In 2013, while looking for jerky at a ShopRite store in Greenwich, New Jersey, much to my surprise I found this 3 ounce/85 gram bag of Butterball turkey jerky. This review will focus on their oven roasted original flavor.
Butterball is the famous brand name for turkey based in Garner, North Carolina. I can’t say that I was all that surprised to learn that Butterball has turkey jerky also. This jerky however is manufactured by the very successful private label company Monogram Foods, LLC based out of Memphis, Tennessee, making this a stock recipe.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Turkey, Water, Brown Sugar. Contains 2% or Less of Salt, Potassium Chloride, Molasses Powder (Molasses, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Turkey Broth, Dextrose, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Citric Acid), Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Natural Flavors, Sodium Nitrite Allergen Warnings: Soy
According to the Butterball web site, their turkey is American Humane certified, which means the turkey had some sort of free range access. The turkey are hormone free, which qualifies the turkey used to be ethically raised.
98% of this ingredient list by weight is turkey, water and brown sugar. The liquid marinade consists of water, and healthy turkey broth, which is loaded with minerals.
The sugar level is a little high with 4 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 3 grams of sugar or under. The salt level is also respectable at 230mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does use unhealthy sodium nitrite as a preservative. The main preservative is actually salt, but this jerky uses potassium chloride, which is a good substitute for table salt.
This bag does say ‘No Added MSG*’, where the asterisk denotes ‘Except that which naturally occurs in the hydrolyzed soy and corn protein and autolyzed yeast extract‘. That is three forms of MSG (flavor enhancers) used in this jerky, which would disqualify this jerky from being MSG free.
Fair (4/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These jerky strips have a medium thickness, with a mixture of small and medium sized pieces. This jerky is borderline soft and tender, but just dry enough not to be tagged as such, and very easy to chew. There is little to no residue left on your fingers while handling this jerky.
This being an oven roasted original flavor, the turkey flavor should stand out the most, which it does. There is a moderate sweet level. Overall, it has a pleasant taste.
I paid $7.99 for this 3 ounce/85 gram. That works out to $2.67 an ounce, which rates as an expensive price. With only a fair ingredient list used, this jerky is not recommended as worth your money.
Bag Review
Overall a very professional looking bag. On the front, there is a clear, high resolution picture showing slices of turkey.
There are no clear slogans printed on this bag. Some facts printed on this bag are “Made with Lean Turkey” “No Added MSG”, and “Excellent Source of Protein”.
The majority of bag categories are covered here. One minor thing missing is that the jerky weight is not displayed in grams. There is a blurb printed about Butterball turkey jerky, but nothing about the Butterball, LLC. Something I am seeing more and more on bags of jerky, there is a Gluten Free logo under the ingredient list. To the credit of Monogram Foods, LLC, they do provide a toll free number for customer inquiries.
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