Phil’s Beef Jerky – Teriyaki Beef Jerky

The next review on Phil’s Beef Jerky will focus on a 4 ounce/113 gram bag of their teriyaki flavor. The owner of Phil’s Beef Jerky, Phillip Morgan, graciously submitted this jerky for review.

Phil’s Beef Jerky is based out of Tye, Texas, and distributed under the same name, Phil’s Beef Jerky. This teriyaki flavor is said to have a sweet taste of honey. Phil’s Beef Jerky takes pride in that their jerky does not have a processed taste. They follow the strict rules of the USDA Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan to ensure their customers get the best and safest product that can be made.

Ingredient Review

Ingredients: Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt, Sodium Benzoate), Water, Apple Juice (Water, Apple Juice Concentrate, Ascorbic Acid), Honey, Vinegar, Dehydrated Garlic, Brown Sugar, Ground Ginger, Black Pepper.    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 consists of soy sauce, apple juice, honey, water, and healthy vinegar. While juices are touted to be healthy, they are not as healthy as you would expect them to be. Many of the large honey brands you see for sale at stores contain almost no pollen, and have very little, to no nutritional value.

It is great to see that this teriyaki flavor uses ginger, which is an exceptionally healthy vegetable. Other healthy ingredients used are dehydrated garlic and black pepper.

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

This jerky does qualify to have no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Instead, salt is the main preservative used, and vinegar to a lesser extent. Admirably, this jerky qualifies to have no MSG added.

Good (8/10) – Ingredient Rating

Taste Review

The jerky strips are sliced to a medium thickness, almost thick. Most of the slices are fairly large in size. The texture is fairly dry, which results in chewy jerky. There are some visible signs of fat, which adds to the taste. For the most part, all slices are easy to chew, with the odd exception, especially where there is fat. There is no oily residue left on your hands after handling this jerky.

The first taste detected is what appears to be the apple juice, giving it a slightly tangy taste. Then the smoked taste quickly follows. After that, the soy taste becomes more apparent. A teriyaki flavor generally should be sweet tasting. The sweetness is mild to start, but as you eat more, the sweet taste builds to a moderate level. While faint, there is a good peppery taste.

This jerky does not quite hit that classic teriyaki taste, but is still a very pleasurable jerky to eat.

This 4 ounce/113 gram bag retails for $8.75. That works out to $2.19 per ounce, which rates as an average price. This jerky is recommended as worth your money.

Good (8/10) – Taste Rating

Bag Review

First and foremost, the best thing about this bag, it is vacuum sealed, the best way possible to preserve the freshness of jerky. Otherwise, the jerky texture would certainly be drier, and therefore, the jerky eating experience would not be the same. This bag is transparent, resealable, and your standard size, with a quantity of 4 ounces/113 grams.

There is a label affixed to the front, and nothing on the back. The label is nothing fancy, no graphics, just your standard fonts. While not printed on the bag itself, their slogan is “Best Little Jerky Plant in Tye Texas!”.

A number of bag categories are missing, but the most important categories are covered here. Missing are a logo, bar code, nutrition facts table, slogans, a blurb about Phil’s Beef Jerky, originality, graphics, and allergen alerts.

The 4 ounce/113 grams bag of teriyaki flavored jerky displayed at the bottom was purchased online in 2012. The only ingredient changes are that cayenne pepper, and sherry cooking wine have been removed.

Alright (6/10) – Bag Rating

Order their jerky online: www.philsbeefjerky.com