The next review for Nice! will be on a 3.25 ounce/91 gram bag of their BBQ Seasoned pork jerky flavor. This jerky was purchased at a Duane Reade store while visiting New York, New York, back in December 2013.
Nice! is the brand name for Walgreen Co., located in Deerfield, Illinois. Duane Reade is a subsidiary store of Walgreen Co. Either way, Walgreen Co. has a massive presence in the USA. This jerky is manufactured by the very large private labeler company Monogram Foods, LLC. As a result, this jerky is classified as using a stock recipe.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Pork, Brown Sugar, Water, Salt, Tomato Paste, Spices and Natural Flavorings, Pineapple Juice Concentrate, Vinegar, Natural Smoke Flavor.
The liquid marinade is comprised of water, healthy tomato paste, pineapple juice concentrate, and healthy vinegar. Pineapples contain a natural enzyme named bromelain, which is widely used in the food industry as a meat tenderizer.
This jerky is smoked, but the type of wood used is unknown. It is good to see that healthy spices are used. Natural flavorings can mean many different things, both healthy and unhealthy.
The sugar level is a bit high at 6 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. For a sweet based flavor such as barbecue, the preferred sugar level is 5 grams of sugar or under. The salt level is high at 400mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less.
This jerky qualifies 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.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
For the most part, these jerky strips are small in size. These strips have a medium thickness. The texture is dry, but not overly dry, which results in jerky that is fairly easy to chew. There are no signs of fat to be seen, and this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.
The barbecue taste is apparent first, with a mild, pleasant tomato flavor. Being a pork jerky, it really does not taste much different than beef jerky. This jerky is moderately sweet, and has a light saltiness level.
There is a fair amount of the smoked flavor in the background. With a flavor named BBQ Seasoned, this jerky does pull off the barbecue taste well. Really, the main taste of this jerky itself is just the barbecue taste, with not much else, apart from smoke.
This 3.25 ounce/91 gram bag of jerky cost $5.99. That equates to $1.84 an ounce, which rates as an average price. If you enjoy a barbecue flavor and the taste of pork, this jerky is worth your money.
Bag Review
Everything is imprinted directly on the front and back of this bag. The top of the front and back is lined with pictures of pigs.
The slogans printed on this bag are “made a BBQ pit stop” and “smart, quality, everyday.”
All the major bag categories are addressed here. To the credit of Walgreen Co.’s, they have a 100% satisfaction guaranteed policy. Missing is a logo, unless you consider Nice! a logo.
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