Lynn's Homemade Bloody Mary Jerky

Hailing out of Hayward WI is Lynn’s Custom Meats and their soon-to-be-world-famous Homemade Bloody Mary Jerky. This butcher shop jerky is an amazing treat the delivers on both sides of the Jerky equation. The meat quality and the spice mixture make this a truly special treat. Sold in the butcher shop Lynn’s jerky is bagged when you order it and it is placed in a simple zip-lock bag, weighed and labeled while you wait. The pieces of beef are large thick cuts that require tearing to get the meat down to a good eating size. The beef dry to the touch and has a visibly apparent rub on the surface. I found the meat would tear very nicely into 3/8 strips which were perfect to enjoy.

When the Jerky hits your mouth you are immediately are required to chew as the meat is dry on the surface but as you begin to chew this Jerky soars in your mouth as the complex flavors of the Bloody Mary spice unleashes a cacophony of flavors. At first you will notice the black pepper and garlic and then the celery salt lights up your mouth quickly followed by an explosion of Old Bay seasoning. Basically your mouth has a beef-based crab boil going on and the heat from the Old Bay continues to come on stronger as you chew. Once you rehydrate the meat in your mouth you will find a high-quality cut of beef that breaks down nicely releasing its rich beef flavor and leaves you wanting just a little more. The heat in this Jerky makes it ideally suited for small quantity consumption because your mouth will be on fire for 5-10 minutes after you finish your last piece.

This handcrafted Jerky comes from Lynn Melton who is the proprietor of Lynn’s Custom Meats. She got her start in the meat business as a deli manager for 13 years. Leveraging that experience into catering services and then finally opening the doors to Lynn’s Custom Meats in 2007. This is a family business with Lynn’s children and friend’s all pitching in to make this wonderful Jerky. Unfortunately, if you want to get your hands on some of Lynn’s Jerky you’ll need to go visit her in Wisconsin.

This Jerky scores a 5-Flavor and 5-Chew. In my opinion this is how jerky should be made. The Old Bay gives you 4-Heat and most likely a 4-Salt score. Since this is butcher shop Jerky the nutritional facts are left to your imagination. This Jerky is a great value and scores 4-Value points at $1.37 per oz (May 2015). Overall this Jerky is a 4-Rating Jerky and is the best Jerky we’ve tasted so far this year. If you are in or near Hayward go visit Lynn and tell her we said hello! http://www.lynnscustommeats.com

 

 

Lynn's Homemade Bloody Mary Jerky

Pacific Gold Garlic & Crushed Black Pepper (Oberto)

As mentioned previously, Oberto and Jack Links produce an estimated 70% of the Jerky consumed in the US. My last post featured Jack Links so to give equal time to the other big brand today we will check out the Pacific Gold Garlic & Crushed Black Pepper by Oberto. We bought this massive bag o’ Jerky at the Costco when we were packing for a weekend trip to the Stage Coach music festival in Indio CA.

When you crack open this 8 oz bag you realize this is about 24 oz of steak you will be re-hydrating in your stomach so don’t plan on eating it all by yourself in one sitting. Add to the fact that you likely bought two bags of this stuff at Costco and you’ve got a lot of meat to eat.

One of the knocks of the big production Jerky companies is their use of non-USA meat. The bag tells us the meat we are about to enjoy might be from one or all of the following locations the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Uruguay. This likely leads to the 5-Value rating because the 2 package bundle with 16 oz of meat total at $15.99 (Mar 2015) brings this in at only $1.00 an ounce which is perfect for a big group that is headed to a 3-day country music festival.

When you open the bag you will find multiple large pieces of top round that will need to be torn apart for eating. The texture of the meat is slightly tacky to the touch and the consistency of the meat ranges from mildly tender to almost un-chewable. I say ‘almost’ because if you give it some time even the toughest pieces come around but you’ve got to stay with it. When you tear off a piece and put it in your mouth and you will get a teriyaki/sweet flavor first. That is followed by a black pepper which adds a very mild heat. Unfortunately I was unable to pickup the garlic flavor as it was either very subtle or just overwhelmed by the sweet teriyaki. The flavor of this jerky was interesting because we had two bags and we had two different experiences. The jerky in the first bag was so mild I would award it a 1-Flavor rating, the flavor was almost non-existent. Several of the people I shared it with looked at me wondering what I had fed them. But to be fair, I proceeded to the second bag (anything for unbiased editorial and to eat more jerky). The second bag was much better and scored a 3-Flavor rating as the pepper flavor was much more pronounced. So… is it a 1 or 3? I decided to split the difference and give it a 2-Flavor rating. If I had tasted the garlic I would have been more generous. The pepper is mild and gives this jerky a 1-Heat rating.

As for the Chew, the pieces bordered from a good to so-so. Just to remind you a “good chew” is one that doesn’t break your jaw a gives you a minute or two of mouth time to break down the meat and enjoy the flavor. A so-so chew is one that is so tender it just breaks apart and disappears immediately or is so tough your jaw muscles ache after you finish chewing. Because of the inconsistency this jerky only gets a 2-Chew rating even though quite a few of the individual pieces were a 3 or 4.

When you look at the ingredients the second and fourth ingredients are sugar and brown sugar respectively. This is confirmed by the 6 grams of carbs per ounce printed on the Nutritional Facts on the bag. Along with the sugar the sodium is also pretty high coming in at 440 mg per ounce. Again we see the tendency of big production Jerky’s relying on high sugar and salt for flavor. Overall the rating for Pacific Gold Garlic & Crushed Black Pepper by Oberto comes in at 2.5 stars. Not great but certainly not bad and well worth the while if you have a big group who will need big snacks.

 

 

 

Pacific Gold Garlic & Crushed Black Pepper (Oberto)

Tillamook Smoked Jalapeno Beef Jerky

I love jerky with big flavor and the Tillamook Smoked Jalapeno does not disappoint. We opening the bag of this jerky you immediately can see the natural cuts of beef used. With a slightly reddish color the cuts are thick bite sized chunks. As you chew the meat it stats with a slightly sweet taste and then you taste the smoke flavor and the Jalapeno flavor fills your taste buds. Its got a good strong heat that stays with you for a couple minutes after you are done chewing. Each piece of this jerky was enjoyable to eat with no tough pieces or fat to fight through.

Everybody knows this snack food is bad for you right? Well nobody told Tillamook who points out that this jerky is All Natural, Low Fat, Gluten Free, has No Nitrates and has no MSG Added. Further they point out this is made with Sea Salt not that “other” kind of salt. It always make me smile when the health benefits are bigger on the back than the brand or the product description. I will concede that they artfully use the T logo in the see-through portion of the bag. But really?

Overall this is good jerky with great 5-flavor rating, a strong 4-Heat and a strong 4-chew. At $2.00 per ounce (Apr 2015) it is a good 3-Value the only downside is the sodium is really high at 510 mg per ounce earning 5-Sodium Heart Bombs and 0-Sodium points. Overall Tillamook Smoked Jalapeno Beef Jerky earns 3-Stars and is a must try, if you love spicy jerky!

Tillamook Smoked Jalapeno Beef Jerky

Bridgeford Sweet Baby Rays Sweet 'n Spicy Beef Jerky

This thick cut beef is tasty! Bridgford Foods has combined a thick cut of quality beef with the popular Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet ‘n Spicy Barbecue Sauce to make this wonderful jerky.

When you open the package you are immediately greeted with the aroma of the sweet barbecue sauce. When you grab a piece the texture of the meat is slightly tacky but what is really noticeable is the thickness of the cut. Each piece is at least a full 1/8″ thick. This heft is becomes apparent when you bite down to pull off a piece to eat. But as you pull the meat tears easily foreshadowing of the tenderness of the chew to come.

What is interesting is the first flavor on your tongue is the beef and then as you chew the barbecue flavor releases. The effect is a result of the meat being marinated in the sauce not just coated with the sauce. Continue chewing and your mouth is filled with the sweet flavors and then the spiciness of the sauce releases. This tangy flavor results in a slight heat that stays in your mouth for a few minutes even after the meat is gone.

The thick cut and tender meat combine to what I would consider to be the perfect chew. This jerky is great and has earned a 4-Flavor and a perfect 5-Chew.  The value of this Jerky is also very-good coming in at $1.85 per ounce (Apr 2015) earning it 4-Value crowns. But now for the bad news, this jerky gets 5-Heart Bombs with the sodium at 480 mg. The sodium score is the only thing that keeps this from being a 4-Star Jerky. But because of the 0 points for sodium this Jerky only scores an overall 3.3 rating.

If the sodium doesn’t bother you my recommendation is to get a bag of this jerky and a cold beer and enjoy it!

 

Bridgeford Sweet Baby Rays Sweet 'n Spicy Beef Jerky

Celestino's Venison Jerky

For the hunters out there you know the joy of Venison Jerky. Although venison is not generally found in packaged Jerky offerings, after you’ve brought home a fresh deer, Jerky is a great way to store and enjoy your prize. Venison is generally leaner than beef and the flavor of the meat stands out more than many types of beef where the meat flavor has been bred out.

The big difference between beef and Venison is that Venison fat and connective tissue does not taste that good. So a butcher preparing Venison will generally remove everything but the pure red meat. This leaves a very lean cut to make Jerky. On top of this, Celestinos Venison Jerky is cut very thin which balances the Venison flavor with the seasonings applied.

Because of the lean meat and thin slices the meat starts out in your mouth as a hard-leather like texture. But as you begin to work it in your mouth and your saliva re-hydrates the meat the flavor comes alive. Celestinos Venison Jerky is not gamey, in fact it has a very mild flavor where you can taste Venison and the Teriyaki in each bite its a great mix if you’ve never tried Venison. But be aware you better like jerky because you’ve got to work this meat in your mouth before it will give up its flavor.

Since Celestinos Venison Jerky is a butcher-shop product we don’t know much about the nutritional value but its safe to say the Teriyaki  has soy sauce that provides the sodium in this snack. Celestinos also adds a pinch of garlic powder and crushed Red Peppers and Cayanne to give it some kick. Sodium seemed a little high but this may be because of the paper-thin cut of the meat. The 4 oz bag has a lot more pieces than other jerky and at $9 (March 2015) it comes in at the same price as Celestinos beef jerky at $2.25 an ounce.

This Jerky gets 4-Flavor points, 4-Chew points and 3-Heat the 3-Sodium and 3-Value points so overall its a solid 3.5 Jerky.  Some people worry about Venison being gamey, but when properly prepared it offers a wonderful meat-eating experience and you can feel good about the fact that you are doing a biker a favor by responsibly managing the deer population.

 

Celestino's Venison Jerky

Ajay's Montana Bananas Original Extra Hot Beef Jerky

AJay’s comes to us from Grass Valley, CA by way of Missoula Montana.

I am a big fan of this spicy Jerky as I began the tasting I was not ready to write my thoughts down so I had to force myself to put the bag away and save some for later. Ultimately I was only able to hold out and save two pieces for this review, because i enjoyed it so much.

AJay’s comes to us from Grass Valley, CA by way of Missoula Montana. The owner Ajay tells about when he was touring with Cayenne, a Country-Rock band in the late 70’s and he came across an old-time butcher shop Missoula Montana where he had the best Jerky he had ever tasted. As his music career stalled, Ajay went back to Missoula, bought the rights to recipe and started making his own Jerky.

The Ajay’s flavor we are reviewing today is the Original Extra Hot Beef jerky and is a traditional thicker cut of beef. As you reach into the bag you are greeted by larger pieces of 100% Top Round. The pieces will need to be torn apart to be eaten in bites. The aroma from the bag hits your nose with a little smokey tone which may be from the Hickory smoke flavor that has been added. On the surface of the meat you can see both black pepper and other pepper seeds. As you chew the Jerky you will notice this is a harder Jerky, it gives you plenty of chew to savor your experience, but breaks apart nicely as you chew it down.

Like the aroma, the first flavor you taste is the Hickory smoke this is quickly followed by the juices in you mouth being released with the black pepper and garlic. Finally the heat builds up towards the end of the chew to leave your mouth with a strong heat that instinctively drives you back into the bag to eat another piece. What is it about hot food that as soon as your mouth cools you go in for another bite? Ajay’s lives up to the promise of Extra Hot.

Ajay’s is a USDA inspected Jerky and the ingredients are led by Teriyaki Sauce and Soy Sauce followed by Wine! Now Ajay doesn’t tell us what wine but my guess is a hint of chardonnay has been added. For you health-food and wheat freaks be aware Ajay has wheat in the Teriyaki and Succinic Acid is added. This adds a tart taste and is sold as a diet supplement (maybe I’ll loose weight eating Ajay’s). On the upside, this Jerky only has 2 grams of carbs per ounce so it’s not loaded with sugars.

The package has 4 oz and retails at $5.99 (Feb 2015) so its value is quite good coming in at a $1.50 an ounce. Sodium is on the high side at 480 mg which is the only thing holding this back from being a solid 4 point Jerky. Bottom line, I really enjoyed this Jerky the flavor and heat we just to my liking. I will be purchasing more of Ajay’s Jerky and will add it to my regular rotation of road-trip treats.

ajaysmontanabanana.com


Ajay's Montana Bananas Original Extra Hot Beef Jerky

The Don Spicy Original Beef Jerky

The Don is the self-proclaimed “Godfather of all Jerky” and they drive the point home on the package with the Green, White and Red Italian flag stripes and the 45 (ish) caliber pistol artwork used in place of the “r” in Jerky like the Sopranos. This Jerky is marketed by The Don Jerky Factory hailing from the mean-streets of Arcadia, California. This is a private labelled brand likely from KMB Foods, Inc., who private labels jerky for several companies.

This is one of the most ‘transparent’ Jerky’s on the market as the packaging is clear except for the applied (private) label.  You can flip over the package a clearly see the Jerky you about to consume. It is USDA packaged with full disclosure of the nutrition and ingredients which are printed ever-so-small on the label. The first thing you notice when you tear open the package is the strong smoky aroma. The ingredients add a little insight to the Italian connection as the list includes both anchovies and tomatoes! This is a spice mixture not seen regularly in Jerky.

This is slab style Jerky and the texture of The Don is dry to the touch and firm with little resistance as you tear it apart. When you put a piece in your mouth you will notice there is little to no flavor on the tongue. It’s dry and the flavor needs to be released but when you start chewing finally a rush of flavor hits your palate. As your mouth begins to moisten the tangy Worcestershire and hint of tomato flavor is readily apparent this is followed quickly by the heat of the aged cayenne hot sauce used in the recipe.

The meat has a strong chew bordering on tough, several pieces in the bag left muscle tissue that didn’t easily break-down. Some people will look at this as the ‘bonus chew’. You can work this little nugget in you mouth for quite a while and it will keep releasing its flavor until it is discarded or swallowed whole.

I purchased this Jerky at one of my favorite watering holes The Beach Ball at the pier in Newport Beach. The 2 oz bag was $4.00 (at the bar! March 2015) This price point in a store puts this Jerky right in the middle of the value range at $2 an ounce (at a bar its downright cheap!) This is not a sweet jerky but it has both Corn Syrup and High Fructose Corn Syrup included in the ingredients and the carbs come in pretty high at 8 grams. The Sodium comes in at 410 mg per ounce so it get 5 heart bombs.

At a 2.5 overall score, I wouldn’t go out of my way to seek out The Don Spicy Original Jerky but when you are at the bar it is a value-driven, high-protein, salty snack that goes great with a cold beverage. I can tell you from first-hand experience it tastes even better while sitting at a bar while looking out at the sunset over Catalina Island on the California coast of the Pacific Ocean!

The Don Spicy Original Beef Jerky