Note: For a live taste review on a newer bag, open up Pecos Bill’s – Original Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).
This review will focus on a .88 ounce/25 gram bag of Pecos Bill’s original flavored beef jerky. This jerky was purchased at a convenience store in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, way back in 2008.
The Pecos Bill’s jerky brand name is owned, and manufactured by the very large private labeler Marfood USA, located in Taylor, Michigan. That makes this jerky a stock recipe. With this bag being sold in Canada, Upper Canada Meat Co. Ltd. was the distributer of this jerky, based out of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. According to Marfood USA, the Pecos Bill’s brand is the number one selling beef jerky in Western Canada, and popular in areas of the United States.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Sugar, Salt, Garlic Powder, Maltodextrin, Monosodium Glutamate, Spice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Sodium Erythorbate, Citric Acid, Sodium Nitrite, Smoke.
Back in 2008, jerky makers were required to list the origin of beef. On this bag it is printed “Product of Argentina, Further Processed in the U.S.A.”, making this imported beef. Now in 2014, unfortunately, jerky makers are no longer legally required to state the beef’s country of origin.
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 only contains water, and healthy apple cider vinegar. Healthy ingredients used are garlic powder and spices.
The sugar level is somewhat high at 5 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 3 grams of sugar or under. The salt level is extremely high at 570mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less.
As for preservatives used, unfortunately, it is a fairly common site to see sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite. The worst offender is sodium tripolyphosphate, which is highly processed, and not remotely healthy. Also not good, this jerky contains monosodium glutamate (MSG).
Fair (4/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Note: For a live taste review on a newer bag, open up Pecos Bill’s – Original Beef Jerky (Recipe #2).
I do recall this jerky being true as advertised, soft and tender. This was a bland tasting jerky, and the beef tasted a bit processed.
This .88 ounce/25 gram bag of jerky cost $1.99. That works out to $2.26 an ounce, which classifies as an average price. The ingredient list has since changed.
Bag Review
For a small plastic bag in size, this bag design is more professional than most. Everything is imprinted directly on this bag, and no labels are affixed. Being sold in Canada, there are some French translations provided, which is required by Canadian law.
The Pecos Bill’s logo is a cowboy with a lasso. There are no slogans printed on this bag. The only fact displayed is “Soft & Tender”.
Most bag categories are covered. Missing are slogans, and there is no blurb printed about Pecos Bill’s, or this flavor. To the credit of Marfood USA, they provided a toll free phone number for customer inquiries.
Can I mail order this product.