Note: For a current live taste review on a tweaked bag design, open up Damn Good – Sweet & Spicy Beef Jerky (Review #3).
I earlier reviewed a 3.65 ounce bag of Damn Good Sweet & Spicy beef jerky. This 1.8 ounce/51 gram bag of sweet & spicy beef jerky made by Damn Good Foods has a different ingredient list. The taste and ingredient reviews will remain the same. The bag review will get a higher rating.
This bag was bought in 2010, at a country store in Penn Yan, New York, which is in the Finger Lakes region near Lake Keuka. There is no denying that ‘Damn Good’ is a catchy, provocative name. Damn Good beef jerky is made in Stillwater, New York. Rather than describe the company in my own words, I will just copy what they have on their web site, which is quite interesting.
“None of us had any experience in the food industry. Our backgrounds include construction, sales, and every facet of floor care. We view our lack of knowledge as an asset. Since we don’t subscribe to the traditional ways of producing products, we have taken great steps to find out how to get the best results. If you dislike the way something is being done, change the rules and do it your way. The outcome can always be better.”
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Top Round Beef, Teriyaki Sauce (Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Water, Vinegar, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Ginger Powder), Brown Sugar (Sugar, Molasses), Honey, Pineapple Juice, Natural Hickory Liquid Smoke, Granulated Garlic, Granulated Onion, Black Pepper), Cayenne Pepper, White Pepper, Tabasco Sauce (Distilled Vinegar, Red Pepper, Salt), Ginger Powder Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
The beef used is not guaranteed to be free of growth hormones or additional antibiotics. Also, the beef is not guaranteed to have at least partial free range access to graze on grass. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
There are a number of differences in this ingredient list compared to the 3.65 ounce bag of Damn Good Sweet & Spicy bought a year earlier, but nothing major has changed. We have an interesting liquid marinade consisting of a good Teriyaki sauce, healthy honey, pineapple juice, hickory liquid smoke, and Tabasco sauce. That is the whole ingredient list actually, apart from brown sugar and healthy ginger powder.
The most interesting ingredient is pineapple juice. Pineapples have a powerful enzyme named bromelain which acts as a meat tenderizer which degrades the meat’s tough fibres, and is used in the food industry for that exact reason.
The sugar level is alarmingly high at 12 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Even for a sweet based flavor, the preference is to use 5 grams of sugar or less per 28 grams of jerky. The salt level is also high at 450mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is to see 250mg of salt or less used.
This jerky does qualify to be sodium nitrite free, and does not use any other similar unhealthy preservative. Admirably, this jerky also qualifies to have no MSG added.
Alright (6/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
As advertised, the jerky has a texture, which is neither too tough, nor too soft. Being a sweet & spicy flavor, it is both spicy and sweet, but not overly sweet or hot. It does have a tasty flavor though, especially for somebody who enjoys both spicy and sweet flavors.
This was a 1.8 ounce/51 gram bag that cost $2.69, which equates to $1.49 per ounce. That would rate as a cheap price. Looking at their web site today, the price is $3.50, meaning $1.94 per ounce, which would still rate as a cheap price range for a bag under 2 ounces.
Bag Review
This is an unusual bag, where the back is made of aluminum, or something similar. Everything is imprinted directly on the bag, and nothing on the back. There is a good logo with a mean looking red bull blowing smoke out of its nostrils with rings around the smoke.
The bag has some facts printed such as: “Low Fat!”, “No Nitrates”, “No Preservatives” and “All Natural”.
The majority of bag categories are covered here. Missing is a blurb describing the Damn Good jerky brand name, or this flavor. To their credit, a phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
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