This review will focus on a 3.17 ounce/90 gram bag of Pecos Bill’s original flavored beef jerky. This jerky was purchased at a Metro grocery store in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, in December 2014.
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 flavor a stock recipe. With this bag being sold in Canada, Mirab Canada is the distributor of this jerky, based out of Cranbrook, British Columbia, 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, Maltodextrin, Vinegar, Monosodium Glutamate, Black Pepper Powder, Papaya Juice, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Garlic Powder, Sodium Erythorbate, Citric Acid, Natural Smoke Flavor, Disodium Inosinate, Sodium Nitrite.
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 healthy, consisting of water, vinegar, and papaya juice. In the papaya juice, there is a healthy enzyme named papain that acts as a natural meat tenderizer.
Healthy ingredients used are garlic powder, black pepper, and the aforementioned papaya juice and vinegar.
The sugar level is high at 6 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 3 grams of sugar or under. The salt level is quite high at 520mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or under.
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.
Unhealthy monosodium glutamate (MSG) is used outright. Even worse, unhealthy disodium inosinate is used, which works in conjunction with MSG to enhance the flavor that much more.
Bad (3/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips of jerky are medium, and small sized. The thickness is almost borderline thin. As advertised, this jerky does have a soft and tender texture, which results in jerky that is generally easy to chew. There are some signs of fat that actually add to the flavor. This jerky does have a pinkish appearance, which is a sign that a fair amount of unhealthy sodium nitrite was used. Handling this jerky leaves only a faint oily residue on your fingers.
No taste really stands out at first. There is a natural beef flavor, but it tastes a bit processed. It is moderately salty tasting, but within reason. The sweetness is mild, and there is only a faint smoked taste in the background. Overall, a fairly bland, nondescript tasting flavor.
This 3.17 ounce/90 gram bag of jerky cost $5.99. That works out to $1.89 an ounce, which classifies as an average price. This jerky is not worth your money, there are much healthier choices out there.
Bag Review
This is a standard sized, resealable plastic bag. 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, except that “Soft & Tender” is displayed, which is a registered trademark, and a tip off that the jerky was made by Marfood USA.
Most bag categories are covered. Missing are slogans, and a blurb about Pecos Bill’s. To the credit of Marfood USA, they provid a toll free phone number for customer inquiries.
By far the WORST tasting hunk of beef ever.
The texture was fine but the flavor…. well, let’s just say we are making a lot of “tasteless” jokes about nasty beef.
This by far is the best jerky I’ve tasted original and teriyaki. Bang for the buck a 10