Note: For a more recent, live taste review, open Bridgford – Teriyaki Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).
The next review on Bridgford will focus on a 1.25 ounce/35 gram bag of their teriyaki flavored beef jerky. This bag was purchased at a Metro grocery store in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, way back in 2008.
The Bridgford jerky brand name is manufactured and distributed by Bridgford Foods Corp., located in Chicago, Illinois, at least in 2008. Today, their headquarters has moved to Anaheim, California. Bridgford Foods Corp. started business in 1932 specializing in multiple food products, not just meat snacks, and currently have about 500 employees. While statistics change year to year, Bridgford consistently rates in the top five jerky makers for sales in North America.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Seasoning (Soy Sauce [Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt], Sugar, Sake [Water, Glucose, Sweet Rice Extract, Salt, Lactic Acid, Succinic Acid], Water and Flavourings), Water, Brown Sugar, Seasoning Blend (Soy Sauce Powder [Soy Sauce {Wheat, Soybeans, Salt}, Maltodextrin, Salt], Flavour {Maltodextrin, Flavour, Sulfur Dioxide}, Brown Sugar, Spices, Onion, Garlic), Salt, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite, Smoke. 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, sake, and water. Sake is an interesting choice for a teriyaki based flavor, which is a Japanese cooking wine.
Healthy ingredients used are spices, onion, and garlic. However, they are listed very low by weight in the ingredient list.
The sugar level is a bit high at 6 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. For a sweet based flavor such as teriyaki, the preference is 5 grams of sugar or less. The salt level is extremely high at 560mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less.
This jerky uses both unhealthy sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite as the main preservatives, apart from salt. There is no MSG added in this jerky.
Fair (4/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Note: For a more recent, live taste review, open Bridgford – Teriyaki Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).
This jerky was solid strips of beef with a medium thickness. The texture was dry, but not too dry, and was relatively easy to chew. I do remember that this jerky was alright tasting, and nothing special. I do not recall how sweet the jerky tasted.
I paid $1.99 for this 1.25 ounce/35 gram bag of jerky. That works out to $1.59 an ounce, which rates as a cheap price. This exact type of jerky cannot be purchased today as the ingredient list has since been updated.
Bag Review
We have a rather small bag, which is to be expected for only 1.25 ounce/35 grams. Everything is imprinted directly on the front and back of this bag, with no labels affixed.
The Bridgford logo is displayed, but not really anything in the way of graphics, except for the word Teriyaki being in a fancy font that looks Japanese. There are no slogans, but there are some facts displayed such as “Solid Strips of Smoked Beef” and “Product of the USA”.
All bag categories are covered in this bag of jerky. Admirably, a phone number is provided for customer inquiries.
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