Crazy Horse Jerky - Meat Sticks

New from Crazy Horse Jerky is this line of Meat Sticks. They come in a variety of flavors, including this Original, but also Hot and Cheese & Meat.

Crazy Horse Jerky was founded by Dave Wenrich and Cara Wenrich in Hellam, PA. They started making jerky using an old family recipe that Dave got from his father, and eventually launched this business from it. Wenrich says he comes from a long line of farmers in Berks County, PA where they smoked their own meat using maple, oak, and fruit woods. He continues the same process today, using the same smoking processes, but with USDA bottom round.

This Original variety of their Meat Sticks is described as having, "a nice smokey flavor and a lite snap", going on to say that they're gluten free.

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Joe's Wicked Good Jerky - Regular Joe

Joe's Wicked Good Beef Jerky is a brand owned by Joe's Wicked Good Jerky Corporation, based out of Redding, CA. It was started by the husband and wife duo of Joe Nixt and Traci Nixt, who launched the brand in October 2014.

At the time, Joe had been making his own jerky for over 20 years. He's share it with friends and co-workers from his contracting business. When Traci lost her secretarial position, the couple decided to make a go at running a jerky company. I have all four of the existing flavors, starting with this "Regular Joe".

The company describes it as, "This is no regular jerky", and claiming that it has, "a ton of flavor without the spice".

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Two Brothers Jerky - Sweet Ginger Teriyaki

We reviewed Two Brothers Jerky a couple years ago, but they're back with a new recipe.

The brand is the collaborative effort of two brothers separated at birth, Paul Brock and Eddie Wales. After growing up never knowing about the other, they one discovered they each had a brother. After they reunited, they took a trip out to a lake and realized they both loved beef jerky, and both had this crazy entrepreneurial spirit. Thus, Two Brothers Jerky was born. Now based out of both Durham, NC and Columbia, SC, Two Brothers Jerky features North Carolina grass fed, grass-finished beef, and made with no nitrates.

This "Sweet Ginger Teriyaki" is described as, "sweet and tangy", and claims to have, "the whole family clamoring for more", being made with fresh ginger as the star ingredient, along with brown sugar and soy.

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Crazy Horse Jerky - Chicken Jerky

The newest offering from Crazy Horse Jerky is this Chicken Jerky, available in both Original and Cajun flavors.

Chicken Jerky seems to be the new Turkey Jerky these days as more and more brands are adding it to their product line up. But where Turkey Jerky was originally introduced as the healthier alternative to beef, Chicken Jerky seems to have the flavor satisfaction that turkey never had.

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Biltong USA - Spicy Garlic Droëwors

Biltong USA was among the earliest brands of American-made biltong, dating back to 1996. South African immigrants, Dawid Joubert and Salome Joubert founded the company in Stallings, NC based on the same family recipe that dated back into the 1600s. Over the years, their biltong products helped launched a new meat snack category in the States.

In January 2018, Biltong USA was acquired by a rival biltong brand, Stryve Foods. However, Biltong USA continues on under its own brand, and is still manufactured at its original USDA inspected facility in Stallings.

This Spicy Garlic Droëwors, according to the company, come from their large, fresh pieces of solid beef muscle, and is then ground coarse, seasoned, stuffed into lamb casing, and finally cured. Droëwors is a South African-style meat stick. These are the company's normal sized stick, they also make a thicker variety.

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Gary West Meats - 50/50 Steak Strips

Gary West Meats recently released a new variety of beef jerky dubbed, "50/50" which is a reference to using 50% less sugar and salt from their standard recipe. We reviewed Gary West Meats several years ago, see their reviews here.

Gary West Meats is a brand of smoked meats that has been in business since 1966, operated by a company of the same name, based in Jacksonville, OR. It's a second generation-run family business first started by, none other than, Gary West. The company's meat products goes back further to Gary's grandfather Fred West, who taught the old family recipes to Gary. In 2004, West sold the business to his daughter and son-in-law. In addition to jerky, the company also makes smoked hams, turkeys, and sausages.

This 50/50 line is targeted to the health conscious and active lifestyle demographic, perhaps moving it closer to the Keto and low carb dieters. The package is also marked as, "Gluten Free".

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Walt's Beef Jerky

Walt's Beef Jerky is the creation of Walter Barber, a brand he launched in 2007, based out of Nutley, NJ. Barber is a professional butcher with over 40 years experience. He had long been making jerky as a hobby using his own marinades and seasoning blends.

Walt specializes in thin sliced jerky, smoked over real wood. He built his own smokers and actually holds a patent on his unique smoking process. Today, he has over 30 flavors of beef jerky and beef sticks.

The company sent me 5 of their flavors, but each package is small, maybe only an ounce in weight. Thus, instead of writing a separate review of each, I opted to bundle them together in one review.

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Smoke Shack Jerky - Dojo Mojo

Smoke Shack Jerky describes itself as a "small Upstate NY kitchen" that launched in 2017 by Jonathan Brown of Rochester, NY. Their unique angle is smoking jerky over real wood, and using thicker cuts of meat for a beefier chew. They don't use any smoke flavoring, and no preservatives. The company also has a line of smoked nuts.

Brown also chose to develop jerky recipes based on cultures found around the world as opposed to the more common profiles found with mass-produced brands.

This Dojo Mojo is described by the company as an, "Asian BBQ with tangy, smoky flavor and a bit of sweetness", going on to say that it's mild in spice.

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Grill Your Ass Off Jerky - Sweet and Spicy

Grill Your Ass Off is a line of jerky and seasonings that launched in 2016 by Army Veterans, Jason Murff, based out of Hutto, TX. Murff had actually started with a line of seasonings and just now expanded into jerky.

The idea for his brand stems back into his Army days when he developed seasonings for his brothers in arms. After the service, he went into college to sharpen his business skills and went on to launch his new brand. Murff donates a portion of his proceeds to charities that benefit military and first responders.

This Sweet and Spicy jerky is described by Murff as a, "combination of soy and sugar with a surprising spice", going on to say that it's for, "for lovers of sweet meat".

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Smoke Shack Jerky - Smokin Maple

Smoke Shack Jerky describes itself as a "small Upstate NY kitchen" that launched in 2017 by Jonathan Brown of Rochester, NY. Their unique angle is smoking jerky over real wood, and using thicker cuts of meat for a beefier chew. They don't use any smoke flavoring, and no preservatives. The company also has a line of smoked nuts.

Brown also chose to develop jerky recipes based on cultures found around the world as opposed to the more common profiles found with mass-produced brands.

This Smokin Maple is described by the company as, "Maple meets meat, smoky meets sweet", going on to say that it's mild in spice.

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