The next review on Jonty Jacobs will be on a 4 ounce/113.4 gram bag of their traditional tender flavored beef biltong. This bag was graciously submitted for review by co-owner Camran St Luce.
This jerky is distributed under the same name of Jonty Jacobs, located in Brooklyn, New York. The actual Jonty Jacobs store is located in New York, New York, in Manhattan. The company was founded by Camran’s wife Monique Daniels of South African descent, who grew up in Australia, and moved to New York in 2010. Disappointed in the quality and taste of beef jerky sold in the USA, she decided to open up her own store in 2013. Their biltong is air dried for 21 days, and cured, following a 400 year old South African marinade recipe and method.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Salt, Brown Sugar, Vinegar and Spice Blend.
The beef used is not guaranteed to be growth hormone free, or having grass in the cattle’s diet. As a result, the highest ingredient list rating that can be achieved is a Good (8/10) rating. However, Jonty Jacobs does offer the choice of buying 100% grass fed biltong in all of their products.
Flavorings should just mean various spices. Traditional biltong spices used may have been coriander, cloves, garlic powder, and black pepper.
Admirably, there is almost no sugar used. The salt level is high at 470mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky. Our preference is 350mg of salt or less.
As advertised, this jerky does qualify as having no sodium nitrite, or any other similar unhealthy preservatives. Salt is the main preservative used here, and healthy vinegar also aids in preserving beef. Another bonus is that there is no MSG added.
Decent (7/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
These strips are small in size, and sliced fairly thin. This biltong does qualify to have a soft and tender texture, which makes for easy chewing. In this tender style of biltong, there is quite a bit of fat on these slices that really add to the overall flavor. Handling this biltong leaves no residue on your fingers.
More than anything, the natural beef flavor stands out the most. There is a mild tart taste from the vinegar that gets stronger as you eat more. This biltong is only faintly sweet, and the salt level is mild. It is that unmistakable biltong spice combination that makes it taste so good. This Jonty Jacobs biltong is a healthy, tasty snack.
This 4 ounce/113.4 gram bag sells for $9.99. That equates to $2.50 an ounce, which works out to be a slightly expensive price. This biltong is absolutely worth your money, where anybody who enjoys beef should experience biltong.
Excellent (10/10) – Taste Rating
Bag Review
Everything is imprinted directly on the bag, both on the front and back. There are no labels affixed, and the bag is resealable.
The Jonty Jacobs logo is a drawing of a springbok, with “Purveyor of Fine Beef Products” as their slogan printed under it. Another slogan displayed is “If you like a fine steak, you’ll love Biltong”. Some facts stated on this bag are “Keep Refrigerated”, “No Sodium Nitrate”, “No Artificial Flavoring, Coloring, or Preservatives”, “USDA approved”, “0g Trans Fat”, and “No MSG”.
Every bag category is addressed in this bag. There is great blurb printed on the back describing Jonty Jacobs and biltong. Something you do not see often, there are detailed “Safe Handling Instructions”. To the credit of Jonty Jacobs, they provide a phone number for customer inquiries.
Order their biltong online: www.jontyjacobs.com
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