While visiting New York, New York in 2013, I purchased a 3 ounce/85 gram bag of Nice! jerky at a Duane Reade store. This review will focus on their Sweet Maple Glazed flavor for bacon jerky.
Duane Reade is a subsidiary store of Walgreen Co. who distributes this brand of Nice! jerky, based out of Deerfield, Illinois. Walgreens is a very successful grocery chain across the USA. This jerky is manufactured by the very large private labeler Monogram Foods LLC., located in Memphis, Tennessee. That makes this a stock recipe.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Cured With Water, Sugar, Salt, Smoke Flavor, Maple Flavor, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite
This bacon jerky is described as being “Cured with Water”. Some people will say that curing bacon in water is a healthier method of curing. The term ‘cured‘ implies that nitrites were used.
The only liquid used in this marinade is water. Overall, this is a fairly small ingredient list.
The sugar level is listed at 0 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. That appears to be a dubious claim. This Sweet Maple Glazed flavor is advertised to be sweet tasting. The salt level is high at 530mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky, but almost all bacon jerky have high salt levels.
For preservatives used, we have a triple whammy of sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite. Salt itself is the main preservative. This jerky does qualify to have no MSG added.
Very Bad (2/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These jerky strips are mainly small in size, with a number of very small pieces. The thickness is medium to thin. The texture is dry, but not overly dry, a nice texture that makes for easy chewing. Perhaps not surprising being a bacon jerky, there is a fair amount of fat in this jerky. There is an oily residue left on your fingers after handling this jerky, nothing major though.
As soon as you open this bag, the smell of bacon is quite strong. The taste is no different, it is that unmistakable bacon flavor. This jerky is salty, but within reason. Other than that, this jerky more or less tastes like any standard bacon you would buy in stores, and not overly cooked. There is not much maple flavor here, but there is a sweet taste.
This 3 ounce/85 gram bag of jerky was purchased for $6.99. That works out to $2.33 an ounce, which rates as a borderline average price, with $2.35 an ounce being the upper threshold. Given that an unhealthy ingredient list is used, we cannot recommend this jerky as being worth your money.
Bag Review
A professional looking bag, fairly plain, nothing that stands out really. Some pigs and maple leafs are printed on the top of the bag.
The slogan is “smart, quality, everyday”. There are no facts printed on this bag other than “ready to eat”.
All of the major bag categories are covered. Missing is a blurb printed about this jerky. Admirably, there is a 100% satisfaction guaranteed offer.
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