In 2012 I made an online purchase for a 1.75 ounce/50 gram bag of this original flavored venison jerky.
Mountain America Jerky specializes in beef jerky, game meat, and exotic jerky. It is made and distributed by Mountain America Jerky Ltd. based out of Denver, Colorado. This small company is run by Chuck Watson, and was established in 1997. Their jerky is made in small batches on a daily basis. Each batch is hand sliced, and hickory smoked in a smoker.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Venison, Brown Sugar, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soy Beans, Salt, Sodium Benzoate: 1/10 of 1%), Water, Salt, Spices Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
It should be noted that the ingredient list has since been changed. Venison, which is meat from a deer, is arguably the healthiest meat you can find. It’s very low on fat, high on protein, and loaded with vitamins and minerals. Add to the fact that this deer was ethically raised with no growth hormones or additional antibiotics.
The liquid marinade is just water, and an average soy sauce. Healthy spices is listed, which is fair game for a jerky maker to use the vague term ‘spices’, and not reveal the actual spices used to their competitors.
The nutrition facts table states that 0 grams of sugar is used. That is almost for sure inaccurate, where brown sugar is second on the ingredient list by weight. The salt level is high at 447mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite, or have any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, salt is the main preservative. Also good, this jerky has no MSG added.
Very Good (9/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
The strips were mostly uniform in size, being fairly small. They were sliced thin, to an almost medium thickness. It had a dry, good texture.
There was only a slightly gamey taste to this venison jerky. The soy taste was moderate. Nothing really seemed to stand out with the taste from what I remember, and what my taste notes indicated.
This 1.75 ounce/50 gram bag of jerky cost $6.95 which works out to $3.91 an ounce. That rates as an expensive price. Venison in general is an expensive meat. Given that a healthy ingredient list was used, this jerky would have been recommended as worth your money.
Bag Review
This is a fairly thin plastic bag used here. The label is fairly unique. It is folded in half, affixed at the top, which gives you jerky details on both the front and back of the bag.
There are no clearly defined slogans printed on this bag. There are some facts printed on this bag such as “Hickory Smoked”, “All Natural”, and “Colorado Made Gourmet”.
Most bag categories are covered here. Missing is a best before date, a USDA inspected stamp, and the weight not stated in grams. There is a small but good blurb printed on the back about this Mountain America Jerky.
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