Ajay's Montana Bananas - Original Sweet Teriyaki

Last month I did a review of "Ajay's Montana Banana's - Sweet Teriyaki". But today's review is of their "Original Sweet Teriyaki". This one uses a thicker cut of meat. Ajay's has two lines of jerky, one that uses this traditional thicker cut, and the other uses a slab-style thin cut. The traditional thicker cut all use the word, "Original" in their variety names.

Without having yet tasted this Original Sweet Teriyaki variety, it's my understanding it uses the same teriyaki recipe as the one I reviewed earlier. It's just different meat.

Ajay's Montana Bananas is a brand that's mostly sold through the BevMo! chain of liquor stores, a chain found throughout California and Arizona. It's also sold through several tool trucks like Matco and Snap-On. Otherwise, you can buy it directly from Ajay's website, except you'll have to buy 13 packages at a time. Hopefully, this review will help you decide.

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Mr. Z Beef Jerky - Peppered

The last in my series on Mr. Z Beef Jerky (or at least until they come out with another flavor), is this Peppered variety. See my earlier reviews on their Original, Teriyaki, and Sweet & Hot varieties.

The Mr. Z brand is owned by International Food Company, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The jerky is manufactured completely in Brazil, and distributed through IFC's USA-based affiliate, International Food Company, USA, LLC. It's been around since 1998, but it didn't show up on US store shelves until around January 2008.

It's a jerky that seems to thrive in discount stores like Dollar Tree, and through its online store at Amazon.com. This particular review sample was sent to me by the folks at Mr. Z, and must have come right off the assembly line, as it has a "Best Before" date of Apr 24 2010. However I think the packages at Dollar Tree are much older, possibly close to their expiration date. In my review of their Original variety, which I purchased from Dollar Tree, I noted a stark difference to the Teriyaki and Sweet & Hot varieties that Mr. Z sent me directly.

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Jim Beam Beef Jerky - Cracked Pepper

The third in our series of Jim Beam Beef Jerky is this Cracked Pepper variety. Read my earlier reviews of their Original, and Barbecue varieties.

The idea of combining Jim Beam whiskey into beef jerky is perhaps a study of successful brand extension, by taking a well loved brand such as Jim Beam, and crossing it over to a well loved product like beef jerky. It was enough to win Thanasi Foods, LLC, the company behind this effort, awards from CSP Magazine as the best new convenience store product in 2005. Though I tend to think the marketing success of Jim Beam jerky has more to do with indulging the inner-alcoholic in each of us, and Thanasi's skillful package artwork.

In my review of Jim Beam's Barbecue variety, I noted the jerky was manufactured by Jerky Snack Brands. However this package of Cracked Pepper was made by Monogram Meat Snacks, which appears to be the current processor moving forward. While I'm sure the flavor recipe is still the same, a different meat processor always seems to have a profound effect on the meat consistency and overall flavor.

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Jawbone Beef Jerky - Peppered

Having been around since the 1950s, the little Jawbone Canyon Store serves off-roaders, bikers, hikers, and residents of the upper Mojave Desert of California. Scott Spencer, who bought the store in 1998, had sold various brands of beef jerky but decided he wanted to offer something unique that carried the brand of his general store.

This line of Jawbone Beef Jerky is what resulted, comprising of four varieties, the Original, which I reviewed earlier, this Peppered, along with a Hot, and Teriyaki. It's manufactured by KMB Foods of Arcadia, CA, the makers of Cactus Jacks Beef Jerky. Spencer says he chose KMB because they use fresh-never-frozen beef.

In my review of the Original variety, I said the meat appeared to be the same as that used in the Buffalo Bills Dead Meat, and the Oh Boy! Oberto Thick Cuts, both of which also use meat from KMB Foods.

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Rives Quality Meats Beef Jerky - Chicago Style

Rives Quality Meats is a old-fashioned style meat market in the small town of Rives Junction, MI. It was started back in 1973 by Tom Hosler, serving the local hunters and farmers around the area by turning their game and livestock into steaks, chops, burger, and jerky.

Today, they still offer the same service, but have extended themselves into a grocery store and delicatessen, and just last year entered the digital age by launching a website.

Beef jerky was one of the first products they offered, and continues to be one of their most popular. See my previous review of their Regular variety. This Chicago Style variety is described by RQM as "A combination of sweet smoke and extreme spices with a splash of Cheyenne to create that hot, bold flavor you crave."

Did they mean to say, "Cayenne"?

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Stubb's Beef Brisket Strips - Spicy Bar-B-Q

Stubb's is a brand of barbecue mostly known as a restaurant in Austin, TX, and then as a line of sauces. It's actual name is "Stubb's Legendary Kitchen", named after C.B. Stubblefield, who built a reputation as a cook in the Army. Texas Monthly has a nice write up on the guy.

This jerky represents a partnership between Thanasi Foods, LLC, who makes snack foods, and One World Foods, Inc., the company that owns the Stubb's brand. It launched in September 2008, and includes two varieties, this Spicy Bar-B-Q, and the Texas Teriyaki.

Thanasi Foods specializes in extending popular brands into snack foods. They also do Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky, Jim Beam Beef Jerky, and Vlasic Pickles Sunflower Seeds.

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Papa Dan's Beef Jerky - Carne Asada

Papa Dan's is a brand of Batistelli Foods, based in Fullerton, CA. The company has been around since 1997, specializing in its own brand of jerky, but also selling a wide varieties of foods and condiments from other brands.

I know little of the company, gathering only what I was able to find online. They offer a wide range of jerky varieties, even branching off into ahi tuna jerky and turkey jerky.

Carne asada is a very general term describing slices of beef, usually seasoned in spices and often marinated in citrus, and then grilled. It's tossed into tacos, or burritos, salads, or just topped on rice and doused with pepper sauce. Flavors and recipes for carne asada are as varied as beef jerky, so there really isn't any kind of specific flavor.

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White Powder On Beef Jerky

I'm seeing a number of people asking about white powder, or white residue, collecting on their beef jerky. I've experienced this as well, and am not totally sure what it is. But I thought I'd start this thread and see if folks out there have answers.

My best answer is that most of this stuff is salt.

I've noticed with vacuumed sealed packages of jerky, the vacuum suction causes oils inside the meat to rise to the surface, giving the meat a shiny wet appearance. When the the seal is broken, the oils sink back into the meat, leaving behind salt deposits, which appear as a white powder, or residue. This stuff doesn't rub off, or scrape off, and doesn't seem to change the flavor of the jerky.

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Ajay's Montana Bananas - Original Extra Hot

Continuing in this series on Ajay's Montana Bananas is this Original Extra Hot variety. This is from their "Traditional Thicker Cut" line, which also includes Original Peppered and Original Sweet Teriyaki. They also offer a "Slab Style Thin Cut" line which include the same three varieties in a different meat consistency.

This brand launched back in 1979 when Ajay Avery, a singer-songwriter in a country rock band, discovered a very tasty homemade beef jerky at a butchershop in Missoula, MT. He loved it so much that he bought the recipe and decided to shift his career focus to that of a jerky marketer.

But that hasn't stopped him from writing and recording music. He actually released an album several years ago called, "Life Smarts at 40", under the artist name "Ajay and the Montana Banana Bunch", released on "Smokehouse Records".

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Frank's Redhot Steak Strips - Chile 'n Lime

Frank's Redhot Steak Strips is a product of Boulder, CO-based Thanasi Foods, LLC, under a license from French's Foods. They're marinated with the Chile 'n Lime version of Frank's Redhot sauce. Read my previous review of Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky.

The marriage between Frank's Redhot sauce and beef jerky originally came in March 2007, when Thanasi Foods launched the original variety of Frank's Redhot Beef Jerky. A year later, they introduced this Chile 'n Lime variety in a "steak strip" form. They also offer these two flavors in meat sticks.

In October 2008, Thanasi won an award from Convenience Store News, a print magazine representing the industry, for this Chile 'n Lime variety as the "Best New Salty Snack" for 2008. Thanasi won comparable awards in 2006 and 2007 from CSP Magazine, another convenience store publication, for its Jim Beam Beef Jerky.

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