Jedidiah's Beef Jerky - Private Reserve - Hot & Spicy Teriyaki

Jedidiah's Beef Jerky is a brand produced by Jedidiah's Jerky and Gourmet Snacks of Laughlin, NV.

The brand, which has been around since 2005, is the idea of David Coffey, a veteran in the beef jerky industry since 1984, having worked for several different brands. He created the Jedidiah's brand to represent a higher quality of beef jerky than most major brands, and to offer something unique and special to the beef jerky lover.

The "Private Reserve" line of beef jerky represents Jedidiah's beef brisket jerky, which results in a very soft and moist jerky. The brand also offers a "Premium" line, which represents standard beef jerky.

Ingredients

Beef brisket, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, chili peppers, pineapple juice, garlic powder, worcestershire sauce, honey, pepper, ginger.

Taste

Upon putting a piece into my mouth, the very first taste that presents itself is a strong sweetness. A spicy hot bite from the chili peppers follows very quickly, as well as a saltiness.

Being advertised as "hot & spicy", it certainly lives up to that billing. I find it hot enough to moisten my scalp, and leave a good burn on my tongue. I'd rate this as being "hot". But after eating several pieces, my eyes are watering, my nose is running, and I'm having to reach for a swig of water after each swallow.

The package also advertises this as being a teriyaki variety, and there is indeed a teriyaki taste to this. But I think the teriyaki sauce is heavy on the sweet. This is more like "meat candy", than it is teriyaki flavored. But I can still sense the unique teriyaki flavoring that I think it does warrant the advertisement on the package.

The natural meat flavors are not well evident in this jerky, however. First, there's a lot of flavors competing for my attention, with the sweetness, the spiciness, and the saltiness. I let a piece sit in my mouth for several seconds, and extracted out the juices, but still couldn't really get a good sense of the meat flavors. There is indeed a "meat aroma" to this, but I can't really taste the unique beef flavors.

In terms of saltiness, this is definitely on the salty side. There is still plenty of sweetness to this that it offsets a lot of it, however.

Overall, this jerky is just brimming with flavor, with both the sweet, the spicy, and the saltiness dominating the taste throughout the chew. As a spicy variety, this will set your tongue on fire.

Meat Consistency

This appears to be slices of real beef brisket, sliced thin, and in strips of about 8-10 inches long, and 1 inch wide.

This is a soft and tender variety of jerky, being semi-moist. It's very easy to tear apart and chew. Some strips do provide a little more resistance to tearing, but still nothing that a toddler can't eat.

Being cut from beef brisket, I can see some fat marbilization, and I do get some chewy material, probably membrane and/or tendon. Otherwise, I found no gristle.

Overall, this jerky provides an excellent meat consistency.




Product Value

Jedidiah's Jerky and Gourmet Snacks sells this Hot & Spicy Teriyaki variety from its website at a price of $7.99 for a 3.65oz package. That works out to a price of $2.19 per ounce, putting this into the expensive price range.

For general jerky snacking purposes, it offers a decent value, considering it's extremely flavorful, and very easy to eat.

But as a hot & spicy variety, it's a great value, because it's really hot and spicy. If you found other brands of hot jerky to be disappointingly mild, you'll be happy with this variety from Jed's.

Then as a teriyaki variety, it's a weak value. While there is indeed a teriyaki taste to this, it's heavy on the sugar side, and less on the soy sauce. And at a price of $2.19 per oz, you can find more teriyaki flavor in lesser priced brands.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Hot & Spicy Teriyaki variety from Jed's Private Reserve is packed with flavor, offering flavor combination of spicy hot chili pepper and sweet teriyaki, all in a very easy to eat meat consistency.

It also lives us to its advertised flavor, mostly as a hot & spicy variety, and less as a teriyaki variety. There's still plenty of teriyaki taste, but a heavily sweetened one, and one that is overshadowed by the chili pepper seasoning. While the saltiness is on the strong side, it's offset by the strong sweetness, and doesn't really wear you down.

While the natural meat flavors are very difficult to find in this, I still found the intense flavors to make this extremely snackable.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://jedsjerky.com

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Gary West Meats - Traditional Beef Jerky

Gary West Meats is a brand of smoked meats that's been around since 1966, started by Gary West. West based his success on old family recipes taught to him by his grandfather, who ranched the valleys of southern Oregon.

In 2004, West sought to retire and began looking for someone to buy his business. His daughter and son-in-law expressed interest in running the company, and bought it from him. Since then, Gary West Meats revamped its line of jerky and established a reputation of producing some of the finest meat snacks around. They even offer a line of jerky made from Certified Angus Beef.

The company produces its famous jerky, smoked hams and turkeys, at its own facility in Jacksonville, OR. Folks can visit their factory, and sample the products at their "Tasting Room". The company sells products through its catalogs, its website, and in specialty stores.

Gary West Meats claims to use only "grade A maturity beef" and choice cuts, citing the beef as being younger, more tender, and treated more humanely. They make all their jerky by hand from beginning to end, and they smoke them in real hickory chips, no liquid smoke.

Ingredients

Beef, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, sodium nitrite.

Taste

This "Traditional" variety is basically the company's original (or plain) variety.

The first taste that I pick up when putting a piece into my mouth, is a slight sweetness, followed by a saltiness. The black pepper becomes noticeable next. The natural meat flavors come on quickly after taking some chews.

This Traditional variety has the same natural meat flavor that I described in the company's Silver Fork Natural variety. The meat flavor has something of a sweet nature to it, smooth and mellow. I used the word, "buttery" to describe the Silver Fork Natural variety, and I find that same description here as well. There's a certain amount of refined quality in this meat taste that I find irresistible, and one that might even give a vegan second thoughts.

The saltiness is much more defined in this Traditional variety than in the Silver Fork Natural. It's actually too salty for my preference, but the great meat taste makes me want to overlook it.

The black pepper taste I mentioned earlier is detectable, but in slight amounts. I mostly taste it if I let a piece sit in my mouth for several seconds, but I don't taste it in the chew.

The sweetness is only noticeable in the first few seconds after I put a piece into my mouth, it doesn't linger on at all.

Overall, the tastes that dominate this jerky is the salt and natural meat flavors. This Traditional variety is perhaps very comparable to the Silver Fork Natural, except saltier, and of course, cured with sodium nitrite.

Meat Consistency

Gary West Meats actually refers to their products as "beef strips", instead of jerky, claiming that it's more moist than jerky. I don't know that I can buy into that, because I've had a lot of moist jerky in my time. With the way the market has embraced the "soft and tender" concept of jerky, I think this product fits right in to that genre.

These strips are cut into 2-3 inch lengths, about the same thickness as a beef stick. For the most part, it's semi-moist, not just moist. If you bite off a piece, you'll see that it's more dry than it is moist. The photos below give you the sense that these pieces are very moist, but that's just the outside glaze.

In researching the company, somewhere I read that Gary West Meats cuts these strips against the grain, making it easy to tear apart. I don't really see that here in this Traditional variety. I see a mixture of cuts both against the grain, with the grain, and angular.

However, it's still easy to tear off and chew.

Otherwise, I didn't find any chewy pieces of tendon or gristle, and no fat at all.

Overall, these pieces offer an excellent meat consistency for jerky snacking.




Product Value

Gary West Meats sells this Traditional variety at a price of $4.50 for a 2oz package. That works out to a price of $2.25 per oz, making this an expensive buy. You can get that price down to as low as $1.63 per oz, if you buy their larger sized packages.

If you just want to enjoy some really great tasting beef flavor, I'd suggest that this is a good value. The smaller 2oz package, priced at $2.25 per oz, takes this out of the realm of general purpose snacking however, and into some level of "beef jerky appreciation". In that sense, price may not be a factor at all.

But for general purpose jerky snacking, it's too expensive, unless you buy the 16oz package and get the price down to $1.63 per oz. But then again, you're still paying $26.00 for the whole package. If you're the type of meat snacker that puts emphasis on the natural meat flavors, then perhaps there is value here.

Rating

I'm giving this a best rating.

This Traditional beef jerky variety from Gary West Meats offers a wonderful meat flavor that I found so irresistible, and in a meat consistency free of everything but pure meat.

In terms of flavorings, it's actually quite bland, and the for most part, relies on salt for its seasoning. And I find it too salty for my preference in fact. But the great meat taste that this offers makes me want to ignore the saltiness and keep reaching for more, in that sense it has an excellent snackability. This is a beef jerky that puts a lot of emphasis on the enjoyment of beef.

I'm getting kinda jealous of the entire West family, they get to eat this stuff all the time. But it makes you wonder if they're so used to eating such great tasting beef, if they can even stomach a burger from a fast-food joint.

A good beer to have this jerky is a lighter colored ale, like a pale ale, amber ale, or cream ale, which will help quench higher saltiness, but not compete against the natural meat flavors.

Rating: Best

Buy this online:

• http://www.garywest.com

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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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Jedidiah's Beef Jerky - Spicy Premium

Jedidiah's Beef Jerky is a relatively new brand of jerky, having been on the market for a few years now, produced by Jedidiah's Jerky and Gourmet Snacks, of Henderson, NV.

The company is owned by David Coffey, a veteran of the beef jerky business, having taken his first bite of the industry in 1984, when he went to work for Polley's Beef Jerky. His father was also a veteran of the jerky snack business as well. Later on Coffey launched his own brand of jerky, River Run Jerky, private labeled through Jack Link's.

But it was a desire to offer something unique to the beef jerky afficionado that led him to create the Jedidiah's brand. Jedidiah's Jerky offers two lines of jerky, its Premium line, which is standard beef jerky, and its Private Reserve, a beef brisket jerky.

Ingredients

Beef, salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, paprika, spices, garlic, sodium nitrite

Taste

There is a slight sweetness that makes itself known right away after putting a piece into my mouth. That sweetness is soon overtaken by a strong saltiness. The natural meat flavors come in short after, and I can also detect the garlic at this point. Finally I can feel a slight tinge of hot in the back of my mouth.

There's quite a bit of saltiness in this. It's not too bad in the first few pieces, but after that it starts to scorch my tongue. Eventually, the saltiness is what dominates this jerky.

As far as being a spicy variety, I'd say that it does indeed have a spicy kick to it, but I won't consider this "hot". This is more like mild-medium. Others might see this as just medium.

There are visible bits of black pepper on this, and bits of chile pepper. However, I don't really taste the black pepper or chile pepper on any specific piece, but I do feel its effects after eating several pieces.

The natural meat flavors are noticeable, but are overshadowed by the other flavors, particularly the salt.

Overall, this is a very tasty jerky, with a lot of flavors competing for attention, and competing all the way throughout the chew. It's got a taste that resembles barbecue, which may be due to the garlic. But it's mainly the salt that gets the most notice.

Meat Consistency

These appear to be solid pieces of meat, sliced into small and medium sized pieces, and in medium to thick slices. Note that there are a lot "crumbles" in the bottom of the bag.

I found this jerky to be on the dry side, though still somewhat soft. It has some flexibility in that you can bend to a point, but will crack open and break apart if bent too far.

It offers some ease in tearing apart, particularly with the grain, and I found it somewhat easy to chew as well.

I didn't really find any pieces of chewy tendon or gristle in here, though I did find some small bits of fat on a couple of pieces.

Overall, the meat consistency is very good, being easy to tear apart and chew. The considerable amount of crumbles is something to note because what you want are pieces large enough to hold in your hand and tear apart.




Product Value

Jedidiah's sells this Premium Spicy variety from their website at a price of $5.99 for a 3.5oz bag. That works out to $1.71 per ounce, putting this in the average price range.

I think this provides a good value, in that you're getting a very tasty jerky, with a flavor that lasts throughout the chew, all in a good meat consistency. It has good snackability, and for or snacking purposes, that's what this offers.

As a "spicy" variety, it provides some value, but not a lot. I think that if a spicy-food lover saw this package, they'd consider buying it just because it said, "Spicy" on the label. However, they'll be somewhat disappointed because it's not really that spicy.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Premium Spicy variety from Jedidiah's Jerky offers a lot of taste packed into an easy to eat meat consistency, making it very snackable. It offers a just enough of a spicy kick to tease your taste-buds, and even tastes something similar to barbecue.

What kept it from getting a higher rating is the saltiness. Just too much for my liking. I find that it's great in the first few pieces, but after that the saltiness wears on me.

And while it is indeed a spicy variety, it's just not spicy enough for my liking. I think when a jerky is advertised as "Spicy" it ought to be really spicy. I think that either you like it spicy, or you don't, with no in-between. So, why not really belt out the spiciness and make something spicy food lovers can rave about?

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.jedsjerky.com

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Green Light Beef Jerky - Jamaican Jerk

Green Light Beef Jerky is a new brand of jerky that's been out for a couple of years now, produced by Green Light Jerky Company, of Redwood City, CA.

The company claims that it's products uses no nitrites, no MSG, no thickening agents, and no food colorings. Their website mentions the use of ingredients from such reputable suppliers such as The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley and George Chiala Farms in Morgan Hill.

Green Light Beef Jerky is available in stores and sports venues throughout northern California, and appears to be marketed towards the 20 and 30-something year olds.

Ingredients

Beef, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey, water, garlic, onion, spices, habanero pepper.

The package further mentions "w/ allspice, habanero pepper, and thyme".

Taste

There is an abundance of flavors that presents itself upon first tasting a piece. I'm getting a clear sense of the thyme and soy sauce right away, along with the garlic, onion, and a sweetness, perhaps from the honey. After some chewing, I can get the natural meat flavors.

Considering this contains habanero pepper, just how hot is this? Not very hot at all. I do feel a "hotness" to this, but I'd rate it as mild-medium.

The natural meat flavors come out very well in this.

As for being a "Jamaican Jerk" style of jerky, I don't have enough experience with Jamaican style cuisine so I can't evaluate it as such. But I can tell you that this is a spicy variety, not so much that it's hot, but just a lot of spice flavorings.

In terms of saltiness, the saltiness is noticeable from the soy sauce, but I don't see each particular piece as being too salty. However, through several pieces that saltiness does build up, and I can feel a salt-burn on the tip of my tongue.

Overall, this has a great taste, and plenty of it. I really like the thyme in this. I'd say, however, that it's the soy sauce that dominates the flavor from start to finish, followed by the natural meat flavors, and the thyme. The rest of the taste is a complex variety of spices and a tinge of burn on the back of the tongue.

Meat Consistency

This appears to be slices of real meat, sliced thin, and in strips of about 5-6 inches in length.

This is a dry jerky, and very dry at that. For the most part it retains its flexibility if bent against the grain without breaking, though some pieces will break a little.

I found some pieces to be rather tough to tear apart, even with the grain. And then I found other pieces that tore apart with the grain very easily. Against the grain is similar, with some being very tough, and others being brittle enough that I could bite and tear off easily.

Chewing is similar, with some being rather tough to eat, and others being easy. But you'll want to suck on a piece for a while to enjoy the flavors anyways.

These strips are very lean, I don't really see any fat, found no gristle, but I did notice some pieces having some chewy bits of tendon or membrane.





Product Value

Green Light Jerky sells this Jamaican Jerk variety from its website at a price of $5.00 for a 2oz bag. That works out to a price of $2.50 per ounce, making this an expensive jerky.

For that price, I'd say that this offers a "so-so" value. It's still has enough value to it because it offers a unique taste, with its combination of thyme, Jamaican Jerk spices, and that slight tinge of burn. If you're a beef jerky lover, you'll definitely want to try this at least once, and in that sense it has some value to it.

Otherwise, for the high price, I'd expect a jerky that's easier to eat.

Rating

I'm giving this a "good" rating.

It's the unique taste combination of thyme, Jamaican Jerk spices, and habanero pepper, that really makes this beef jerky wake up my senses. Then the soy sauce, garlic, and natural meat flavors seem to take over and lasts throughout the chew. This complex abundance of flavors gives it a wonderful snackability that makes it hard for me to resist.

I just found the meat consistency to be too tough to give it the top-of-the-line five-star rating. Even while some of the pieces were easy to tear apart and chew, I found just as many that were tough. The easier-to-eat pieces was like beef jerky heaven, but the tough pieces detracts from my overall enjoyment.

Still, this is a jerky that all jerky afficionados ought to try, just to experience something different.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.greenlightjerky.com

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Buffalo Bills Beef Jerky - Premium Teriyaki

Buffalo Bills Beef Jerky is a brand that has been around since 1990, produced by a company called Choo Choo R Snacks, Inc., of Lebanon, PA.

The company was created by four independent snack food distributors that joined forces to offer a beef jerky product more superior than much of the chopped & formed jerky that was still around those days.

Since that time, the company has gone on to produce several lines of jerky, including their Western Cut, Country Cut, and this Premium line. They also offer meat sticks and candies.

This Premium line of jerky, which I've reviewed before in their Spicy and Hickory varieties, seems to offer a more meatier taste, in a dry and thick cut form.

Ingredients

Beef, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, water, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, liquid smoke, sodium nitrite.

Taste

Upon first putting a piece into my mouth, I get a quick sense of the teriyaki sauce and its light sweetness, followed quickly by the natural meat flavors. As the piece softens up in my mouth, and with some chewing, I can sense a light touch of garlic.

While the ingredients lists black pepper, I don't really taste any of it on the pieces themselves. However, I do get a slight peppery taste in the back of my mouth after eating several pieces.

The teriyaki taste, while very noticeable up front, doesn't provide a strong taste. It's a light teriyaki flavor. It lasts throughout the chew, but fades away enough that by the time I've swallowed, it's gone completely.

I don't find this to be salty at all, it's rather light on the salt.

I'd say the taste that dominates this jerky is the natural meat flavors, with a smoky aroma, and is pretty much what I taste all the way.

Overall, this jerky has a good taste, though not a strong teriyaki taste. It mostly emphasizes the natural meat flavors, with just enough teriyaki to give it some additional flavoring.

Meat Consistency

These pieces are cuts of real meat, sliced into medium to thick thickness, and in small pieces. Note that this jerky only comes in a small 1oz package and is not large enough to contain bigger pieces.

This is a dry jerky that still retains some flexibility. However, some of these pieces will break apart if bent with the grain. Being these pieces are small enough, I don't find it necessarily to tear apart into bite-sized chunks, they're already bite-sized. They are on the hard side if you were to chew immediately. I'd recommend sucking on a piece first, and just lightly biting it so as to release more flavor, and then chewing it.

I didn't find any chewy tendon, gristle, or membrane on these pieces. A couple pieces had some tiny bits of fat. Otherwise, these are very lean cuts of meat.

Overall, the meat consistency is good. You might it find somewhat tough if you prefer to chew immediately. But there's nothing with this jerky that will detract your attention from enjoying its flavors.





Product Value

Choo Choo R Snacks sells this Premium Teriyaki variety in a box of 12 packages, each in 1oz sizes, for a price of $19.99. That works out to $1.67 per ounce, making this an average priced buy.

I'd say that this offers a good value for general purpose snacking, being that it offers a great meaty taste, in good meat consistency, and is quite snackable on its own merits.

As a teriyaki variety, it's rather weak and I wouldn't consider it a good buy. If you love teriyaki flavor, you'll probably wonder if the factory was running out of teriyaki sauce by the time they produced this particular batch of meat.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Premium Teriyaki variety from Buffalo Bills provides a lot of natural meat flavors, with a smoky aroma, a light teriyaki flavor, and a good meat consistency, all of which makes this quite snackable.

But since I prefer jerky that really belts out its advertised flavor, I couldn't justify a higher rating. I'd like to get more teriyaki flavor from this. I also would like to get some additional flavor dimension, perhaps a tad more black pepper, or a tad more more garlic, or even ginger, just to give it a complexity.

Otherwise, it's great for general purpose meat snacking. If you love the taste of beef, you'll get a lot of great meaty taste from this, and you won't find any at all in terms of chewy tendon or gristle.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.choochoorsnacks.com

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Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky - Peppered

Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky is yet another entry into the foray of packaged foods where celebrities past their prime try to milk whatever name recognition they still have left. It's right up there with the Newman's Own brand salad dressings and Dick Van Patten's brand of dog food. Foxworthy also has a line of BBQ sauces.

Jeff Foxworthy doesn't make his own beef jerky, rather it only carries his name. It's actually a product of Monogram Food Solutions, LLC of Memphis, TN. They also own the Trails Best brand of beef jerky, and they also produce the NASCAR branded sausages and meats. Monogram got its start in 2004, when it purchased the King Cotton and Circle B brands of lunch meats from Sara Lee.

Monogram Food Solutions pays a licensing fee to Foxworthy, and it turns out that the comedian himself is an investor in this jerky product. Monogram makes this jerky at its meat processing plant in Chandler, MN.

The package also includes a statement from Foxworthy himself, claiming that this is the best jerky he has ever had, and that his name would not be on it if weren't the case. I certainly don't doubt him, presuming he doesn't eat much beef jerky.

Ingredients

Beef, water, brown sugar, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, hydrolized soy protein, dextrose, spices, soy sauce, natural smoke flavor, sodium erythorbate, flavorings, sodium nitrite.

Taste

There is a peppery aroma that I get immediately upon putting a piece into my mouth. I can kinda sense a tad bit of sweetness, and a significant amount of saltiness. With some chewing, I can get the soy sauce taste, which tastes kinda like the chinese style soy sauce, and then the natural beef flavors.

This has a good peppery flavor to it. It's not too strong, but enough to warrant the "Peppered" label on the package.

The saltiness is rather dominant in this. While I can taste the soy sauce back there, it's largely the salt that dominates the flavor of this jerky. If you have high blood pressure, you might want to consult your physician before eating this.

There's also a substantial amount of natural beef taste that comes out in this.

Overall, it has a decent taste, though quite salty. It continues to provide a combination of salt, pepper, and natural beef flavors all throughout the chew.

Meat Consistency

This is a chopped & formed jerky, served up in small to medium sized pieces, and in thick slices. Even though the package says that it's, "Made From Solid Slices of Beef Steak", that doesn't necessarily mean it remains in that state. All chopped & formed jerky started out as solid pieces of animal at one time.

This is a dry jerky, but does not retain much flexibility. As soon as I try to bend a piece, it snaps in two. It's easier to break a piece apart by bending it, rather than tearing a piece off. It's also on the chewy side. I think this is just fine for guys watching football, sitting around a campfire. But I don't see yuppie chicks trying to eat this stuff after working out at the gym.

The black pepper is embedded inside the pieces, being part of the chopped beef meal.

And while a lot of chopped & formed jerkies have bits of hard pieces, like bone or cartilage, I do not find anything like that here.

Overall, this has an "ok" meat consistency. Mainly, it's rather tough. To enjoy this, you'll have to let it sit in your mouth for several seconds to soften up.




Product Value

I paid $4.99 for this 4oz package at a Mitsuwa Market in San Diego, CA. That works out to a price of $1.25 per oz, making this an average priced buy.

I'd say that makes this an "ok" buy. For general purpose snacking, it's ok as long as you love lots of salt. For me, the saltiness wears me down and I don't find this very enjoyable after several pieces. It's also rather tough to eat.

As a peppered jerky, it's a good buy because there is a good amount of peppery taste in this, not a boat load of pepper, but enough to make itself known right away.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

This peppered variety of Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky gives out a good peppery flavor combined with a strong beef taste, in a chopped & formed meat consistency.

But while it does have a snackability, it's not a strong one. You might find this more snackable in the first few pieces. After that, the strong saltiness will tire you out. But if the saltiness doesn't get to you, the tough meat consistency will.

Lastly, there is also a lack of flavor complexity. For the most part, this is just salt and pepper on smoky meat. I'd like to get some other taste dimension to this, perhaps more sweetness, or more garlic, just so that my brain can have some fun disecting the flavors.

Having eaten this jerky, I think I understand why Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky never really caught on. If I were him I'd invest in a beef jerky product with a different company, and put some better jokes on the package.

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

• Amazon.com

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Buffalo Bills Beef Jerky Shots - Black Pepper

Buffalo Bills Beef Jerky is made in the USA by a company called Choo Choo R Snacks, Inc., based out of Lebanon, PA. The company uses only ingredients made in the USA, including beef from cattle born and raised here as well.

The company makes several different lines of beef jerky, both in whole muscle and chopped & formed, as well beef sticks and candies. They started out in 1990, and since then have grown to named by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 5,000 fastest growing companies in the United States.

These "Jerky Shots" is a chopped & formed style of jerky, cut into circles, which interestingly, other manufacturers are making as well. I'm not sure what the marketing value is with this; I don't necessarily see this as a kids' jerky, unless this is supposed to be some kind of meat cookie. My guess is that it's kinda like how some salami makers are making salami in heart shapes, so that you can now "give the gift of salami" for Valentine's Day.

Whatever it takes to sell meat I suppose.

Ingredients

Beef, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar, water, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, liquid smoke, sodium nitrite, sprayed with potassium sorbate to protect freshness.

Taste

There is a sweetness and smokiness that I can pick right away from the surface of these pieces. With some chewing, I can pick up some natural beef flavors, a saltiness, and finally the black pepper starts coming through.

For the most part, the taste that seems to dominate throughout the chew is pretty much what I just described above, a combination of a lot of flavors.

There's also a garlic taste that I can pick up as well.

As for that teriyaki sauce in the ingredients list, I can pick up a teriyaki taste in some of the circles, but in others it presents itself more like soy sauce. Either way, it's not a strong flavor, just enough to show up and make itself known.

Some of the pieces have chili pepper seeds on them, though it's not mentioned on the ingredients list. Either way, I'm not really picking up a chili taste, or a hot taste.

The natural beef flavors are not strong in this, but it's there. Notice I didn't say "natural meat flavors" but "natural beef flavors". That's because being a chopped & formed product, my guess is that there's more than just muscle in this, maybe some tendon, some fat, some blood vessels, some nose, some hooves. And in fact, what I taste isn't necessarily meat, but who knows what. I suppose that makes these jerky shots more like sausage, since it's ground up beef parts forced into a circular form. But in this case, dried into something like jerky.

Overall, these Jerky Shots have a good taste. They're packed with a lot of flavor that lasts throughout the chew, and offers a "beefy" taste however you want to define it.

Meat Consistency

Again, this is a chopped & formed jerky, and for the most part it's dry. Yet, it still retains a lot of flexibility.

Each piece measures about 2 inches in diameter, give or take a 1/4 inch, and they're cut thin for the most part, but some seem to be thicker than others.

The size of each circle is large enough that you can't put a whole one in your mouth, and must bite off about half. However, the circular shape makes it somewhat awkward to tear apart. I think it's because I'm having to tear off a width of about 2 inches, compared to a stick form of about 1 inch in width. If you consider that this jerky is somewhat tough to begin with, tearing requires some work.

I found it easier to fold a circle into a taco shape, and then bite off half.

Chewing is kinda tough also, but it breaks apart quickly due the chopped consistency.

I also found some tiny hard pieces in this, it's hard to say what all it is, perhaps bits of bone, hoof, horn, or maybe even a cow bell. Either way, it's pretty consistent with chopped jerky.





Product Value

Choo Choo R Snacks, Inc. sell these Jerky Shots in a 14oz package, for a price of $14.99. That works out to a price of $1.07 per ounce, putting this one the border between average and cheap.

The package claims to include approximately 80 circles. And I actually counted all the circles in my bag, and came up with only 79.

For general purpose jerky eating, I'd have to say that this offers a great value. Considering the low price, you're getting a jerky that's packed with a lot of flavor, and more importantly, has excellent snackability, even despite being tough to eat. I found myself wanting to dig into the bag for more.

As a black pepper variety, I'd say it provides a good value. There's enough of it there that I can taste it, and after eating several pieces I can feel the mild black pepper burn in the back of my mouth. But it's only a good value because the price is low.

Rating

I'm giving this an average rating.

I found these Jerky Shots to offer some great flavor that lasts throughout the chew with a complexity of tastes in the teriyaki, black pepper, garlic, salt, and smoky "beef" flavor. While this jerky is going to give your jaws a little bit of a work out, it has an irresistible snackability.

But what kept it from getting a higher rating is that it doesn't quite have enough black pepper for my liking, particularly since it's advertised as a black peppered variety. Also, it's still rather tough to tear apart and chew. And then the bits of hard stuff that I kept finding here and there. Finding bits of hard stuff in a chopped jerky is pretty normal, but then that just puts this on par with average.

Had it done a better job of living up to its advertised flavor, then I could give this a higher rating based on its complexity of other flavors.

The circle concept is a fun idea, but unless they can make the circles small enough eat whole, or if they made this jerky easier to tear apart, it doesn't really add much value to this.

But let's be clear on something, this jerky isn't meant to be a gourmet jerky, even though I put it through the same battery of analysis as I would another jerky. This is purely for general purpose snacking, in the same way as you might reach into a bag of potato chips. This is actually a great jerky for snacking.

And speaking of chips, wouldn't it be cool if someone came up with "jerky dip" just like with potato chip dip?

Rating: Average

Buy this online:

• http://www.choochoorsnacks.com

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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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Buffalo Bills Beef Jerky - Premium Spicy

Buffalo Bills Beef Jerky is a brand that has been around since 1990, produced by a company called Choo Choo R Snacks, Inc., based in Lebanon, PA.

In addition to beef jerky, they also make beef sticks and candies. The company claims to use 100% all American-made ingredients including meat from American born and raised cattle.

The company came into being when four independent snack food distributors decided to join forces and get into the beef jerky business. Their first product was their Premium Hickory Smoked, which I reviewed earlier. They also make a "Western Cut" and a "Country Cut" line of jerky, which represents the thin dry jerky, and the soft and tender jerky, respectively.

Ingredients

Beef, sugar, water, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, garlic powder, red pepper, black pepper, cayenne chili, liquid smoke, sodium nitrite.

Taste

There is a good amount of sweetness that comes on quickly upon a putting a piece into my mouth, which is followed by a strong meat flavor. The spicy bite from the red pepper also makes itself known right away.

The sweetness is something I find stronger in some pieces than others, but overall I can't say that this is a sweet flavored jerky, and I don't think it's sweet enough to advertise it as such. But, the sweetness is definitely there.

However, the spiciness is more defined. After a few pieces, I'm feeling a nice, yet maybe quaint, burn on the tongue. I'd rate this as medium. Others might see this as medium-hot. There's enough pieces of red chili pepper on this jerky that I can taste it's unique flavors.

The natural meat flavors are very evident in this, and come through without even chewing. I can also pick up a little bit of the smokiness.

In terms of the other ingredients, I don't really see this as being salty, even though I can detect some of it. The soy sauce is not really that detectable either, nor is the black pepper, the garlic or the cayenne.

For the most part, this jerky offers a good taste, dominated by a sweetness that transitions into a strong natural meat flavor, and a spicy taste of red chili pepper. But aside from that, I'm not really tasting much else. I would like to taste one other dimension to this, maybe more garlic, more cayenne, more soy sauce...

Meat Consistency

These are cut from solid pieces of meat, sliced into medium to thick thickness, and in small to average sized pieces. Note that this variety comes in a small 1oz package, and it's not possible to include larger pieces. I'm eating two of these 1oz packages for review.

This is a dry jerky that has some flexibility to it. Some effort is required in tearing apart a piece, but not too bad if you tear with the grain. Chewing also requires some effort. You'll want to let a piece soften up in your mouth anyways to enjoy the flavors.

I didn't find any pieces with fat, tendon, gristle, or anything else chewy.

Overall, the meat consistency is good, providing a good beef jerky enjoyment, a little on the tough side, but not too bad.





Product Value

Choo Choo R Snacks sells this Premium Spicy variety in a box of 12 packages, each in 1oz sizes, for a price of $19.99. That works out to $1.67 per ounce, making this an average priced buy.

I'd say that makes this a good value, with it's good taste and good meat consistency. As a spicy variety, it holds its value pretty well too.

Rating

I'm giving this good rating.

This Premium Spicy variety from Buffalo Bills offers a great smoky meat flavor, and does a good job of living up to its spicy billing, along with a moderate sweetness that I found enjoyable.

But aside from that, I also found it to be just a tad on the bland side in terms of seasonings. I think Buffalo Bills could add an extra taste dimension without detracting from the natural meat flavor. And while the meat consistency is good, it's not great. It's a tad tough, requiring some effort to tear apart and chew.

But for general purpose jerky eating, it's great. If you love the dry variety, you'll love this, being thicker than most dry jerkies, and retaining some great meat flavor. It's not even that salty, either. I could be happy eating more of this stuff.

Rating: Good

Buy this online:

• http://www.choochoorsnacks.com

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