Field Trip Honey Spice Beef Jerky

Field Trip Jerky is an East Coast artisan jerky company founded by three friends who have pressed their brand forward into many retail locations nationwide. When you open the Honey Spice No 11 it has a fresh nose where you can smell the beef and spices including the cayenne pepper. The texture of the jerky is dry-rub style, firm to the touch and not sticky. When you reach in the bag you’ll find a variety of pieces some bite size and some that need to be torn apart to eat. Since there is no heavy coatings, you won’t come out with sticky fingers.

As you begin to chew Jerky the honey flavor releases in the juices and then you taste the Top Round beef. Finally there is a lite peppery finish that subsides when you swallow the Jerky. The word for this Jerky is subtle. It does not overwhelm as too-sweet or too-hot. It’s approach is to give you a balanced flavor experience and not to assault you with over-the-top flavors. This make sense as the “Field Trip” team has at least one marathoner and this jerky fits the “training fuel” school of thought.

This is a USDA packaged product and I appreciate the side opening bag that reminds me of my baseball days. The side-opening package is easy to reach into and has a closable seal so you can carry it with you. The package promotes this as a healthy snack proclaiming “No Preservatives, No Added MSG, No Nitrates, No Corn Syrup, Low Fat”. As usual the MSG it does have comes from the soy sauce (that what soy sauce is, right?)… but I like that on the back they also disclose that they use Frank’s RedHot as an ingredient! This is an homage to the homemade origins of this jerky.

Another thing we learn on the back is that it is no wonder the Honey flavor is subtle. Honey is listed after both Brown Sugar and Pineapple Juice on the ingredients list and then followed by Apple Juice. Likely each of these makes up a very small part of this lightly sweet Jerky. With only 8g of carbs per oz. this jerky its not too sweet but then again its not very Honey-ey. On the upside, this is also very light on the salt scale with only 160 gr of sodium. Finally, for value this comes in at $6 for 2.2 oz (as of Feb 2015) so this is in the $3 per oz range.

Overall I’m going to give Field Trip Honey Spice #11 a 3-Star rating. This is a good solid Jerky that if you are looking for quality fuel it will more than meet your needs and leave you feeling good about yourself… after you finish eating the entire bag in one sitting. Just like I did.  fieldtripjerky.com

Field Trip Honey Spice Beef Jerky

Jerky Tracks Bison Bourbon Flavored

When your Jerky Tracks Bison Bourbon flavored Jerky arrives get ready for a treat! This small batch Jerky comes from a family business headed by Mike Sabatino of Ballwin, MO. Mike and his sons, Alex, Jake, and Nick, are the forces behind Jerky Tracks and this business was born as a father and sons project resulting from their love of salted meats, the great outdoors and hunting.

When you open the resealable bag you can smell the bison, the sugar and a hint of Bourbon. This Jerky starts out sweet on the tongue and then as you chew you taste black pepper. The black pepper gives you a mild heat that compliments the bourbon and brown sugar flavors.

This Jerky is slick on the surface likely from the sugar glaze on the meat. The meat was flavorful and cut in to bite size chunks that could be rolled around on the tongue to fully enjoy the sweetness. This Jerky is on the firm side and provides plenty of chewing enjoyment while not being tough. The lean bison (American Buffalo) meat makes wonderful Jerky.

Since this is an artisan jerky the only ingredient hints we get from the package are that they use a “mix of spices, sugar and other natural ingredients”. We don’t know the salt content, but to my palate sodium was in the middle range.  As for the value, the package is 4 oz and cost $14 (+$5 shipping as of 02/2015) coming in at $3.50 an oz. But with shipping it comes in at over $4 an oz so it only earns a 2 on the value scale.

This is an enjoyable Jerky with a great story. We rate the Jerky at 4-Stars and the family story 5-Stars. JerkyTracks.com

Jerky Tracks Bison Bourbon Flavored

Krave Beef Jerky Garlic Chili Pepper

Hailing out of Sonoma, CA in Northern California wine country, Krave Beef Jerky Garlic Chili Pepper pays homage to the close by “garlic capital of the world” Gilroy, CA and the chili peppers grown in the Southern California region. When you first open the package the nose is treated to a clean beef aroma with a hint of garlic spice.

Promoted as All-Natural and Gluten Free (remember many soy-sauces contain gluten) this Jerky has a very soft feel in the mouth and the surface has a dry suede-like texture. You feel like you are tasting beef with a dry rub, not the typical slick surface of many sugary Jerky’s. Several members of out tasting panel mentioned a “macerated” mouth feel “as if it was pre-chewed“. Don’t misunderstand that comment, as this could be a good thing if you don’t like Jerky’s that are tough to pull apart and chew. The Krave Jerky is very easy to eat and you are not forced to take a mouthful as you can actually take a bite without pulling your teeth out.

You can see the dry rub texture and the tell-tale red pepper flakes that add the light heat.

As you eat this Jerky there is a definite sweetness which not revealed in the name. I lost most of the garlic flavor in my mouth replaced by sweetness. Finally the sweet sensation is followed with the heat from the red-pepper flakes which presence is visually apparent on the Jerky. This is a production USDA labeled product and the nutrition facts reveal where the sweetness comes from. With Cane Sugar listed as the second ingredient and 9 grams of carbs, this is a sweet hot dry-rub Jerky. If you really love garlic you will need to look elsewhere, it subtle here.

Sodium per serving is slightly above average with 350 mg per oz. and at $6 for a 3 oz package (as of 02/2015) the value rating at $2 an ounce is similar to other retail Jerky’s.
I like the Krave product line and its easy-to-eat texture which makes it especially easy to share with non-jerky eaters. There are good flavors in this meat and a little heat.

Krave is available online and in retailers such as Stater Bros. in Southern California. Over-all we are going to rate Krave Beef Jerky Garlic Chili Pepper 3-Stars. KraveJerky.com

Repost from: JerkyAficionado.com

Trader Joe's Buffalo Jerky Sweet & Spicy

You will find this Jerky has great flavor, a sweet taste as it hits your palate followed by a mild amount of heat that will stay with you for a while after eaten.  This Jerky is easy to consume as it is fairly soft and not fatty. This is my benchmark for a quality production Jerky.

Trader Joe's promotes this Jerky as having no preservatives, no nitrates and no added MSG and no Artificial ingredients. Since this is a production Jerky, it is also packaged in a USDA Inspected facility and has the full Nutrition Facts on the package.

Ingredients are Buffalo, Sugar, Water, Soy Sauce, Flavorings, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt, Paprika and Natural Smoke Flavoring. Flavorings and Natural Smoke Flavoring leave me wondering what else is actually in there as part of those two ingredients... but with that said, this Jerky is a great example of a quality production Jerky.

The new 2 Buck Chuck

The Sodium and Value ratings for a serving size of 1 oz fall right in the middle of the pack. With Sodium at 280 mg and $2 an oz. The package is 3.5 oz and a retail price of $6.99 (Feb 2015). Trader Joe's private labels many quality products and offers them at competitive prices, their Buffalo Jerky Sweet & Spicy is no different.

A few years back Trader Joe's became somewhat infamous by selling their Charles Shaw brand wine affectionately known as "2 Buck Chuck".  So I am now calling this Jerky the new 2 Buck Chuck. It's a base line for good Jerky that is sold in retail stores.

Will it win any awards or blow your mind? No, but the good news is this Jerky is a solid value and is readily available in over 400 locations across the U.S. This a great place to start your Jerky journey while avoiding shipping costs. Overall we are giving this Jerky a 3-Star rating and would recommend it to anyone who has $7 and a Trader Joe's nearby. http://www.traderjoes.com
Repost from: JerkyAficionado.com