Trader Joe's Turkey Jerky - Original

Trader Joe's is a chain of specialty grocery stores across the United States, focusing on the ecclectic, mostly obscure brands of foods, natural foods, and the basic staples.

In the 1950s the company started out as a chain of convenience stores throughout Southern California, and then as the hippie movement took off in the 60s, the company reinvented itself into what you see now. Throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Trader Joe's achieved cult-like status across all of California, and then in 1997 the company went national with several stores on the east coast.

Today, it's still the hippies that shop at the Trader Joe's stores in California, but they're more like baby-boomers now, with shorter hair, and they don't hold up peace signs anymore. The store has actually done pretty well transcending into the younger age groups by aligning itself with the natural foods movement, and keeping prices cheap.

Trader Joe's offers its own brand of jerky, but like most grocery stores, it's private labeled through another company, in this case, Intermountain Natural, LLC of Idaho Falls, ID, a meat processor that specializes in natural ingredients and organic meat products. They make jerky for the Golden Valley Natural brand, and the Jerky Direct brand, as well.

It's worth noting that this Trader Joe's turkey jerky is not advertised as organic despite the popular belief, and does not carry the USDA organic seal. Rather it's marked as "natural", which they explain as having no artificial ingredients, is minimally processed, and contains no preservatives, no nitrite, and no MSG.

Ingredients

Turkey, Sugar, Water, Soy Sauce, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt, Flavorings, Paprika, Natural Smoke Flavoring, Caramel Color.

Taste

A sweet taste is the first thing I pick up off the surface of these pieces. That's followed by a smoky flavor. Getting into the chew, I can pick up some salt flavor, and a wee bit of the natural meat flavors. That's about it.

I've been rather dismayed by much of Trader Joe's jerky for having such little taste, and I'm finding consistency with this Original Turkey Jerky variety. Although, I do find more of the natural meat flavors in their turkey jerky compared to their beef jerky. But nonetheless, even this turkey jerky is still rather light on taste.

For some reason, being "all natural", or healthy, has to equate to being void of flavor. I think it's part of an indoctrination that started when we were kids, that if its good for you, it won't taste good.

Like I said, the natural turkey meat flavor does have a little bit of showing in this jerky. Just not a lot. Turkey has a unique taste, unlike anything else. Keep in mind however, that I'm thinking hard about what I'm tasting for the purposes of writing this review. If I were snacking on this without thinking about it, I don't think I'd taste much of anything at all.

For the most part, the taste that dominates this jerky is a wee bit of sweet, and a wee bit of salt. Even though soy sauce has a heavier weight in the ingredients list, I don't taste that either.

Overall, this is a jerky that's weak on flavor. At least it doesn't taste bad. However, a jerky has to offer flavor, it's a snack food after all, and should please the taste buds.

Meat Consistency

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

This is a soft and tender variety of jerky, being semi-moist. It's easy to tear off and chew. It still retains its fibrous texture, as opposed to crumbling apart like many other tenderized jerkies.

I find nothing in the way of tendon, gristle, ligaments, or connective tissue. I don't see any fat on this.

Overall, this has an excellent meat consistency.




Product Value

I paid $4.99 for this 4oz bag at a Trader Joe's in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.25 per oz, putting this in the lower end of average priced.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it actually has a good value mainly because of its lower price point. Even though it doesn't offer much taste, it doesn't taste bad. I think most jerky snackers will still find satisfaction in it.

As an original variety of turkey jerky, it's a weaker value. I taste only a little bit of the natural meat flavors. Most people tend to think that turkey jerky is more healthy than beef jerky, but that's not necessarily true. If you compare this to Trader Joe's original beef jerky (which I have not yet reviewed), it has the same amount of cholesterol, sodium, protein, sugars, and vitamins. The differences is that the turkey has 0gm of fat compared to 1gm for beef, 60 calories compared to 70 for beef, and 6gm of carbs compared to 5gm in the beef. That's pretty much the case across all brands of turkey jerky. Ok, there's a little bit of an advantage, but not much.

So basically, you're buying this turkey jerky for its wee bit of sweet and salty, or for ideological reasons (maybe you're against beef). Either way, Trader Joe's turkey jerky doesn't provide any significant value over beef.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair rating.

The lack of taste, or very little taste, is what prevents this jerky from getting any higher rating. A jerky needs to be "snackable" in order to get the higher average rating, and the fact that it's devoid of any significant taste makes it hard for me to enjoy as a snack.

Otherwise, the only reason why I might eat this is because I'm hungry, or maybe because I'm on a low-carb-high-protein diet. This jerky's only saving graces are that it doesn't taste bad, and that it has a low price point.

If anything Trader Joe's probably does pretty well selling this jerky, but based on the power of its brand, which this public seems to associate with being healthy and environmentally friendly. It's a testament to the power of brands that a company can market a mediocre product and still make money from it.

For my beer recommendation, I'd go with a hoppy beer, like an IPA.

Rating: Fair

Where to buy?:

• At any Trader Joe's

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Trader Joe's Beef Jerky - Organic Peppered

Trader Joe's is a chain of grocery stores across the United States that specializes in eccletic brands, natural and organic foods, and the basic staples.

The company got its start in 1958 as a convenience store. When the hippie movement took off in the 1960s, the company saw a niche that needed filling and reinvented itself with larger stores, and offering the products that you see on its shelves today. And because hippies never had a lot of money, the grocery store chain established a reputation of keeping prices cheap, something they still focus on today.

Like most grocery stores, Trader Joe's offers its own store brand of foods, such as this beef jerky. It's private labeled through Intermountain Natural, LLC, of Idaho Falls, ID. Intermountain Natural focuses on making natural and organic meat products, and also makes jerky for the Golden Valley Natural, and Jerky Direct brands.

This particular variety of Trader Joe's Organic Black Pepper Jerky carries the USDA Organic seal, as well as the Certified Organic seal of Quality Assurance International.

Ingredients

Organic beef, organic evaporated cane juice, water, organic soy sauce, organic apple cider vinegar, salt, organic black pepper, organic paprika, natural smoke flavoring, organic onion powder, organic garlic powder.

Taste

A slight sweetness is the first taste I pick up upon biting off a piece, followed by a light taste of black pepper, and not much else.

The natural meat flavors are largely absent in this jerky. Even after letting a piece sit in my mouth for 30 seconds, and then chewing it, I don't really taste the meat.

It's not salty at all, in fact, it might be good get some more salt just to have something to taste.

The black pepper can be detected on each piece in light amounts. But after eating several pieces, I can get a good deal of its aftertaste in the back of my mouth.

The other flavorings mentioned in the ingredients list cannot really be tasted. I don't really pick up any of the soy sauce or onion powder, but I do get a faint sense of the garlic.

Overall, this jerky doesn't taste bad at all, it just doesn't have much taste to offer. I'd say the black pepper is largely what I taste in this, mainly because its aftertaste builds up in the back of my mouth. Otherwise, each specific piece offers mainly that slight sweetness at the beginning, and not much else.

Meat Consistency

These pieces appear to be solid cuts of meat, sliced into average thickness, and in medium sized pieces.

This is mostly a soft and tender variety of jerky, being semi-moist. I find it very easy to tear apart, and very easy to chew. All those hippies having lost their teeth will have no problem with this.

I found most pieces with a thin strip of gristle on one edge, and could pick up a bit of its chewiness. But, the tenderization process has rendered it largely unnoticeable if you're not analyzing it closely the way I'm doing. I did find a piece with a small bit of fat on it. Otherwise, these are very lean pieces with no chewy extras.

Overall, this jerky offers an excellent meat consistency, allowing me to focus on the largely non-existant flavors.




Product Value

I paid $4.99 for this 4oz bag of jerky at a Trader Joe's in Temecula, CA. That works out to a price of $1.25 per ounce, making this an average priced jerky.

For general jerky eating purposes, it's an "ok" buy being that $1.25 per oz is actually on the lower-end of average, it offers a great meat consistency, but very little on taste.

As a peppered jerky, it fits the billing, but doesn't offer enough black pepper taste. Even though there is plenty of black pepper to be seen on these pieces, it's flavor doesn't match up. If you love peppered jerky, you might find this to be a waste of money.

But as an organic jerky, it offers an excellent value. $1.25 per ounce is a darn good price for organic beef jerky, even though it doesn't offer much taste. At least you could look at it this way, it's doesn't taste bad at all.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair rating.

This variety of organic peppered jerky from Trader Joe's offers a great meat consistency, being easy to tear apart and chew, with a light flavoring of black pepper.

But that's where the positives stop. Otherwise, I can't taste any of natural meat flavors, which is what everyone wants to taste in a "certified organic" beef jerky. For the most part, it's a slight sweetness that I taste throughout the chew, with just a light presence of black pepper.

The kind of consumer that would really appreciate this are the organic food freaks who have to have everything organic. In that case, they may not care that this jerky is light on taste, but they'll really appreciate the low price.

But considering that beef jerky is a snack food above everything else, I don't really find a lot of snackability here, since I can't get much taste. This would be like eating a package of rice cakes without any topping. Still, it doesn't taste bad, and isn't something I'd throw to my dogs.

Rating: Fair

Where to buy:

• At any Trader Joe's store

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Trader Joe's Turkey Jerky - Teriyaki

Trader Joe's is a chain of specialty grocery stores across the United States, focusing on the ecclectic, mostly obscure brands of foods, natural foods, and the basic staples.

In the 1950s the company started out as a chain of convenience stores throughout Southern California, and then as the hippie movement took off in the 60s, the company reinvented itself into what you see now. Throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Trader Joe's achieved cult-like status across all of California, and then in 1997 the company went national with several stores on the east coast.

Today, it's still the hippies that shop at the Trader Joe's stores in California, but they're more like baby-boomers now, with shorter hair, and they don't hold up peace signs anymore. The store has actually done pretty well transcending into the younger age groups by aligning itself with the natural foods movement, and keeping prices cheap.

Trader Joe's offers its own brand of beef jerky and turkey jerky, but like most grocery stores, it's private labeled through another company, in this case, Intermountain Natural, LLC of Idaho Falls, ID, a meat processor that specializes in natural ingredients and organic meat products. They make jerky for the Golden Valley Natural brand, and the Jerky Direct brand, as well.

It's worth noting that this Trader Joe's turkey jerky is not advertised as organic despite the popular belief, and does not carry the USDA organic seal. Rather it's marked as "natural", which they explain as having no artificial ingredients, is minimally processed, and contains no preservatives, no nitrite, and no MSG.

Ingredients

Turkey, sugar, water, soy sauce, pineapple juice concentrate, apple cider vinegar, salt, flavorings, paprika, natural smoke flavoring, caramel color.

Taste

There is a salty-sweet taste combination that first hits my mouth when I pop in a piece. I can also get a taste of the natural meat flavors. I don't taste much else after that.

The teriyaki flavor in this is rather weak, I'm not really sure I taste any teriyaki at all. There is a light sweetness to this, and I can kinda sense a bit of the soy sauce, but the two don't really marry each other into teriyaki. It's more of a sweet taste than anything else.

However, the sweet doesn't last throughout the chew. After a few chews, the natural turkey meat flavors come on, and that's what I'm left with by the time I've swallowed it down. The natural turkey meat flavor is not strong, but perhaps moderate at best. Compared to Trader Joe's beef jerky varieties that I've had thus far, the turkey jerky provides more natural meat flavor.

That salty flavor that I described earlier is also very light.

I can also see tiny bits of black pepper on this, and I do get a faint sense of it in the back of my mouth, but only having eaten several pieces.

Overall, this teriyaki turkey jerky has a decent taste, though a light taste, and mostly as a sweet variety, not necessarily teriyaki. The taste that seems to dominate throughout the chew is the natural turkey meat flavor, but again, a light flavor.

Meat Consistency

This appears to be cuts of real turkey meat, sliced in medium to thick thickness, and in small to medium sized pieces. Note that there is a good amount of crumbled pieces in the bottom of the bag.

This jerky is dry, unlike the brand's beef counterpart, but rather easy to tear apart and chew. This stuff breaks apart more easily than beef, just like turkey jerky normally does.

I did find one piece with what appears to be a streak of cartilage, but a thin streak, and one that offered no resistance. Otherwise, everything else appeared to be free of anything chewy.

Overall, the meat consistency is great.





Product Value

I paid $4.99 for this 4oz bag at a Trader Joe's in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.25 per oz, putting this in the lower end of average priced.

I'd say that gives this jerky a good value. As a turkey jerky it does a good job of retaining its natural meat flavor, and offers a great meat consistency. While it is rather light on taste, the price of $1.25 per oz still makes this a worthy buy.

But as a teriyaki turkey jerky, it fails. I don't really taste the teriyaki in this, but rather just a light sweetness. If you can ignore the teriyaki advertisement on the package, then you might appreciate it more for what it is.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

The light sweet taste, the subtle black pepper aftertaste, the natural meat flavors, and the excellent meat consistency all contribute to make this an enjoyable turkey jerky. While you won't get a turkey jerky that bursts with flavor, you'll get something that does taste like turkey.

I couldn't give this a higher rating because it fails to live up to its teriyaki billing, and it's rather light on taste. I think a jerky should excite taste buds, and this comes off as a tad bland. Had they simply marked this as "sweet turkey", and added some more black pepper, I could give this a good rating. If they could also throw in an extra taste dimension, either more garlic, or ginger, or rosemary, I could give it a best rating.

Still, of all the jerky produced by Intermountain Natural, this is the best one yet.

Rating: Average

Where to buy?:

• At any Trader Joe's store

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Trader Joe's Beef Jerky - Teriyaki

Trader Joe's is a chain of grocery stores that focuses on mixing together the basic foods with ecclectic and exotic foods. A lot of their wares is selected for natural ingredients, though it's not a natural foods store. They managed to make a name for themselves in the 1960's and early 1970's by going after the hippie demographic. Today a lot of hippies still shop there, except they're more wealthier and wear more conservative clothing these days.

The company's own line of beef jerky is billed as "Natural" beef jerky, though not necessarily organic. It's private labeled through Intermountain Naturals, LLC of Idaho Falls, ID. That's the same processor that makes jerky for the Golden Valley Natural, and Jerky Direct brands.

And in keeping with Trader Joe's tradition of keeping prices down, this jerky is priced in the lower echelon as well.

Ingredients

Beef, sugar, water, soy sauce, pineapple juice concentrate, apple cider vinegar, salt, flavorings, paprika, natural smoke flavoring.

Taste

It's hard to say what the first taste that is that I taste with this, but I can sense a bit of sweetness, and a very faint sense of teriyaki. I can "kinda" taste the natural meat flavors after several chews. I can also pick up some smokiness.

I'm not sure what it is with jerky made by Intermountain Naturals, but so far everything I've had from them, either as Trader Joe's, or as Golden Valley Natural, is tasteless. I don't think that's a reflection of using all natural ingredients, or being organic, because I've had similar jerky from other brands that had much more taste.

Or maybe the folks in Idaho have ultra-keen taste buds, I don't know.

I'd say the taste that dominates this jerky is a mild teriyaki flavor; it's not strong, but just there in the background.

It's not even salty.

While I can't really pick up much of the natural meat flavors, there is a faint bit of it. At least the beef doesn't have an old taste, being this is preservative free.

Meat Consistency

These are cuts of real meat, sliced average to thick thickness, and in small to medium sized pieces.

This is probably best classified as a semi-moist variety, though some pieces are more dry than moist. It's very soft and tender; I find it easy to tear apart and chew. That's perfect for all those hippies having lost their teeth.

Some of the pieces have some good fat marbilization, but otherwise I didn't find any chewy tendon or gristle.

I notice that one piece has this "black splotch", see the second photo below. I scraped as much of it as I could off of there.

Overall, this is has an excellent meat consistency.




Product Value

I paid $4.99 for this 4oz package at a Trader Joe's in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.25 per ounce, putting this at the lower end of average.

I'd say this has a weak value, being largely tasteless, and thereby not really providing much snacking satisfaction. While it has a great meat consistency for folks who prefer soft and tender jerky, there really isn't much else to enjoy with this.

As for being a teriyaki variety, again it's very weak. In fact, I'm going to pull out my bottle of teriyaki sauce from the fridge and add some more.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair rating.

All this has going for itself is the great meat consistency, and that was good enough to get it a "fair" rating. You might also include the fact that it's made with all natural ingredients. For all I know, this could be an organic beef jerky, though it doesn't say it.

But where's the taste?

Considering that Trader Joe's prides itself on offering low prices, maybe they paid Intermountain Naturals to use a lot less seasonings.

It's like drinking a bottle of Coors beer, and finding that it isn't much different than carbonated water. And that's too bad, because for a jerky that prides itself on being "natural", I'd figure I could get some great beef taste. But I can't even get that.

Rating: Fair

Where to buy?:

• At any Trader Joe's store

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Trader Joe's Beef Jerky - Original

Trader Joe's is a chain of grocery stores spread across the United States specializing in gourmet, natural, and hard-to-find foods. They started out in 1958 as a chain of convenience stores. Then in the 1960's, as the beatnik and hippie cultures started taking off, the company redefined itself into what you see now.

And like many other retailers, Trader Joe's offers its own brand of beef jerky. However as suspected, they don't make their own. In this case, it's private labeled through Idaho-based Intermountain Naturals, the sister company to the Golden Valley Natural brand of beef jerky.

Intermountain Naturals caters to the health-conscious consumer, making beef jerky using only natural ingredients, as well as a line of organic beef jerky.

Trader Joe's claims their brand of jerky contains no preservatives, no MSG, no artificial ingredients, is minimally processed (I'm not sure what that means), and the beef contains no added hormones and no antibiotics.

Ingredients

Beef, sugar, water, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt, flavorings, paprika, natural smoke flavoring.

Taste

Some sweetness is the first taste to hit my tongue, followed by some smokiness. I can sense the soy sauce flavoring to a small degree, along with a slight bit of salt, and finally just a hint of natural meat flavors.

Being that this is their original variety, I didn't expect to get a lot of taste, and sure enough I wasn't disappointed. Throughout the chew, the flavor that seems to last is the sugar, and then followed by a slight saltiness. That soy sauce taste doesn't really last long.

There's almost no taste of the natural meat flavors. If I was blindfolded and asked to decide between beef or turkey, it would be difficult. There's just a slight bit of that unique beef flavor. And as far as freshness, it still seems to have a fresh taste, despite containing no preservatives.

As for saltiness, it's not salty. I can taste it, but it's light. This is about my preference level for beef jerky.

I can see a few flecks of black pepper, but there's no taste of it.

Overall, this jerky is largely tasteless, if not for the sugar, a bit of smokiness, and light saltiness. I suppose it fits the bill as an original variety, but it's rather boring.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be real cuts of meat, sliced into average to thick thickness, and in medium sized pieces.

This qualifies as a "soft and tender" variety, being very easy to tear apart, and very easy chew. It even gets mushy when chewing, but not that bad. But I would not classify this as semi-moist, it's still largely a dry jerky.

I didn't notice any chewy tendon, membrane, or gristle. I did find small amounts of fat on a couple of pieces which actually gave it a more beefy taste.

Overall, this has a great meat consistency as a soft and tender variety.




Product Value

I paid $4.99 for this 4oz bag at a Trader Joe's in Temecula, CA. That works out to a price of $1.25 per oz, putting this on the lower-end of average.

On a general beef jerky standpoint, I think you're getting a so-so value. It doesn't really satisfy on taste, but it does offer a great meat consistency. If you're a casual beef jerky eater, you might think it's good.

For folks who insist on eating only all natural ingredients, this is actually a good value, because for one, a $1.25 per oz is a good price when compared to all other beef jerky brands, and you're getting what you want in an all-natural ingredient product. If having a tasty beef jerky is not important to you, it's an even better value.

Rating

I'm giving this a fair rating.

About the only thing going for this jerky is it's great meat consistency. Otherwise, it's pretty dull on flavor, and it offers very little natural meat flavor.

I can understand that an original variety of beef jerky would be plain on taste, but there are so many other brands that have tasty original varieties that I can't warrant a higher rating. I can't really say that this has a snack factor either; while I continue to eat more throughout this review, I'm not enthusiastic about eating it.

But let's consider that Trader Joe's is pushing this beef jerky for its health benefits as an all-natural ingredient product. And that's a way of saying that healthy foods don't necessarily taste good, which is something the child in all of us has been saying for our entire lives.

Rating: Fair

Where to buy:

• At any Trader Joe's store

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