Sierra Madre Provision Co. – Original Beef Jerky (Recipe #1)

Note: For a more current taste review on a tweaked bag design and ingredient list, open up Sierra Madre Provision Co. – Original Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).

The next review on Sierra Madre Provision Co. will focus on a 3.25 ounce/92 gram bag of their original flavored beef jerky. The owner of Sierra Madre Provision Co., James Schaft (a.k.a. – Jimmy the Jerky Man), kindly submitted this jerky for review.

This Sierra Madre Provision Co. brand of jerky is distributed and manufactured by Sierra Madre Provisions, based out of Sierra Madre, California, which is a picturesque town that does not even have a stoplight. They have been in business for over 30 years now. Ranch raised American beef is used, and each batch of jerky is handcrafted.

Ingredient Review

Ingredients: Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Spices, Liquid Smoke, Vinegar, Cure Mix (Salt, Sodium Nitrite).    Allergen Warnings: Soy, Wheat

Starting with the beef, the cattle used was ranch raised. That qualifies as being free range, meaning the cattle had access to graze on grass, which has been a natural part of their diet for thousands of years. That also qualifies the beef to be ethically raised, instead of some massive factory farm, where the cattle are given growth hormones and antibiotics to get fatter faster.

For the liquid marinade we have soy sauce, liquid smoke, and healthy vinegar. With liquid smoke being used, that qualifies this jerky to be smoked. Other than that, we basically only have healthy spices.

There is no nutrition facts table provided. As a result, the exact sugar and salt levels are unknown.

The unhealthy sodium nitrite was used as a preservative. Admirably, there is no MSG added in this ingredient list.

Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating

Taste Review

There is only one hand sliced sliced of jerky here, where a small part of it is quite stringy. The thickness is medium, or almost medium/thin. There are very little amounts of fat on this jerky. We have a fairly dry texture here, which results in chewy jerky.

Apart from the natural beef flavor itself, the first flavor detected is the saltiness. It’s certainly not overbearing, you could say moderately salty. There is no sweetness to this original flavored jerky whatsoever. Somewhat surprisingly, the soy taste is not that strong. There is a light smoky taste with this jerky. A very light peppery taste from the black pepper is detected.

This is your classic tasting original flavored jerky. Easily the most dominating taste is the beef itself, just the way an original flavor was intended to be.

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 is good value for your money considering the beef used is free range, and ethically raised.

Very Good (9/10) – Taste Rating

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 “Original”. 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.

The bag displayed at the bottom is a 3.25 ounce/92 gram bag of their original flavor. That bag was purchased in 2011 in San Clemente, California, at a convenience store for $5.99 also. The ingredient list has since changed, where, unfortunately, the healthy onions and garlic were removed.

Alright (6/10) – Bag Rating

Order their jerky online: www.sierramadreprovision.com