Note: For a more current taste review on a tweaked bag design, open up Sierra Madre Provision Co. – Whiskey BBQ Beef Jerky (Review #2).
This will be our second review for Sierra Madre Provision Co. beef jerky. The owner of Sierra Madre Provision Co., James Schaft (a.k.a. – Jimmy the Jerky Man), graciously submitted this jerky for review. This review will focus on a 3.25 ounce/92 gram bag of their whiskey BBQ flavor.
Sierra Madre Provision Co. jerky is distributed by Sierra Madre Provisions, located in Sierra Madre, California, who have been in business for over 30 years selling wholesale and retail. This whiskey BBQ bag being reviewed is their thick cut style. Sierra Madre Provision Co. have a total of 14 different flavors. Sierra Madre Provision Co. also offers thin sliced jerky, dried beef, and kippered.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, BBQ Sauce (Tomato Concentrate, High Fructose Corn Syrup Solids, Vinegar, Molasses, Water, Hickory Smoke Flavoring, Salt, Modified Food Starch, Mustard, Spices, Brown Sugar), BBQ Seasoning (Brown Sugar, Salt, Spices, Liquid Smoke, Vegetable Oil), Bourbon Whiskey, Vinegar, Honey, Liquid Smoke, Corn Syrup Solids, Cayenne Pepper, Cure Mix (Salt, Sodium Nitrite). Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat
The beef used for this jerky is ranch raised, which qualifies as ethically raised cattle, with free range access to grass as part of their natural diet. Just one step below using organic meat, almost on par.
For this barbecue sauce, we can live with most of the ingredients used. However, the second ingredient by weight is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) Solids. It is never good to see HFCS used, one of the more harmful types of sweeteners out there.
High marks to Sierra Madre Provision Co. for using real bourbon, which is a type of whiskey. There are some healthy ingredients used such as tomato concentrate, mustard, cayenne pepper, molasses, and honey.
There is no nutrition facts table provided. As a result, the exact sugar and salt levels are unknown.
There is no MSG added in this jerky. This jerky does unfortunately use sodium nitrite as a preservative.
Alright (6/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
This review is on the Sierra Madre Provision Co. thick cut style of jerky, and hand sliced. This jerky is as advertised, they are thick, big slices. The texture is borderline dry, a very nice texture that leads to easy eating jerky, considering the thickness of this jerky. There is an oily film left on your fingers after handling this jerky. There are no visible signs of fat anywhere, where this jerky has a reddish appearance from the barbecue sauce.
The first taste picked up is the barbecue flavor, which is mainly tomato and sugar. There is certainly some sweetness to this jerky, but within reason. There is a slight kick to this jerky with the spiciness from the cayenne pepper, but minor, which does not increase much as you eat more.
There is some whiskey taste in this jerky, but not that much. It tasted more like a rye. The smoke flavor is at a light level.
This 3.25 ounce/92 gram bag retails for $5.99. That works out to $1.84 an ounce, which rates as an average price. This jerky is pretty good value for your money.
Bag Review
This is a fairly tall bag. The front is gold colored, and the back is silver colored with nothing on the back. There is a label affixed to the front, plus a separate sticker that states “Whiskey! BBQ”. The scenic picture on this bag depicts mountains, including a few California palm trees.
While these slogans are not printed on the bag, here are some of the slogans that Sierra Madre Provision Co. uses: “We Do Jerky”, “Quality You Can Taste”, “Picturesque Little Town”, “Quality is our Watchword”, and “Truly a Cut Above”.
There are a few bag categories missing, such as slogans, a blurb about Sierra Madre Provision Co., and a nutrition facts table. Kudos to Sierra Madre Provision Co., where they provide a toll free phone number for customer inquiries.
Order their jerky online: www.sierramadreprovision.com
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