Wild Bill’s – Hickory Smoked Beef Jerky (Review #2)

This will be the second review for Wild Bill’s hickory smoked beef jerky, which includes a live taste review. This 3 ounce/85 gram bag was purchased at a Wawa gas station in Kearny, New Jersey, in December 2014.

The Wild Bill’s brand name is owned by the very large and successful Monogram Meat Snacks, LLC., located in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to being acquired by Monogram Meat Snacks, LLC. in 2009, the Wild Bill’s brand name originated in 1955 within Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

Ingredient Review

Ingredients: Beef, Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Potassium Sorbate), Seasoning (Garlic, Pepper, Red Pepper). (Sprayed with Potassium Sorbate Solution to Help Protect Quality).    Allergen Warnings: Soy

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 consists of soy sauce. While there are many different soy sauce recipes to choose from, the recipe used here is on the very bad side. On the good side, healthy garlic, black pepper, and red peppers are used.

Admirably, there is no sugar used in this jerky. The salt level is extremely high at 580mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less.

It is disappointing to see that potassium sorbate is listed twice in the ingredient list. Potassium sorbate acts as a preservative, and is similar to sodium nitrite.

This jerky does use MSG in the form of hydrolyzed soy protein, which is a flavor enhancer. It is considered to be both a type of MSG, and an unhealthy trans fat.

Fair (4/10) – Ingredient Rating

Taste Review

These strips of jerky are mostly medium in size, sliced to a medium thickness. The texture is quite dry, which gives your teeth a work out to chew, but within reason. There are no visible signs of fat, and handling this jerky leaves no oily residue on your fingers.

Without question the first flavor detected is the hickory taste. The soy flavor is moderate, and this jerky is quite salty tasting, too salty actually. There is no sweet flavor at all, which is a great contrast to the hickory smoke, and natural beef flavors. While not entirely consistent, at times this jerky takes on a peppery flavor from the black pepper.

This 3 ounce/85 gram bag of jerky cost $7.25. That equates to $2.42 an ounce, which rates as an expensive price. There are healthier and cheaper alternatives out there.

Good (8/10) – Taste Rating

Bag Review

Everything is imprinted directly on the bag, both on the front and back. This resealable bag uses something called ZIP-PAK technology. There is one sticker affixed on the front stating “HEY! We Make BACON JERKY 2!”.

The most striking thing about this bag is the actual Wild Bill’s logo, which is a registered trademark. It’s an old, short man with a beard and moustache wielding two long guns, dressed in old style clothes, kind of like a pirate.

There are no slogans printed on the bag, but it has some facts displayed such as “0g Trans Fat”, “Made in the U.S.A.”, and “97% Fat Free”.

All bag categories are covered here, except there are no clever slogans. The back of the bag has a decent blurb printed about Wild Bill’s. To the credit of Monogram Meat Snacks, LLC., there is a toll free phone number provided for customer inquiries.

Very Good (9/10) – Bag Rating