I bought this jalapeno flavored bag of Billy D’s beef jerky at a convenience store in San Diego, California, back in 2011. This bag was a whopping 10 ounce/283.5 gram size. In my visits to California, for whatever reason, it was more common to see these 10 ounce bags of Billy D’s beef jerky for sale, opposed to the more normal 3-4 ounce bags.
This Billy D’s brand of jerky is distributed by DeRosa Sales, who specializes in supplying food and supplies to various stores. However, I highly suspect this jerky is made by a private label company, making this a stock recipe. The company was started in 1980 by Bill DeRosa, who has since passed away. The Billy D’s brand name was created in memory of him by his daughters, who run the company now. They have become a premier supplier to stores in the California west coast.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt, Sodium Benzoate), Sugar, Water, Pineapple, Jalapeno Peppers, Liquid Smoke, Sodium Nitrite Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
The liquid marinade is comprised of a fair soy sauce, water, and liquid smoke.
Jalapeno peppers are used, which can be healthy if eaten in moderation. Pineapples are very healthy, and have an enzyme named bromelain, which naturally tenderizes the meat.
The sugar level is very respectable at only 1 gram of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. However, the salt level is high at 410mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. The preference is 350mg of salt or under.
This jerky does use unhealthy sodium nitrite as the main preservative, apart from salt. Admirably, this jerky does qualify to have no MSG added.
Average (5/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
This jerky is not too dry or soft, a good texture. The pieces are of medium thickness, and cut in small to medium sized pieces. There is fat in this jerky, and handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
In my taste notes, I did not actually state how spicy this jerky was. Typically, jalapeno flavored jerky is the least spicy of jerky hot flavors. I just remember this jerky as being average tasting, nothing special.
I paid $9.99 for this 283.5 grams/10 ounce bag of jerky, which works out to 99 cents a pound, which is quite a cheap price. Note though, as of today, this $9.99 bag is now 8 ounces instead of 10. Using today’s 8 ounce size that works out to $1.25 per ounce, which is still a cheap price, but should be, considering this is similar to buying in bulk. There are better deals out there.
Bag Review
This clear plastic bag itself is quite large, but that should be expected for such a large quantity of jerky. A label is affixed to the front, and a small sticker on the back for the best before date. There is a separate sticker to show the $9.99 price, and another sticker stating that the meat is 100% made in America.
Their slogan is “The Best in the West”. Some facts printed on this bag are “Premium Beef Jerky”, “Quality Matters”, and “Made From Strips of Beef”.
The majority of bag categories are met. Missing are allergen alerts, and any sort of graphics. There is no blurb printed about this jerky or flavor, but granted there is no room.
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