Strollo’s – Mild Beef Jerky (Recipe #1)

Note: For a more recent, live taste review, open Strollo’s – Mild Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).

The next review for Strollo’s will focus on a 1.5 ounce/42 gram bag of their mild flavor. The owner of Strollo’s, Michael Strollo, kindly submitted this jerky for review.

Strollo’s beef jerky is distributed by Strollo’s Homemade Beef Jerky, located in Eatontown, New Jersey. This is one of those jerky makers who make the time and effort of looking for new jerky brands in my travels worthwhile. Strollo’s is an artisan beef jerky product, prepared with great care, and done in small batches, to ensure freshness.

Ingredient Review

Ingredients: Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt, Sodium Benzoate {preservative}, Water, Teriyaki Sauce (Brewed Soy Sauce)(Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Wine, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Vinegar, Salt, Spices, Onion Powder, Succinic Acid, Garlic Powder, Sodium Benzoate {preservative}, Liquid Smoke (Water, Natural Smoke Flavor, Vinegar, Molasses, Caramel Color).    Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat

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 is comprised of soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, liquid smoke and water. It is disappointing to see that the highly processed and unhealthy sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is used in the teriyaki sauce.

The sugar level does not get any better at no sugar. The salt level is extremely low at only 65mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.

The teriyaki sauce does have a small amount of the preservative sodium benzoate, which is not so healthy, but only a small quantity was used. There is no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives added by Strollo’s. Instead, just salt is the main preservative. Admirably, there is no MSG added in this jerky.

Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating

Taste Review

Note: For a more recent, live taste review, open Strollo’s – Mild Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).

These hand sliced jerky strips are medium, to small in size. They are cut borderline thin, and leave a tiny oily film on your fingers. The texture is dry, but just barely, which makes for very easy, enjoyable chewing. There are no visible signs of fat anywhere.

The first flavor detected is the hickory smoke. As advertised, this mild flavor is not spicy. There is a light soy taste, and it tastes mildly salty. There is almost no sweet taste to this jerky. As a result, there is a good deal of natural beef flavor. Overall, this jerky is quite addictive.

You can purchase a six pack of this jerky for $23.00 from Strollo’s web site. That works out to $3.83 a bag, which works out to $2.55 an ounce. That rates as a moderately expensive price. This flavor is a must try.

Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating

Bag Review

First and foremost, this bag is vacuum sealed, where there is no better way to preserve freshness. It’s a transparent bag, fairly narrow in width, and the slits are angled down to open the bag, not the usual left and right. There is a label affixed to the front, and nothing on the back.

The Strollo’s logo is interesting, which shows a tough looking cow beating somebody up. On the floor is a baseball cap that states “Competitor”. Strollo’s slogan printed on the bag is “Our Meat Can’t Be Beat”.

All the important bag categories are addressed with this bag. There is no blurb about Strollo’s, but in fairness, this is a small bag only containing 1.5 ounce/42 grams. My advice would be to put the words “Mild” and “Competitor” in a white font so that it is easier to read.

The last bag photo is the old bag style of Strollo’s that I purchased in 2013 for $4.99.

Decent (7/10) – Bag Rating

Order their jerky online: www.strolloshomemadebeefjerky.com