Crazy Mike's Jerky - Ass Flamin' 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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Dried and True Beef Jerky - Spicy Teriyaki

Dried and True is a brand that I covered a couple of years ago with their Sriracha Lima and Korean BBQ varieties. Recently, they sent me packages of their Original, Chile Limon, and Spicy Teriyaki.

Founded in Venice CA in 2012, by a local named Matt Lauster, Dried and True Beef Jerky sought to change to people's taste buds and perception of what beef jerky could taste like. After refining his product by selling at local farmer's markets and the LA food festival scene, Matt claims that so many customers have proclaimed, "This is the best jerky I've ever eaten!". He uses exclusively from California raised beef without chemical preservatives, nitrates/nitrites, MSG or high fructose corn syrup.

This "Spicy Teriyaki" variety is described by the company as a "one-two combo of sweet and heat", claiming to be made with pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, but "kicked up with ginger and fresh jalapeños for just a little bite". It's a brisket cut and sliced against the grain to yield a tender chew and texture.

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Dried and True Beef Jerky - Original

Dried and True is a brand that I covered a couple of years ago with their Sriracha Lima and Korean BBQ varieties. Recently, they sent me packages of their Original, Chile Limon, and Spicy Teriyaki.

Founded in Venice CA in 2012, by a local named Matt Lauster, Dried and True Beef Jerky sought to change to people's taste buds and perception of what beef jerky could taste like. After refining his product by selling at local farmer's markets and the LA food festival scene, Matt claims that so many customers have proclaimed, "This is the best jerky I've ever eaten!". He uses exclusively from California raised beef without chemical preservatives, nitrates/nitrites, MSG or high fructose corn syrup.

This Original variety is made with organic Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and brown sugar, and is meant to be their interpretation of classic jerky. Matt claims it's made from classic top round cut of beef and gives off a smoky flavor.

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Van Cleave Dry Goods - Brisket Nuggets

Van Cleave Dry Goods is a new brand of jerky having launched earlier in 2014. The brand was started by Adam Van Cleave, a former Michigan-based attorney.

Adam had been making his own home jerky and sharing it with friends. As demand grew, he found himself churning out 50 pounds of jerky each week, and spending too much time doing it. After a move to Texas, Adam launched his new jerky business.

Van Cleave Dry Goods offers two types of jerky, these "Brisket Nuggets", and "Steak Strips". We reviewed the Steak Strips last December. These "Brisket Nuggets" are made from 100% Angus beef brisket, cut into bite sized pieces, and marinated for 12 hours. They're offered in the same four flavors as the Steak Strips.

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Smokehouse Jerky Co - Haunting Heat

Smokehouse Jerky Co. is a brand of Tender Heifer Snack Co., based out of Beaumont, CA. It was started in 2008, and is currently run by a husband and wife team, Franco Fonseca and Patti Fonseca.

The company takes pride in its beef brisket-based jerky, using meat sourced from California. They add no MSG and no preservatives, and focus on small batches at a time.

This "Haunting Heat" variety is made with Ghost Pepper chiles, and is described by Smokehouse Jerky Co as, "This is made with real “Ghost Pepper”, fantastic taste but it’s not for the faint of heart. "It’s the hottest we make."

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V-Day Dude Food

Give him what he really wants this Valentines Day....

Dude Food!

Be it Pap's Foods top rated savory beef jerky flavors, or their flavorful and hardy beef sticks, you can find manly gift ideas for that beef jerky lover in your life.

Pap's has put together a Valentines day combo and has a special promotion on their assorted beef sticks box.

Find it here: https://papsbeefsticks.com/shop/

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Dusty's Snack Sticks

Dusty's Snack Sticks is a brand owned by R&K Snacks out of Oklahoma City, OK. R&K Snacks is a jerky distributor that's been around for 23 years now, and is one of the largest beef jerky distributors in the State of Oklahoma, representing 24 different brands.

Dusty's Snack Sticks is the house brand of R&K Snacks. Dusty's is made using R&K's own original recipes in a USDA inspected facility. It's offered in four flavors, Original, Habanero, Peppered, and Bacon.

These snack sticks are distributed across the USA, presumably with heavier concentration in the Oklahoma area, and are available in convenience stores and can be purchased online.

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Jim's Jarhead Jerky - New Recipe

Jim's Jarhead Jerky is the creation of Jim Ewen, a retired Marine, based out of Medford, NJ.

The brand started out in 2009 when Jim started shipping batches of homemade jerky to his son stationed in Iraq. His son shared it with others, and soon Jim found himself shipping out hundreds of pounds of jerky regularly to both Iraq and Afghanistan. After his son returned home, Jim continued the success by contracting with a manufacturer, and selling his famous jerky to stores.

We had reviewed Jim's Jarhead Jerky in August 2013 (see here), and then recently the company sent me another package, but without any explanation. I compared ingredients lists, and noted that it's different from before. So, I opted to publish another review as a new recipe.

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Van Cleave Dry Goods - Steak Strips

Van Cleave Dry Goods is a new brand of jerky having launched earlier in 2014. The brand was started by Adam Van Cleave, a former Michigan-based attorney.

Adam had been making his own home jerky and sharing it with friends. As demand grew, he found himself churning out 50 pounds of jerky each week, and spending too much time doing it. After a move to Texas, Adam launched his new jerky business.

Van Cleave Dry Goods offers two types of jerky, "Steak Strips", and "Nuggets". Each type comes in four flavors. Only one of their flavors, "G-Dub" is made with MSG, because according to Adam, it was his first flavor, and is the one that all his friends loved. Another flavor, "T-Bucket" is the only one that is real-wood smoked.

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Dusty's Real Beef Jerky - Hand Trimmed

Dusty's Real Beef Jerky is a brand owned by R&K Snacks out of Oklahoma City, OK. R&K Snacks is a jerky distributor that's been around for 23 years now, and is one of the largest beef jerky distributors in the State of Oklahoma, representing 24 different brands.

Dusty's Real Beef Jerky is the house brand of R&K Snacks. Dusty's is made using R&K's own original recipes in a USDA inspected facility. It's offered in five flavors and comes in four styles, Hand Trimmed, Ripple Cut, Steak Chunk, and Jerky Strips.

The Hand Trimmed jerky reviewed here is a slab-style, but is not specifically marked as "Hand Trimmed". I only have three of the five flavors, Original, Hickory, and Hot.

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