This review on Phil’s Beef Jerky will focus on a 4 ounce/113 gram bag of their hickory flavor. The owner of Phil’s Beef Jerky, Phillip Morgan, kindly submitted this jerky for review.
Phil’s Beef Jerky is located in Tye, Texas, which started in 2008. They support troops serving overseas, where Philip Morgan himself is retired military. He knows how grateful the troops are to receive his jerky. Phil describes how some jerky is chemically cooked, which is sad but true. These Phil’s Beef Jerky strips are more like large slabs of beef.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Marinade (Water, Natural Hickory Wood Smoke, Vinegar, Salt, Onion, Garlic, and Black Pepper, Dark Red Chili, Hydrolyzed Soy and Corn Protein, Sugar, Caramel Color, Molasses, Papain, Citric Acid Allergen Warnings: Soy
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.
The liquid marinade used here is comprised of just water and healthy vinegar. The natural hickory wood smoke is listed third on the ingredient list by weight, which must have used a lot of smoke.
There are some healthy things to like in this ingredient list such as onion, garlic, black pepper and red chili peppers. The most interesting ingredient in this list is papain, which is an enzyme found in the papaya fruit. Papain is widely used in the food industry to tenderize meat.
There is no nutrition facts table provided. As a result, the exact sugar and salt level are unknown. This jerky was not sweet tasting, leading us to believe that the sugar level is reasonable.
This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite added, or any other similar bad preservatives. Instead, salt is the main preservative used. To a lesser degree, citric acid also acts as a preservative. The quality of how citric acid is manufactured can vary widely.
This jerky does not qualify to be MSG free. Both the highly processed flavor enhancers hydrolyzed soy protein and hydrolyzed corn protein are used. They are considered to be a form of MSG. Even worse, being hydrolyzed makes them an unhealthy type of trans fats.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These slabs of beef are borderline thick. This 4 ounce/113 gram bag contained four pieces of jerky, somewhat akin to having four steaks. However, this jerky does have a dry texture, which was still surprisingly easy to chew. This jerky has some signs of fat that add to the overall natural beef flavor. Handling this jerky does leave a little bit of an oily residue left on your fingers.
The first flavor detected is the smoke flavor, where soon afterward you could detect that unmistakable hickory smoke flavor. There is a mild soy taste, but, for the most part, you mainly get a hickory smoke flavor, the way a hickory flavor should be. The overall hickory taste is mildly strong. This jerky was lightly salted, and the sweetness level is mild at best.
This 4 ounce/113 gram bag sells for $8.75. That works out to $2.19 per ounce, which rates as a borderline average price. Phil’s Beef Jerky is good value for your money for those who enjoy that hickory smoke flavor.
Bag Review
We have a clear, resealable, transparent bag here. To the credit of Phil’s Beef Jerky, this bag is vacuum sealed, to ensure freshness. One of the best ways possible to help preserve jerky, where oxygen is the enemy of jerky.
There is a label affixed to the front, and nothing on the back. On the label there are no fancy graphics, just plain old fonts. Nothing wrong with that, this bag does its job effectively by being vacuum sealed, you don’t always need a flashy design. While not printed on the bag, their slogan is “Best Little Jerky Plant in Tye Texas!”.
There are some bag categories not covered. Missing are a bar code, nutrition facts table, slogans, a blurb about Phil’s Beef Jerky, originality, logo, graphics, and a wheat allergen alert. The best before date is interesting, it is actually the packaged date, where Phil’s Beef Jerky will stay fresh for one year, in part to being a vacuum sealed bag.
Order their jerky online: www.philsbeefjerky.com
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