Country Archer Jerky - Sriracha

Country Archer Jerky is a well known brand in the meat snack industry, going back to 1977 when it became the private labeler for hundreds of brands over the decades. Now based in San Bernardino, CA, the company is leveraging its own brand and pushing its own line of jerky into stores across the country.

As the jerky market has migrated towards preservative-free, natural ingredients, so has Country Archer. The company claims it's jerky is handcrafted, made in small batches, using all natural ingredients.

This Sriracha flavor is described as a being, "infused what that very same one-of-a-kind Sriracha magic", going on to say that the famous Thai pepper sauce has become a taste sensation in the condiment world.

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Country Archer Jerky - Sweet Jalapeno

Country Archer Jerky is a well known brand in the meat snack industry, going back to 1977 when it became the private labeler for hundreds of brands over the decades. Now based in San Bernardino, CA, the company is leveraging its own brand and pushing its own line of jerky into stores across the country.

As the jerky market has migrated towards preservative-free, natural ingredients, so has Country Archer. The company claims it's jerky is handcrafted, made in small batches, using all natural ingredients.

This Sweet Jalapeno flavor is described as a "sweet and spicy" variety, being sweet, "but not enough to make you sing show tunes", while being spicy enough, "but not making you feel like you lost a bet".

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Dave's Meat & Nuts - Classic Smoked Dry Beef Jerky

Dave's Meat & Nuts is a brand that launched in January 2015 after raising funds on Kickstarter last November. We published a review back then, but withheld ratings until the company went live.

The company is the brainchild of Dave Gadlin, who had spent a great deal of time working in New York City with some of the country's best chefs and restauranteurs. He took his expertise out to Napa, CA to focus on his two biggest snack food passions, jerky and peanuts. Dave claims his jerky to be smoked in a real smokehouse.

This "Classic Smoked Dry" beef jerky is compared by Dave himself to other great classics like The Beatles, Julia Child, a '57 Chevy, and Neil Armstrong.

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Country Archer Jerky - Teriyaki

Country Archer Jerky is a well known brand in the meat snack industry, going back to 1977 when it became the private labeler for hundreds of brands over the decades. Now based in San Bernardino, CA, the company is leveraging its own brand and pushing its own line of jerky into stores across the country.

As the jerky market has migrated towards preservative-free, natural ingredients, so has Country Archer. The company claims it's jerky is handcrafted, made in small batches, using all natural ingredients.

This Teriyaki flavor is simply described as having a teriyaki marinade so authentic, "that you'll think it was made by kawaii robots in Japan".

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People's Choice Beef Jerky - Carne Seca Limon

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

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

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

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Simply Snackin - Gourmet Meat Snacks

Simply Snackin is a line of gourmet meat snacks produced by Silver Creek Specialty Meats based out of Oshkosh, WI. The brand has been around for several years and is produced at the company's own USDA inspected facility.

Silver Creek Specialty Meats was established in 1989 when Dr. William Kramlich and his wife Dorothy purchased the meat division of R-Line Foods, Inc. a division of JM Smucker Co. located in Ripon, Wisconsin. Since then, the company has gone on to make a wide variety of sausages, jerky, and meat snacks.

Simply Snackin is evolved from the old Native American "pemmican", which is a mixture of dried meat and fruit. The line includes beef, chicken, and venison variety, and combines together cranberries, blueberries, mangoes, apples, and even black bean salsa. They're all gluten-free, preservative-free, with no fillers, artificial ingredients, or MSG. We have 4 of their 9 varieties for review below.

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Crazy Mike's Jerky - Hot

Crazy Mike's Beef Jerky is a brand started in 2013 by Mike Merwin, a retired US Navy veteran, based out of Altamount, NY.

Mike, who's known by his friends as "Crazy Mike", had been making jerky himself since 1994 when a friend bought him a dehydrator on a BOGO deal after watching a late night infomercial. Mike had been making homebrew and winning chili cook-offs at the time, so making jerky was right up his alley.

Crazy Mike's Beef Jerky is made from USDA Choice Beef, Eye Round, hickory smoked, and then slow cooked. It currently sells online from its website, as well as in one of Mike's friend's bars.

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Alien Fresh Jerky - Honey Chipotle

This Honey Chipotle Beef Jerky is one of the newest flavors from Alien Fresh Jerky, having rolled out last March. It's described as having, "an extraordinary fiery kick to it, which creeps up", going on to explain the subtle sweetness masks the heat, making you think it's not that hot.

Over the years, we've reviewed other flavors from Alien Fresh Jerky. The company has built a successful brand on the concept that superior beings from outer space can make superior jerky. Alien Fresh is a local favorite among Southern Californians who make the drive to and from Las Vegas. You can't help but to stop at their store in Baker, and peruse the humorous alien statues and decorations, along with one of the largest selections of hot sauces.

The success of Alien Fresh Jerky is now extending itself to the "UFO Hotel" currently planned for the tiny town of Baker.

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Blank and Sons - Texas Heat Jerky

Blank and Sons is a new brand of beef jerky that started up just over a year ago, based out of Nacogdoches, TX. It's run by Damon Blank and his wife Tammy, along with their sons Danton, Dalton, and Dagon. The family had been in the restaurant business from 1988 to 2002. They had wanted to remain in the food industry and opted to launch a jerky business.

Blank and Sons is themed after the State of Texas, and the flavors they offer are paired with various flags used throughout the Lone Star State's history. They claim their jerky is hand made in small batches, but is bold and big as their Texas-sized pride.

This "Texas Heat Jerky" is marketed by the company as putting the hot Texas sun into each bag of jerky, offering the, "perfect amount of pepper and spices".

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Clean-N-Jerky - Original

Clean-N-Jerky is a new brand of beef jerky that launched just a year ago. It was started by Mischelle Marro, a Crossfit enthusiast, based out of Colorado Springs, CO.

When one day she was diagnosed with cancer, she changed to a paleo diet of natural ingredients. A friend of hers who marketed grass-fed beef gave her the inspiration to create her own beef jerky. Today, Clean-N-Jerky uses beef from free-range cattle that feeds on Maytag grass on the foothills of the Sangre De Cristo range in Colorado. It remains gluten-free and contains no preservatives.

Clean-N-Jerky is available in two flavors as of this writing, Original and Pepper. It can purchased from a variety of fitness and healthfood stores around Colorado, and through its website.

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